Are You Taking Care of Business?

My dad started taking me fishing when I was two. My very first job was at Hi’s Tackle Box and after that I spent a few years working for Fisherman’s Choice. I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve been able to spend my life doing what I love and enjoy doing.

That being said, tournament fishing isn’t always fun and enjoyable; it can be a lot of hard work. Fishing is big business and I’ve spent a lot of time establishing relationships with companies that I trust and whose products I truly believe in. In recent years the industry has taken a hard economic hit, yet despite this I’ve been able to progress forward because of the relationships that I’ve built. It’s through these relationships that I’ve been able to secure very lucrative sponsorships even in the darkest of times.

There’s no excuse for anglers to grumble about sponsors or the lack thereof; rather, you need to work a little harder and not expect that things will automatically come to you. A lot of guys like to whine and complain that they have no time for the business side of fishing. That’s bull. If you think about it, most professional anglers only fish 11 major weeklong events a year.

That means they have nine months off to take care of business. And there are some guys – household names, really – who have been very successful doing that. I’m fishing 24 events a year, but that leaves me 28 weeks at home and six months’ off is a lot of free time. You have to treat professional bass angling as a business; anglers will be more successful at making money when they do.

During my time off from tournament fishing I like to spend a lot of time in tackle stores and departments and at my Ranger dealer, listening and talking to customers. I know what I want in a product and I know what consumers want.  I take this information to my sponsors to help them make a better product. I want them to know I appreciate them and I take our relationship seriously. I’m not afraid to give them my opinions about their products and that is a part of what they value in me. From my perspective, one of my goals is to help my sponsors create products that perform well and are reasonably priced.

The money is out there – you just have to go find it and show people that you are willing to earn it. Don’t expect everything to be handed to you; that’s not going to happen. Tournament fishing is a business and you have to work for everything. The quicker you accept that and act on it, the better off you’ll be.

You have the whole year to make something happen. How can you not be excited about that? And just remember, the best part about it is that, as professional anglers, we get to go fishing as much as we want.