Becoming a Pro

[Bassinkid]

Is the best way to become well know and become a pro is by sponsorship or tons of tournament fishing, both, or something else? With lots of practice and knowledge is obviosly needed too.

[skeeter944]

Welcome to the forum!

[BPACA]

Well...lots of money helps....but that will only get you so far also...I would recommend getting into tournaments only if you feel ready....unless you are winning tournaments or consistantly doing good in them they are a money pit....Start out by trying to fish as many lakes and learn how to fish as many situations as possible....when you feel ready enter smaller tournies to get your teeth wet....these tournies will usually take 18 pounds to win.....I would recommend joining a club for starters because you will be more competative if everyone is on a level playing field....fish your home lakes if you are doing the smaller non club ones because the locals can usually put it too yah if you don't fish em much.

[Bassinkid]

I live in Michigan and i live near a ton of small different lakes. none are really that deep but just as a note to give some more info about my area to help.

[BPACA]

Get as good of a job as possible....then money won't be a problem only time will....nowadays it takes a lot of money to make it to the professional level....yeah you might win a tournament here and there but the top guys might have came from nothing because they are freaks....realistically you need to have money to get into the game....it depends on how far yah want to get into it....unless you have sponsors you will have to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwichs for a couple of years to get to the pro level....some of the pros still do...and they have sponsors....it costs 90,000 a year to fish a year on the Flw tour and that's not including black hole stuff like coffees, snacks and other stuff....the competition is cut throat....most say its hard to break even....lots of pros played the credit card game and were lucky to get themselves extablished....something you should never do....Just start out small and work your way up...keep in mind what I said about money....boats, tackle, gas, all of it will ad up...

[Other]

I would say start to fish local tourneys first and get your name out, company's hearing your name from other people is a whole lot better then filling out a application. Once you start winning local tournaments your bound to pick up a few small sponsor from small/new and make them look good and grow there business for them as there company is growing you will pick up new sponsors and start fishing out-of-state tourneys. If you can compete with the other guys while still promoting your sponsors you have a great chance becoming a very well known professional bass fishermen.


Just remember that if your not winning a good hand of tournaments it will be living hell to brake even with the cost of everything. If your not the next KVD
then bass fishing for a living will not be all that pleasurable.

[PowerBass]

Alright, let me give my POV on becoming a pro.

First off it isnt all the glamour. They will even tell you that. But before I get there, lets talk about how to start it off. First, Get your self involved with an FLW or BASS club. There are chapters in each state. Look em up. Become a member of them, and go for AOY, There are alot of dang good fisherman out there. If by chance or skill you get it, it will take more than 1 or two AOY titles to make any type of media. Make sure they fish big water. No one wants to sponsor small water fisherman.

Second- Okay, you got your name out there. Now to enter the big T's. First off, is money. Do you have enough for the 1,000 dollar or more entry fee per Tournament? If so, then do you have money for lodging on the lakes? Or are you gonna be a truck sleeper? Food? MCdonalds is cheap, but gets disgusting, but hey you gotta do what you gotta do. SO now your in a T

Lets say you blank, get nothing, zip zilch. You got money for next weeks T? and Food? Now if your a boater, throw in the variable of gas, maintence, batteries, etc.

Okay you finally win a t. Your name is out there, but no one contacts you, your still paying for everything, no sponsor no nothing. HMMM, next T is in one week. Alrighty! Do you have the cash to go again?

No then, you miss out on Points race, hampering your names publicity.

I hate to sound like a lot of negativity, but this is how it is. Sure you could be the next KVD, or you could be a failure, that all depends on YOU. Sure I want to go pro who doesnt, but when you think about it, it is just a crazy dream.

[BPACA]

Yeah....it's a hard way to the top if yah wanta rock and roll......lol
Most of the guys on tour have sacrificed family, health sometimes, friendships, etc in order to become a pro......you are busy all the time....it's hard not to have fun fishing but if it was what you depended on day in a day out for your income it is hard......people will do the same thing in sports....one guy told me that in order to go pro in sports you got to put all the chips down on the table to do it....he said don't listen to anyone and what they say about your not good enought and everything....well the guy played football who said that and well he isn't what I could say well off...his football career took him to some Northern League where his career came to a halt.....like they say unless you are KVD it is very hard.....fishing is not like other sports...it's a thinking mans game...more people can throw a line than they can hit a 500 foot homerun...so it's about experiance...well thought out guesses and a little bit of luck mixed in....The Federation championship had guys in it that were really good....there not even pro yet....negativity is something that is hard to face....but who knows a future in fishing might be for you.....I just wouldn't get the idea that being a pro is what they make it out to be.... HOW MANY PRO'S DO YOU KNOW BY NAME LIKE KVD and IKE? HOW MANY ARE THERE THAT YOU REALLY NEVER HEAR MUCH ABOUT?

[flbassman]

Pb and Bpaca nailed it. I'd like to add that a marketable face is just as important as a winning record. You need to win big tourneys and sell products. It's a sweet lifestyle once you're established, but the average guy is better off going to college or trade school, working a 40 hour week and fishing when he has the time off. Sorry for the depressing report on the state of society

[vagabond]

The other thing about going pro that nobody is mentioning is there is a chance that you start to dislike fishing a little bit.

I wanted to start playing cards for a living. I loved playing cards and was pretty good at it. But it wasn't as pleasureable when I "had" to win. I only did it for about 6 months. You start putting in long hours and sometimes go weeks with out a pay check. It turns into a grind and one day you realize that you aren't really having a good time (and I was making pretty good money and not having a too good of time).

When I was doing what I loved all day, there was nothing to do when I got done with "work." I found it a lot better to play recreationaly than for a job.

