Seamus should be out there, man....
An article about a West Virginia teen trying to become a pro fisherman ended with this quote from the young man’s dad: “Better he try it now than to be 30 years old, with a wife and kid and a job, wondering if he could have made it as a tournament fisherman. This way he at least gets a chance to live his dream.”
Makes sense…except fishermen actually get better the older they get, the more experience they get. So other than being independently wealthy, a financial windfall or going severely into debt, how do you do it if you have a wife, kids and job?
Rhetorical question. What I really want to know is, how many great fishermen – “great” you really believe they can hang with the likes of KVD, Clunn, Skeet, Rojas, Evers, Morgan, etc. every tournament, and even win one every so often – do you think aren’t fishing at the tour level because of the aforesaid obligations and/or the economics of pro fishing don’t work for them?
Based on who you know, know of or have fished against, extrapolate that to at least the dozen or so super-serious bassin’ states. Do that math, then enter your opinion in the poll below. I’m betting it’s a pretty decent number, considering the size of the tour fields.
[polldaddy poll=4917378]
9 Comments
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5bites
April 15, 2011 at 2:46 pm
I bet there are more than we think that could do it but just can’t get the chance. I know one guy (Wes Endicott) who basically is playing it smart because he has a good job and a family to support. I have zero doubt he could make it on tour and do well. There are some on the other hand that I can’t believe are out there!
Bass Pundit
April 17, 2011 at 2:23 am
I have no clue and don’t think anybody else does as well. I’m from MN and had never heard of Derek Remitz before he burst on the scene. Tournament fishing is fickle and sometimes the difference between success and failure can be a pretty fine line. Look at the year Skeet is having so far. Look at the year Brandon P is having. David Walker was on the suck truck until he busted 1 big bag, now he might win or finish real high at TB. The FLW Tour has confounded conventional wisdom for the last 3 years and my Fantasy Bass Fishing results reflect it.
NW_LouisianaBasser
April 18, 2011 at 9:37 am
I wish they’d break the big tours into regional tours, like the BASS Opens. Let all the tournaments be opens, about 5 in each region (staggered between regions and once a month within the region) 200 boat fields, 4 days with elimination each day. 200-100-50-25. Then have so many from each region qualify for the Classic (points and winners). Then everyone can compete, people that can afford to travel to other regions for more tournaments still can, and guys like me can compete at a tour level and still have my day job! And I know they have the mini tours like what I described, but in those you don’t get to take a shot at KVD, or Reese. To find out who’s the best, everyone needs an equal shot/opportunity, and in my opinion unless you’re wealthy, you can’t compete with those guys.
NW_LouisianaBasser
April 18, 2011 at 9:43 am
And another thing, I think it would do the sport a lot of good if the two big tours (BASS and FLW) would consolidate; of course that would mean one of the two would essentially just have to go away. And nothing against the FLW, but the Classic is where its at. Look at other major sports: MLB, NFL, NBA at one point each of these were separated into multiple leagues run independent of one another, but they consolidated and look how big and strong they are. Bass fishing needs to do the same thing.
Jason
April 18, 2011 at 10:04 am
Aside from the guys who can’t or won’t fish due to finances, there’s also a handful of serious sticks who simply don’t want to be pro anglers.
Jeff Coble comes to mind. How many Classics has he qualified for through the “lower ranks”? Three or four if I recall. He’s a sales rep. for Triton (or was last I heard) and he likes his life how it is. I’d tag Coble as an Elite-level angler any day of the week.
Russel Cecil from Texas is another guy I think could hang. He’s a tackle rep. and fishes the PAA events as well as FLW stuff. He’s got big time skills, but lives a comfortable life selling tackle and can still fish competitively quite a bit without having to haul his rig coast to coast.
admin (mostly Jay)
April 18, 2011 at 10:38 am
Jeff is a good call. No longer Triton…he’s a Phoenix guy now.
Brian
April 18, 2011 at 11:05 am
My guess is that there is about an equal number that could compete but don’t, compared to who is already out there doing it. In my neck of the woods, we’ve got guys like Zona and Greg Mangus who could pull it off but have chosen not to, while others like KVD, Kreiger and Harrison alreay have. Pretty fertile grounds in the Tri-State area.
Rich Arnold
April 19, 2011 at 9:28 am
My guess is that there may be 50 or less that are actually good enough, but elect to stay at the amature or regional level for whatever reason. Just think about the question for a second….good enough to compete, but chose not too because of financial or other reasons. I live in Northern Alabama in between Wheeler and Guntersville. It seems lots of anglers around here are working to climb the ranks and make it to the next level, but we are not talking about them! We are talking about guys that can beat those pors, but would rather remain a big fish in a smaller pond. Jeff Coble was a good example because he demonstrated consistant success at the national level. Likewise, Alabama has Ryan Ingram that has beaten several Elite and FLW Pros. He has the talent but doesn’t want to live on the road. I am sure there are several more in big bass states like Texas, Florida, Georgia, and California that just don’t want to live a life on the road. I know some pros do a great job traveling with family and camping during the tour…Randy Howell comes to mind. However, I agree with that angler’s father, go for it while you are free of major responsibilities and live a gypsy style life and dedicate yourself to the sport. Once you are established, you can have a family and intigrate them into your profession.
melvin jennings
April 22, 2011 at 9:12 am
I think there are many who could compete, unfortunately, none would make a comfortable living on winnings alone. Therefore the number of great anglers who also have great marketing/business skills greatly reduces this pool of anglers.