So you dream of being a bass pro.
And why not? You see the Rick Clunns, Shaw Grigsbys, Darrell Robertsons and Kevin VanDams on the victory stand, bathed in the bright lights of stardom and the adulation of fishing fans across America.
Plus, bass pros get to go fishing all of the time. After all, fishing is your favorite hobby and you consider yourself a good fisherman. Wouldn’t it be great to actually get paid for fishing?
Catch a fish, cash a check. Sounds easy enough.
Although the fan admiration and the actual time spent on the water have an almost romantic appeal to the weekend angler and aspiring bass pro, there is considerably more than just fooling bass involved in making a decent — even lucrative living – at this sport.
There is a businessman inside each of those patch-laden tournament shirts that grace the pages of Bass Fishing Magazine and draw airtime on The FLW Tour television show. Each pro knows that the key to financial success is attracting sponsorship from the fishing and boat manufacturers who make the sport go.
It takes more than winning a tournament to attract sponsors. There are at least 10 big-name pros who have never won the top trophy, yet have accumulated eight or more cash-paying sponsors. Some have never qualified for the BASS Masters Classic or Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship), but they make enough money through sponsorships to not only foot the bill for pursuing their dreams — they make a nice living as well.
“Don’t get the impression that once you win a big tournament, that sponsors come knocking your door down,” said former Red Man All American champion Joe Thomas, one of the savviest of fishing’s business minds who details the financial side of fishing in his book Diary of a Bass Pro: A Year on the Inside of Fishing’s Fast Track.
“Attracting sponsors and keeping them happy is a full-time job.
“I go hunting a few weeks a year, but other than that I work 300 days a year. I spend countless hours at my desk trying to keep up with sponsor commitments and keep everybody happy – and aggressively seeking new sponsorship deals.”
To illustrate the necessity of this unique type of financial support, Thomas says he averages about $35,000 a year in annual tournament earnings. But his expenses to fish the tournaments run between $25,000 and $30,000 – leaving him somewhere south of the poverty level without the income from sponsors and speaking engagements (which often go hand-in-hand).
What do fishing and boating manufacturers look for in a bass pro?
“We’re looking for good salesmen,” replied Jim Hladnik, sales promotion coordinator for Johnson Outboards. “Any type of sponsor wants a person who represents himself well to the public and also to his peers. This is true in automobile racing, selling basketball shoes or promoting a cake mix.
“In our sport, if an angler happens to win a bass tournament, it’s really just frosting on the cake. I believe the average angler places far too much emphasis on the winning.”
Mike Walker, a leader in fishing industry public relations with clients who have included Yamaha, Skeeter Boats, Toyota, Abu-Garcia, Shimano, 3M-Scientific Anglers and Columbia Sportswear, created the first text for helping fishermen navigate the murky waters of sponsorship. His booklet and audiocassette tutorial entitled The Bass Pro Workshop: How to Promote Yourself and Attract Sponsors has been highly successful and utilized by Classic champions and club fishermen alike.
“I don’t know of a single bass pro that started out with full cash and product backing from a number of companies,” Walker says. “It won’t happen. But you can find sponsorship at your level – whether you’re a club fisherman, fish small circuits, local independent tournaments or whatever.”
Walker offers the following advice for packaging yourself to become the image that sponsors are seeking.
Appearance
Neat, clean and professional. If you are going to be a pro and part of a marketing team (which is the role of a sponsored angler), you have to dress the part. Unlike years past, image is everything in today’s world.
A business-like manner
Behave in a manner that suggests that you are serious about the business side of fishing. That means being active, enthusiastic and ambitious.
Well-spoken
Good communications skills are critical for representing a company well and selling its products to the public (which is the real job behind sponsorships). Take college or adult-education classes to polish your speaking ability.
Exposure and publicity
Winning a tournament attracts a certain amount of publicity, but that is not enough in the eyes of the sponsors. Working with the local, regional and national outdoor press is the easiest way to get consistent exposure, which is the lifeblood of any fishing career. Another avenue of exposure is through speaking engagements and seminars of all sizes.
Salesmanship skills
Attend professional seminars or learn more about the art of salesmanship through books and audiocassettes. Sponsors want salesmen.
“The secret to becoming a successful professional angler can be summed up quite easily,” Walker said. “Not all sponsored pro anglers win tournaments on a regular basis. But all sponsored pro anglers do help their sponsors and their retailers in promoting fishing and bringing in business to the retailers.”
Both Walker and Joe Thomas recommend that aspiring pros build a solid career foundation locally first before attempting to attract national sponsors. That involves gaining some success in area tournaments; attracting publicity in local newspapers and magazines; establishing a reputation as a well-prepared seminar speaker at the hometown level; and working with local tackle stores or boat dealers to earn their trust (and make some sales for them).
Local dealers and sales representatives are in a position to open the door to a major tackle or boat manufacturer for the young pro on the rise.
Thomas emphasizes that too many pros-to-be quit school or by-pass college in their rush to plunge into tournament fishing. “College will help you and give you something to fall back on,” he said. “If you’re a young guy and a career in professional fishing is your goal, I would advise getting at least two years of college under your belt. I would suggest a business, marketing or communications degree with creative writing and public speaking courses.”
It’s all a part of being today’s touring professional — where reeling in a sale is as important as weighing in a tournament-winning catch.
Resources: Three great educational tools for serious bass fishermen (all are available from Tim Tucker’s Bass Catalog – 800-252-FISH):
THE BASS PRO WORKSHOP: How to Promote Yourself and Attract Sponsors, two-hour audio cassette and workbook, $49.95
Tim Tucker’s Pro Angling Insider: Your Guide to the Business Side of Fishing, bimonthly newsletter, $39.95 for a one-year subscription.
Diary of a Bass Pro by Joe Thomas, award-winning book, $14.95 postpaid.