2008 - Business as Usual?
Mar. 11, 2008
I love this time of year. We’ve got us a bunch of new tournament schedules so we look at our wallets, see how much vacation time we have and then decide what events we’re going to fish. Here we go again! I don’t think 2008 is gonna be any different than 2007 . . . and that’s too bad!
Tournament bass fishing has changed a lot during my lifetime. It used to be that a guy could win a Bass Masters Classic and he still had to hold down a full time job to survive. Now we’ve got guys winning over $100,000 in national tournaments. Both FLW and BASS pay out a half million dollars, or more, to the winner of their championship event. Even regional Pro-Ams like WON Bass pay out over $20,000 for first place. How can that be bad, right?
Because competitive bass fishing is becoming a rich man’s sport! Guys like me are close to being priced out of the high dollar competitions. Even young bucks with all the talent in the world can’t come up with enough money to chase the big time. When new bass boats are selling for over $55,000 and a year’s entry fees can easily top another 50K, there’s something wrong. Who can afford to chase the dream and what bass fishing legacy are we leaving for our kids?
If a young man today wants to be successful (I’m not talking about winning a few local team tournaments, I’m talking about making a real career in this sport and earning a living that can support a family) he’ll go to college and get a good education first. You’ve got to be able to speak in front of crowds, teach seminars, promote sponsors and do all the stuff to get the support you need for these national circuits. It’s not enough anymore to be a good fisherman. You’ve got to offer a package deal. Even then, you still need some luck on top of all that preparation. Talent alone is not enough anymore.
So where did we go wrong? How did this sport get to where an average guy like me, somebody who loves bass fishing more than anything else in the world, has got NO chance to make it big?
The truth is there’s plenty of money for everyone if it was paid out honestly. Tournament organizations pocket tons of dollars by charging local governments to host their events. I hear BassMasters gets over $50,000 from a city just to put on one of their national events. The organizations make money by awarding prize boats at retail price when they’re getting them at a much cheaper cost. Sponsors pay organizations for the right to put their names in front of events: Everstart, Stren, National Guard, they paid for that privilege. There’s a lot of money in tournament bass fishing but those dollars are not getting down to the fishermen!
Look at the BASS Elites. Skeet Reese made a lot of money in 2007. Good for Skeet! He’s one of those young guys who have done everything right. I admire that young man. He worked hard to build a career outside of bass fishing to support his family. He developed the speaking and public relations skills he needed and he spent a lot of years proving that he can catch fish. It paid off. But, what about the rest of that field of over one hundred Elite anglers? Less than half of them broke even last year.
There’s not another main sport in this country where more than half the “pros” are going broke! Name one! Football, baseball, basketball, golf, NASCAR, NHRA... of course some pros earn more money than others, but they are all making a good living. Not so in fishing.
Unfortunately, I think 2008 will be about the same as 2007. Lot’s of people who love bass fishing will spend lots of money participating. Promoters, organizations, ESPN, manufacturers…they’ll buy the new cars and fancy homes while we are stuck with small fields, lousy paybacks and almost no chance to make it big.
At my age, I’m just gonna go fishing. I’m too tired to fight the battles any more. But you young guys, if you really want to grow this sport, you need to band together and form a fisherman’s union! The NFL has a player’s union as well as the NBA, MLB and all the other major sports. I think it’s about time for a fisherman’s union so we can get our fair share of this pie! It’s up to you. 2008 - business as usual; or 2008 – the year we made a difference!