Pro Angler Rigs $

I watched a few youtube videos of the pros getting their rigs ready for 2018 season. Sorry to say but these pro tourneys better get some new rules in place just my opinion. Kinda of chuckled at some with 2 tv screens on dash and 2 more on the bow. Duel power poles on a 250 hp 22 ft boat with 200 lb trolling motor. OK just kidding on TM. One angler I like carries 27 rods and 500 lbs of his sponser lures!
Are we no longer trying to get people into this great sport or letting them take one look and say i cannot afford to fish tourneys? Better set some limits or going to end up with just a few elite guys with sponsers that are competing. I fished a few tourneys back in the eighties and had a lot of fun. But i recently fished with a very good HS tournement angler who sold his boat to pursue other intrest just due to cost of competing for a young man.

Just my 2 cents from an old angler who just likes to have a few fish pull my line every once in a while. I will just leave the tourneys to the young guys with fat wallets!

Papa Bear said:

But i recently fished with a very good HS tournement angler who sold his boat to pursue other intrest just due to cost of competing for a young man.

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He sold who's boat? Must be doing a sight better than pushing shopping carts, and ringing up groceries like I was in HS!

In fishing, like in most things, you decide your own level of commitment. Those that want to will manage. There will be opportunities for the rest as well, you may well see "limited equipment" events pop up if there is enough perceived desire in the market. We'll just have to see.

If you think that's bad you should see when they do a few days recording before hand. When legal, and where applicable, they drop a thousand dollars worth of craw dad traps to match the hatch. Ontop of that you'll see pro anglers go through and drop, and mark new structure into the lakes to create bass hotspots of where they think the bass will be debth/water temperature wise. So you gotta' figure that's a couple thousand dollars right there.

The fishing industry is a multi billion dollar business. The goal from all those sponsors is to sell products and I must agree, it works. Professional bass fishing isnt about catching fish or having fun, its a job. Its a business and the professionals do whatever they can to gain an advantage. Its no different from any other sport. Personally, I like to see the innovation thats coming along that enhance fishing. The kid you mention that sold his boat, maybe professional bass fishing just wasnt for him. I admire the dedication that the pros have to devote everything they have to fishing. I thoroughly enjoy bass fishing but I dont have that level of dedication.

It is a job for these guys...plain and simple. They want the best and most up to date equipment that they hope will help them win money.

With that said, I think the tournament/fishing industry as a whole is doing a huge disservice to these high school and college anglers. The industry pumps these kids up that they need to have the best of whatever it is. I can't imagine the debt a lot of these kids are taking on to chase a shot at being a "Pro". The % of these anglers that will ever make it to the top is tiny at best. If you look at the financials of tournament fishing you have to scratch your head on how any of these "Pros" make a decent living. The true top tier are great fisherman, but they are even better salesmen. Without major sponsors they don't have a chance at hardly breaking even in a year. Add to that, even top tier anglers have lost big time sponsors over the last couple years as companies are bought out.

it's very tough to make it as a pro. somewhere around 75k a year just to fish the elite series. You have to be one of the top guys to make any money at it. I have a 2007 boat with a 200 hpdi on it but I have top of the line toys on it. I enjoy the toys and i've got 28 rod outfits at last count lol

Yeah I primarily enjoy the toys as well. All of my rods are custom built for me by a guy out of new york. One day ill get myself a boat. Havent been able to fish out of one since I moved to Georgia. No friends that fish yet.

Papa Bear said:

I watched a few youtube videos of the pros getting their rigs ready for 2018 season. Sorry to say but these pro tourneys better get some new rules in place just my opinion. Kinda of chuckled at some with 2 tv screens on dash and 2 more on the bow. Duel power poles on a 250 hp 22 ft boat with 200 lb trolling motor. OK just kidding on TM. One angler I like carries 27 rods and 500 lbs of his sponser lures!
Are we no longer trying to get people into this great sport or letting them take one look and say i cannot afford to fish tourneys? Better set some limits or going to end up with just a few elite guys with sponsers that are competing. I fished a few tourneys back in the eighties and had a lot of fun. But i recently fished with a very good HS tournement angler who sold his boat to pursue other intrest just due to cost of competing for a young man.