Hopefully it goes differently for you, but I'd caution you not to pressure yourself to be great at the thing you love, and just enjoy it.

[Nitro911]

I know a couple of guys who are semi-pro and they will not fish any more unless there is money to be won. To me, that is just sad. I fish because I love fishing. If I have to rely on fishing income to feed my family, it has just become a job.

To answer your question, the ONLY way to become a professional is to win. You have to win enough to meet your expenses and feed yourself and your family. Sponsorship helps off-set some of the expenses, but sponsorship dollars are hard to come by, and they are given to the people who spend the most time in the spotlight.

[bassbooger]

Ok, here is what I know about going PRO. My wife went to school and is still good friends with Taffi Quinn (Jason Quinn's wife). I asked Taffi what it took for Jason and she said exactly what some of these other guys are saying. get in some tourneys, get your name out there and pick up sponsors. You don't exactly have to win all of them, but winning does help. It isn't easy, but it can be done if you set you rmind to it and never give up.

One thing that was not mentioned here is all the time that you have to spend away from home because of your sponsors. Jason is never home due to having to do trade shows and travel around the country for Evan Williams Bourbon. I know of many times that Taffi has mentioned in emails that they have been on the road for 2 weeks and are gone again the next day for another 2 weeks. Here is a quote from one message from her that she has on her webpage.

"Once we hit the road for the Classic it will be a while before we are home. We will be going from AL to TX to CA back to TX then home briefly - then gone again!"

This shows how much traveling you will do once turned pro, or even chasing that dream. You also have to volunteer for community stuff like kids tourneys and that sort of thing. If the fans like you, then it helps to spread your name around.

Whatever you do though, follow your heart and don't ever let anybody smash your dreams. Only you know what you want to do and what is in your heart.

Good luck with it and I hope to be seeing you on the stage some day. of course, you will be stepping down after they weigh my catch

[Super Fluke]

You have to win tournements

[Rebbasser]

Nobody has mentioned the number 1 thing that is MANDATORY in today's fishing world. What is it? An education. Preferably a college degree. To be a pro you need sponsors. To get sponsors you have to be able to offer them something. Look at the pros, and in addition to being fishermen they all, especially the real successful ones, are businessmen. There is an interesting article in the most recent Bassmaster regarding the $$$ some of the pros get, and some do extremely well. Fish all you can, but get your education. That is the place to start.

[thebus71h]

I will say this, my father in law is fishing his way onto the pro tour. And there is another guy we fish with who qualified for the top series with FLW. (Father in law fishes Bass).

The good thing is last year he fished four tourneys with bass, made the points he needed, and now has three tourneys to fish this year, and if he does good in those, he's on the elite tour. Right now he's fishing against the boys who missed the cut last year. No it's not glamourous, but it is very possible. You just mainly have to know how to work with people, that's the huge thing. Sponsors are everything.

[BassMoJo]

When you are a pro, you have a rep and most of the time people know this...the pros gettin those sponsers not only have to catch fish but above all they are just business men...they do/say whatever they can in order for you to buy there sponsers products.

[Raul]

To fish with the best you have to beat the rest, something easier said than done.

[KSbassfishinkid34]

all the seminars i have went to the pro guys have said to go to college and major in business or marketing which shows you right there you have to be a business man as well as an angler

[BPACA]

Work on your casting......them pro's are amazing when it comes to this.....ever watch kvd or swindle throw around docks.....unbelievable how swindle can skip with a casting reel......one thing I need to learn is how to throw with the left like my right.....

[WTL]

The best way to become a pro is...


to be a really, really damn good fisherman.


Marketing is important, so are sponsors, being intelligent is good, being frugal when you can is very good cause it requires strict financial discipline but all of that stuff is for nothing if you arent good enough. And while many dream of being a bass pro, not very many have the talent to do it. There is fish catching talent. Oh sure, the average guy if he fishes 350 days a year will get good enough that he could probably hang around in the pro circuits, but the Kevin Vandams and Ikes rose so quickly because they just have a knack, a feel that isnt quite learned.

[BPACA]

WTL ,

I agree with that.....just like any professional sport out there...if yah look at the top athletes or the people at the top they have an x factor.....only way to find out if yah have it is to get in some smaller tournaments and see what you can do.....

The feel he is talking about is when a pro knows to go fish a dock on the bank......when he switches lures....he feels he needs to do this or that.....we've all been in the zone in fishing and sports....they probably just find it more often...

[flbassman]

I agree with everyone above. You gotta catch 5 nice fish, on large water you might not know, just about every time you go out. If you can handle that, sell products, and live on the road, you've got a shot. If not, figure somethin else out....

[InEccess]

Best way to become a pro is to be the best Salesman you could be. No one's going to sponcer you if you can't move product, even if you ARE winning. There's a difference between fishing pro tournaments and fishing as a Pro, and the difference is where you make your money.

[BPACA]

yeah.......who sells yall probably Ike, kvd, and the like....anyone rushing out to buy gear cause mike wurm says its good?lol.

[HOG Ranger]

Too many people only see the glamorous side of Pro anything. What you don't see is struggling to get started, begging for sponsors, staying in a cheap motel room and leaving your family and friends behind.

I had to travel for work and it sucked! Living out of a suitcase is not a good thing. You eat junk food 24/7 to save money, you don't sleep well and you get lonely.

The worst thing is that unless you are the Elite of the Elite Series you don't make any money. I make more money than many of the pro's and I am home at night with my wife and can fish whenever I want to AND HAVE FUN doing it. Once you involve money it is a job.

Go to school, get your degree while you fish local tourneys and if you really have the talent it will shine through.

There is a old saying "it is good to have a dream but don't be a dreamer".