Minors to majors
Moving up to the big leagues
Baseball has the minor and major leagues; NASCAR has the Busch Series and the Winston Cup Series; golf has the Buy.com Tour and the PGA Tour.
Nearly every sport has a semi-pro league and a pro league. Professional bass fishing is no exception. In the upper ranks of competitive bass fishing are the EverStart Series and the Wal-Mart FLW Tour.
In 1998, FLW Outdoors introduced the EverStart Series to bridge the competitive fishing gap between local Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League events and the national Wal-Mart FLW Tour. The EverStart Series is a fishing middle ground for regional-level anglers who want something more challenging but are not necessarily ready to commit the time and resources to take on the best pro anglers in the country.
With the addition of the EverStart Series, FLW Outdoors completed a comprehensive three-tier competitive fishing structure. The structure is interconnected with coveted pathways that allow qualifying anglers to advance to the next level. Since its inception, the EverStart Series has been very successful in promoting talented anglers into the Wal-Mart FLW Tour through this qualifying process.
When competitive bass fishing moves from a part-time passion to a full-time career, the differences are numerous. Pros who have graduated from the EverStart Series to the Wal-Mart FLW Tour know all about the minors to majors transition.
Obviously, the tremendous cash purses and level of exposure that the Wal-Mart FLW Tour can give an angler comes to mind. Also, the expense of launching a career on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour is an issue. But for bass pros who have transitioned from the minors to the majors, the number-one difference in these two circuits is the competition-who it is and how extreme it can be.
Fresh faces to the Wal-Mart FLW Tour can vividly recall attending their first FLW pre-tournament meeting and witnessing, for the first time, the enormous physical stature of Denny Brauer, the cool aggressiveness of David Fritts, or the steely eyes of Larry Nixon. It is as if a voice inside says, “Toto, I don’t think we are at the bass club meeting anymore.”
Fishing heroes or mental blocks?
Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn., is an EverStart standout who struck gold on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour by winning the Red River event in 2001. Like many Wal-Mart FLW Tour competitors, Powers grew up admiring the same guys he competes against today. He says it is one of the biggest issues an angler faces when he steps up to the FLW Tour.
“It is okay to be in awe of these guys, but you cannot be intimidated by them,” Powers says about bass fishing’s elite. “I am overwhelmed to be around such legends, but when I get a rod in my hand, I forget about them. Some guys never get over that. They think that because Kevin VanDam is there, they are always fishing for second place.”
Bill Chapman of Salt Rock, W.Va., also views the mental aspects of competing against the best anglers in America as a self-imposed obstacle. Chapman has an EverStart victory to his credit and elbowed his way into the Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship in 2000 and 2001. He finished third at the Red River tournament in 2001.
“I have a 25-year bass-fishing career, too,” Chapman says. “It may not be publicized like some anglers’ careers. But I have been traveling around and doing this for a long time. I tie my jigs on just like they do.”
Ohio’s Dale Teaney has also learned how to control the psychological fodder that comes with competing against bass fishing’s heroes. Teaney came off an EverStart Series roll in 2000, missing the Eastern Division points title by 23 points. He finished second in his second Wal-Mart FLW Tour event and suggests that the idea of competing against Rick Clunn and Tommy Biffle does not impede his fishing focus.
Concerning his competitive counterparts, Teaney says: “The first FLW meeting I attended, I saw them all – Wendlandt, Brauer, VanDam, Nixon – but you can’t think about that. If you dwell on who you are competing against, you are done. Someone once said, `The fish are not any smarter just because the FLW comes to town.’ I think that is true.”
Different competition level
While these anglers remain unintimidated by famous bass-fishing wizards, they are not bashful about crediting these well-known pros for taking Wal-Mart FLW Tour competition to an extreme level.
Johnny McCombs of Morris, Ala., admits that the level of competition on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour can be intimidating. Despite nailing five Wal-Mart FLW Tour top 10s in just three years, McCombs reveals that he fishes completely differently in the FLW Tour because of the competition.
“I do not gamble near as much in the FLW as I did in EverStarts,” he says. “In the FLW, I fish with more of a survival strategy. I go for the sure thing before making big gambles on fish that may or may not pan out.”
Jim Tutt of Longview, Texas, has also made a quick study of the differences between bass fishing’s minors and majors. He finished the EverStart Series Central Division points race in third and then won an EverStart tournament in 1999.
Tutt sprang onto the Wal-Mart FLW Tour in 1999 and finished 33rd for the year, but has missed making the Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship since. He explains that the FLW Tour is a true test of fishing ability on every kind of water where bass live.
“The FLW takes you to reservoirs, rivers, natural lakes, tidal water and you meet every kind of bass – largemouth, smallmouth, spotted and Florida strain – whereas the EverStart is constrained to one or two types of fisheries.”
According to Tutt, the commitment among Wal-Mart FLW Tour participants is amazing. “On a nasty, rainy, cold practice day on the EverStart Series you might come back to the ramp at 3 o’clock and the parking lot will be empty,” Tutt says. “At an FLW tournament, there could be a blizzard going on and the lot would still be full of trailers at dark.”
