Why Would You Get Into Pro Fishing?

I’ll answer that question first: I wouldn’t. Putting aside the fact that I’m no KVD – though I have beaten Zona occasionally (okay, regularly, though he is as yet unaware of that…lol) – it’s a tough lifestyle. Tough on the fishermen, tough on finances (for most), tough on families.

Obviously it’s not for everyone – because as we all know, some very good sticks never make the jump to the big-time.

But the guys who have made the jump and who’ve been good and/or fortunate enough to make it stick – why did they do it?

In what I call the Golden Age of bass fishing (really the Golden Age of B.A.S.S.), the pros did it because they loved it and were good at it. Run down the list of inductees into the Pro Bass Fishing and you’ll get a good idea of who I mean…though I’m sure you know already.

In other words, they didn’t do it to become rich or famous, though some of them became both. They did it because they loved it.

I’d say the same thing about the current crop of top pros. There may be a few exceptions, but overall these guys absolutely love it. And I think that sentiment was articulated well by a humble JT Kenney, when he won the Okeechobee FLW Series event in January 2008.

If you recall, JT started out as a Marylander who camped out and guided on Lake Okeechobee. Because he loved fishing.

Anyhow, his quote was:

“Winning this means I can keep the bills paid and keep fishing. That’s all that matters to me. I did not get into professional fishing to get rich or famous. I simply love fishing, that’s why I do it, and I consider myself very lucky to be in a position where I can fish for a living.”

He and his peers may feel lucky, and luck does have quite a bit to do with success, but on the water these guys make their own luck – believe it!