Just my 2 cents from an old angler who just likes to have a few fish pull my line every once in a while. I will just leave the tourneys to the young guys with fat wallets!

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I know a young kid, may be the same guy. He was offered a full ride boat and truck to fish out of, sold all his stuff anticipating a new outfit. The guy that was offering the outfit didn't come through on his offer and this was after the kid had sold all his stuff. No way I would have ever sold my stuff till the deal was final..

Dustin Pate said:

The true top tier are great fisherman, but they are even better salesmen.

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Bingo. The "Pro" in "Pro-Staff" stands for Promotional. Promote the sponsor, move more product, keep your spot.

I'm sure a lot of those guys do guide trips on their home water, appearances, seminars, etc. etc. A bunch of them probably have industry jobs as well, it'd be the only way to get a decent job that'd be understanding of the anglers' schedule.

Funnily enough, this isn't too far off from the way that "Pro" paintball works(paintball is my other expensive hobby). The vast majority of the so-called "Pros" there are far from it in the traditional sense. They may all play at the "professional" level, but it's only for the elite guys that playing the game by itself generates their real income.

I guess you addressed the problem i was trying to discuss Dustin! I think he and other young anglers see the pros and tv anglers with lastest equipment and think that is what it will take to win. He had a nice to me $ 3500 ranger 350. He was working and paying the note so his dad was doing right in my book. Without giving him away, several guys in his local schools had Dads providing them some really nice rigs but I told him the fish don't know what kinda boat your fishing out of and being a good angler and sportsman was what it should be all about. I hit him up to go fishing every few months and he can really whip up on me each time. Some of these young guys are really talented anglers.

Mr. Pate hit it on the head. And, yes it is a billion dollar business. Most, if not all bass anglers know this. I used to fall into the hype of following the pros, but that was then. I have never wanted to be a pro angler, or even fish local tournys. I have seen too many guys quit because they were burnt out. I have also seen guys who don't think you know what your doing because you don't fish tournaments. How wrong they are. Was asked by some fisherman on a lake one time was I part of so and so tournament that was fishing that day. I said no , I like to fish.

What I am trying to get at is you don't need the biggest and the best to catch a bass or have extensive knowledge on how to do it. I have caught the most bass caught in a day in a 14 ft. stick steer fiberglass boat with a 25 Mercury XD , Minnkota , and a lowrance fish finder. I have definitely upgraded since then, but my attitude has not changed.

Just like hunting, these companies have brainwashed people into thinking they got to spend an arm and a leg or they will not be successful. If you don't use X brand rod costing 200 dollars and a reel twice that much you ain't crap. Selling lures that cost 1 to 5 dollars to make after start up cost for 15 to 50 bucks. Then the cost of a boat. Some that are way overpriced. It will end up biting them.

There are Youtube videos of BASS tourney's from the 70's, 80's, and 90's. They were just good ole' boys that loved to fish back then. They used gear that would be considered primitive by our standards and caught fish like no one else.
I'd like to see BASS have a couple "back to the roots" tournaments. You get five rod/reel combos, 5 pounds of lures, and you'll fish from a boat that BASS provides.

All that said, it is a sport and business. Anglers want the best and most up-to-date equipment to give them the best chance at winning just like I want the most up-to-date software to help with my calculations. Winning gets your name spread around, and the more your name is spread around the bigger those sponsor checks get. I just wish more people could see through it. I know kids that have more fishing gear than they could ever conceivably use.

When I was younger I wanted to be a pro, there wasn't a high school or college level series to fish in then, so I fished local tournaments as a co angler for six or seven years. I had decent stuff, no boat, but I did win once in a while or collect the big fish pot. One day I realized I was turning something fun into work and I didn't like it. So after my first semester of college, I stopped tournament fishing. I will fish charity type tournaments and the like still, but I do it for fun. I'd rather spend the time with good friends I don't get to see enough having fun.