“There are no secrets in the FLW,” Tutt continues. “In EverStarts it may be possible to find a group of fish or a specialized technique that no one is doing. But with the FLW, I don’t care if your spot is 100 miles away, someone will find it.”
Tutt also suggests that the “name” pros on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour have an easier time gathering and assessing local information than EverStart anglers. “So not only do the FLW pros work harder, they also work smarter,” he says.
In Tutt’s estimation, making the final-round cut is no easy task in either the EverStart Series or Wal-Mart FLW Tour.
Powers agrees with Tutt’s assessment, but he feels there is some leeway in the EverStart Series. “If you are going to make the top 10 in an FLW, you better come out of the chutes blazing,” he says. “You better be on fire from your very first cast or you are going home. In EverStarts there is more room for minor mistakes or slow starts.”
Ricky Shumpert of Lexington, S.C., is another angler who has spread roots into the Wal-Mart FLW Tour from the EverStart Series.
“These (FLW) guys eat, sleep and breathe bass fishing,” says Shumpert, who won an EverStart Series tournament in 2001 and the Eastern Division’s points title in 1999. “They can adapt to changing conditions in a heartbeat. If it is 60 degrees one day and snowing the next, these guys will adapt and still bring in excellent stringers.”
Shumpert also claims an angler must push his fish to the maximum every day in a Wal-Mart FLW tournament. “In an EverStart you can catch 15 pounds and lay off to save some fish for the next day. In an FLW, if you think you have enough, you better cull up 3 pounds to make sure.”
Raising the stakes
The Wal-Mart FLW Tour boasts the most impressive tournament purse in competitive bass fishing. Additionally, the tour delivers more national exposure for bass anglers than the EverStart Series. But in order to compete for the larger purses and increased exposure, anglers have to commit considerably more time and resources to their angling efforts.
Eric Holt of Galena, Mo., finished third in the EverStart Series Central Division in 1998, and he used his qualification ticket to step up to the Wal-Mart FLW Tour. He made his presence known in the 1999 Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship when he finished second.
Holt’s observations about the differences in the two circuits centers on the tremendous increase in financial resources needed to fish the Wal-Mart FLW Tour. He estimates that a year on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour can cost as much as three to five times more than a year on the EverStart Series.
“The increased expenses can really catch a guy off guard,” Holt warns.
In terms of unexpected expenses that can pilfer the wallet, Holt says it was the little things that he took for granted when fishing EverStarts that caught him off guard. He points to fishing licenses as an example. “Fishing EverStarts, a guy probably already owns half the licenses needed. But go out on a national tour and you have to buy seven non-resident licenses. Things like that add up.”
Holt says just being familiar with the tournament’s host town can save money and time. “In the EverStart Series, I am familiar with the towns we visit because I have been there before. I know economical places to stay and eat. Just being familiar with your surroundings makes things much easier and cheaper.”
Rodger Beaver, who won an EverStart in 2000, just completed his first year on the FLW Tour. The Leesburg, Ga., angler defrayed expenses by camping with fellow competitors. But Beaver emphasizes that the stress can be more than just financial.
“Along with your finances, you better have your home life in order before trying the FLW Tour,” Beaver suggests. “I am very blessed to have a wife who is very supportive of my fishing.”
Beaver reasons that sloppy accounting or a rocky relationship may not hinder a guy fishing the EverStart Series, but it can spell disaster on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour. “The FLW Tour demands a whole new level of commitment. You really have to mind your pennies and be in a marriage that is dedicated to the cause.”
Bigger not always better
Some pros who have made the minors-to-majors transition suggest that the EverStart Series constitutes an avocation while the exhilarating Wal-Mart FLW Tour is a full-time career. Some anglers do not like the idea of turning an enjoyable hobby into a means of making a living no matter how great the thrill.
Frank Poirier of Hopewell, Va., has one of the most impressive track records on the EverStart Series. He has made $71,400 from EverStart competition and has qualified for the Wal-Mart FLW Tour three times. But Poirier has declined the invitations. He is perfectly comfortable competing in the EverStart Series.
“I just really enjoy the EverStart Series tournaments,” Poirier says. “They are relaxed, yet competitive. For me, fishing the Wal-Mart FLW Tour would put me under tremendous pressure that would greatly detract from my enjoyment of tournament angling.”
Poirier claims that the added personal burdens of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour are two-fold. “The more money I put on the line for a tournament, the more pressure I put myself under to do well. And that equates to more practice time,” he notes. Given my time and financial resources, the EverStart Series is a perfect circuit for me.”
Even Powers, who has experienced FLW’s biggest rush – a national victory – says there are times when he longs for his EverStart days.
“I really missed the EverStart Series this year,” says Powers, who did not fish the series this season. “The FLW is great, but it is a pressure cooker. I practice for five days and then there are two grueling days of competition where no mistakes can be made. There are big tents, sponsors and cameras filming everything. EverStarts are just a more relaxed atmosphere for guys who want to compete at a high level without risking their life savings on a new career.”