how to be a bass pro

[Ctrl_Alt_Dlt]

My friends and I were talking about this. How can one become a bass pro where you are sponsored by big companies?

[TurnUpTheFishing]

Fish tournaments, do well. Do seminars, write articles. Companies want someone who can give them as much exposure to the public as possible. Think of "pro" as short for PROmotional and not PROfessional. Its not just about doing well in tournaments but it helps. Personality is a big one too you have to be able to sell your self and the company/product. Being able to connect easily with other people.

That's just kind of how I see it, I am in no way, shape, or form sponsored. Someone who is will probably give better insight.

IMO, personality trumps everything. Look at a guy like Ike, dude has a crazy personality and wins. double whammy, no shortage of sponsors.

[Igor Drackenwolf]

A friend and I have discussed this. We are both avid bass fishermen, and partner up on a local multi-species club league. Even though the league points are weighted to encourage and reward walleye fishing, one or the other of us usually wins the league catching bass (or is at least competitive) even though points for bass are weighted to discourage bass fishing.

The thing is, the guys who do bass fish for a living are at a whole 'nother level. My buddy and I have figured out how to target bass in almost any situation. But to do it professionally, you have to know how to target BIG bass in almost any situation, with consistency.

That takes education. Studying. Understudying. Experience. Journaling. Trial and error.

At some point, when you're slaying decent fish with a certain bait at a certain depth and certain presentation, you have to be willing to step away from that, and figure out what you need to do to target bigger fish. The pros have done that, so they know. They've learned that if they're finding 16" fish under certain circumstances, the 21-23" fish are going to be "X", and they'll know how to target them.

I haven't figured that out yet. I know how to find bass, and I get lucky and find bigguns sometimes. But I don't know how to use the information I'm getting as I catch fish to target bigger fish. That's what the pros have done, until they know all the things we don't about where big fish are and how to get them.

[DAD-N-EYE]

Have lots of $$$$$$$.

[Raider4ever]

At the uppermost level, most of your year is tied up in promotional stuff all over the country (if you are lucky enough to have sponsors and are in demand on the boat show circuit). There are only what, 6-8 Elite Series events a year now? You get what, 4 days a tournament to pull your annual income? And remember, to pull the really big check you have to beat KVD (let me know how that goes for ya). That means you're trying to make a living in 32 days unless you also fish the FLW (just for giggles, let's say another 32 days).

It becomes your JOB, not your favorite thing to do and I know you would rather do your favorite activity than be at work, right?

Personally, I think it would stink because you would be fishing less than you are now. Think about it, you get out on the weekends and say, your Wednesday night league. That's three days a week all season (if you're lucky).

Finally, percentages. There are how many golfers in the country? There are how many on the PGA Tour and that 2nd tier? There are how many bass fisherman in the country? 50 of them fish the Elite Series and some others are on the FLW. Do the math.

[smnduck]

You have to spend at least 100 days of the year on the water.

[JohnMickish]

The top line Walleye pros spend about 200 days a year on the road, between tournaments, promotional shows and events, throw some TV in there and I'm sure it gets worse. I can't imagine that a Bass pro is much different, probably worse. A mentioned above, it's more about selling the product than putting fish in the boat. Nobody is going to pay you if you don't give then their return on investment. It's a business and you are an independant contractor so having a head for business and taxes helps out.