I've had 2 bass boats, one is a stripped hull now, the other was sold to help pay for my flats boat. High school bass clubs have boats nicer than either of the two I've had, but I wouldn't trade the memories made for a new boat. The fish don't care if it's a Jon boat or a new Skeeter, fishing from a Jon boat didn't stop Mike Is from winning his first tournament. I have more fishing lures than I can ever fish with, so I guess that's still my vice when it comes to fishing. I also prefer nicer rods and reels but they aren't required. I prefer us made rods like a St Croix because I feel even though they cost more, it's a superior product I get my money's worth out of over it's life time and it keeps an American Craftsman employed. I buy nicer reels because I prefer not to send the money to China and I get my money's worth out of them. But none of that will win a tournament.

To me going pro nowadays is about like going Indy car racing, talents great but bringing the money is how you get in. Family money for sponsorship goes further than talent. So does being a brand salesman, winning is great but if you can't sell a product you won't be sponsored. I hope these kids realize this and are doing it because it's their passion.

I haven't watched a tournament on TV in a long time, but fishing out of smaller boats with limited equipment appeals to me. Show off the talent not the toys, but I don't see it happening. That won't sell sonar units the size of computer monitors or 60k+ bass boats that I'll never understand why people buy since it's only good for one thing. I'd much rather have a 30-40k bay boat that can go almost anywhere. Not that I have a choice really, my wife approves of boats as long as she can fish, swim, and scallop out of them

I think they should have one tournament in the Elite series where the anglers have to fish from kayaks or john boats with very basic or no fish finder. Maybe a small bass tracker style boat at most. Let them bring as much other stuff as they want to overload themselves with. Perhaps have 2 of these in the schedule for the year and make it a requirement to fish at least one of them to be in the Classic and Angler of The Year runnings. I don't think it would hurt the big money sponsors and it would MIGHT draw some new attention from people like a lot of us in this thread.
Of course this might mean instead of a traditional weigh-in that you'd have a big screen showing fish on a Hawg Trough so you aren't killing a bunch of fish. I think this could still be interesting because no one would really know how their favorites were doing until the very end.

want more basic boats...watch mfl

I just wish there were not so many commercials when watching........I don’t mind what they have for tools as they are pros and this IS THEIR JOB. A thousand lbs of lures will not catch one bass. It will be the user.

I wonder if the 20rods on deck may hurt as much if not more than they help............i seldom catch fish on more than 2 or 3 different lures the same day

EverGreen1231 said:

There are Youtube videos of BASS tourney's from the 70's, 80's, and 90's. They were just good ole' boys that loved to fish back then. They used gear that would be considered primitive by our standards and caught fish like no one else.
I'd like to see BASS have a couple "back to the roots" tournaments. You get five rod/reel combos, 5 pounds of lures, and you'll fish from a boat that BASS provides.

All that said, it is a sport and business. Anglers want the best and most up-to-date equipment to give them the best chance at winning just like I want the most up-to-date software to help with my calculations. Winning gets your name spread around, and the more your name is spread around the bigger those sponsor checks get. I just wish more people could see through it. I know kids that have more fishing gear than they could ever conceivably use.

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MAN, most of those young dudes couldn't handle fishing competitively like they did in the 70 to 80's.

TroyBoy30 said:

want more basic boats...watch mfl

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And better examples of the beautiful sport and true competition. While it’s fitting in today’s world, it is discouraging to know many will never have a shot without financing their entire livelihood. It’s a commitment, but it’s a wee bit out of hand - like most things that revolve around money.

8pointduck said:

MAN, most of those young dudes couldn't handle fishing competitively like they did in the 70 to 80's.

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Yeah, I agree with that. Bass fishing used to be the "Every Man's" sport. Now, according to the pros, you've got to be ready to spend 50k just to get a bass to look at your lure.