dablaw1

I went dove hunting and for 4 days we smoked em..10-15 guys and girls limited out everyday..Now back to this subject even though I suppose were supposed to leave it behind us.. Hey old guys....Anyone seeing a trend here or am I just an idiot??? It's like talking to a wall huh..signed, and old guy too...

Agree X2..One thing I am sitting here wondering...If there were no sponsors and no glitz and glamour, no cameras...just a bunch of guys going out to see who could catch the most fish and win the tournament, would any of the these sponsor seeking kids even show up..I hope more kids read this and not just a few..David in Murray,Ky.

Tommy I will say that it seems like you work a little harder than most and I commend you for that..Just try not to forget your passion for fishing and one day pass that along to your kids..I have 3 sons of my own so if I seem like I'm being a pain in the butt with fatherly advice, then I guess I have to take it..My boys are 22,17,and 16 so I'm looking at it from the what I would say to them..You'll understand all this one day..Jeeze I sound like an old fart.. Nate- I feel like you "Get it" more so than most and I admire that..You are not just looking at the world through rose colored glasses and that's a good thing.. But what a mess alot of these kids that are posting in this section are going to be in if there mind set doesn't change..Their going to be in for a rude awakening, and I hate that for them..It hurts to be let down and without a doubt many of these young men will be.. BTW I limited out on doves today in about 30 minutes..O what fun that was...Now if I could just do that with 4 pound largemouths huh...

"The reason fishermen get sponsors is to get money." Are you serious??? Who has instilled this in your mind..Ask,write,email, or whatever any of the top 50 pro's in the bass fishing industry and ask them what sponsorship means to them...then post your answers and there names here..You boys need a serious reality check.. I need to be more clear...Why does someone need to be concerned about sponsors at a young age, or if you are not a full time angler...If you are a full time angler that has no other income, and relies solely on the income from tournament fishing payday's, then yes, you should try to work towards sponsorships to help out with certain areas of the business. But if you are like 90% of the rest of us that are weekend anglers, anglers that have a limited budget and fish a few here and there, and do not place in the money consistently, then sponsors are really not needed.. What I am taking from all of this is that many younger anglers are putting the cart before the horse..The infatuation that your generation is having with glitz and glamour of sponsorship, as opposed to the rest of us that worry about locating fish and getting them in the boat, is amazing to me.. I have seen this shift in many sports nowadays, the high tech generation relying on everyone else instead of themselves..What ever happened to busting you but and saving money to buy what you need and be self suffiecient? Although all you younger guys will think I'm just rambling, my generation knows exactly what I'm talking about and has seen this coming for some time as well.. I wonder if you took all the high tech off of your boats, and went out with nothing but a paper map and at most a super sixty to locate drops and structure, could you do it...Do any of you younger guys even know what a super sixty is? Googling it or looking on your iphone doesn't count... I'm done for now..Time to go shoot some doves..Still use my old 870 I have had since i was a kid, and I reload my own shells...Back to basics boys..back to basics.....

Etommy28 said "Even with all this it is about the $. I am willing to work for a company I feel strongly about and when it saves me money it makes it even better. So basically, it's all about the money, when it saves me money to do a little work for someone, fishing there lures and being able to fish more often." After reading this I guess everything I just said fell on deaf ears and was a waste of my time to post. I do like the fact that you are going to college, and working your way through school..And don't get me wrong, I'd rather have more money than less these days but if that is your main motivation then your missing the big picture. Sucess has many definitions and many more faces..Just try not to get too wrapped up in money and sponsors that you forget why you are doing this. Good luck. When I fished tournaments hot and hard years ago, I didn't have logos and sponsorships all over the place and neither did anyone I knew back then..We all fished to win and more importantly to enjoy the competition and being around friends. I saw many a patch laden shirts go home empty handed while the guy on stage with the check just had on a plain t-shirt and shorts..Don't let it rule you..If you are really that good and time is kind to you, you won't have to go looking, it will come to you..I don't know how to explain it in any more direct and simpler terms than that..

I'm not sure if it's ignorance, or just the fact that most of these kids expectations exceed their skills...Not just fishing skills..But lacking life skills.. I'd be willing to bet that all us guys over 40 would NEVER post anything on a resume like what these kids are..Or for that matter even post a resume...We all know that if you really want to make it to the "Big time" you have to be able to put bass in the boat, and be a good steward and representative of the sport.

After reading through all of these posts on sponsorship wants, I am utterly amazed at the lack of experience by those seeking a sponsor. Look, I'm not here to slam or degrade anyone at all..I think it is a good, red-blooded American dream for kids to see the professional anglers of today and want to be like them..When I was a kid I had baseball heroes and wanted to be just like them as well.. I also watched Bill Dance,Jimmy Houston,Roland, and the gang and always looked up to them.. I must say though that most of these kids, and let's face it they are kids, that are writing all of this stuff in here is so misguided..Not that there dream isn't wonderful, but to see the same thing over and over is amazing... Most of these kids are 14-19 or so..on average..I know some are older, but keeping it general here.. At these ages I just wonder who has instilled in them that a major corporate outdoors company would even look at them.. As I look through these, 99% of them are lacking the one most important thing I would be looking for..And that is experience..I'm sure most of the young kids are fine young men, but without a list of consistent wins, top 10 finishes,squeaky clean backgrounds, and a knack for being able to connect with potential buyers of the products they are being sponsored by,I just don't see it happening.. Do any of you youngsters in here really believe that Mr. Van Dam, Mike Iconelli, of any of these other consistent touring pros got where they are by getting sponsored at age 14? At 14, KVD was wanting to fish and catch fish and be the best he could be...What about Mike I...Same thing..These guys were never worried about being sponsored..They wanted to fish and perfect their craft, as you should want to.. If you stripped all the glitz and glamour from KVD or Ike, and put them in a 14' john boat with a zebco 202, they would still beat 99% of you boys, as well as most of us older guys as well, even if we had the fanciest gear..They can fish, bottom line, and that's what it takes... If a Nascar driver does not win races at all, and doesn't ever finish well, how long is it going to be before his sponsors drop off the team and the driver is let go..And I'll bet if everyone was honest, you have caught yourself saying "How is that driver even have any sponsors left".. Case in point is that you can have that 40,000 dollar rig, plastered in a boat wrap and matching truck and "Look" the part..But if your only on the podium to weigh in a few smaller fish every once in a while do you honestly think your going to get any corporate rep. to even look at you..NO.. I'm telling you first hand that unless you get some experience under your belt..Real experience..You know, the kind that comes with age...Then you are being foolish and wasting allot of your time,money,and energy on something that will more than likely not happen.. Like I said at the first of this post, all I want to do is feed these young men a reality check, and hopefully with positive support on here from some of the more experienced anglers, you boys can get through this.. And just so you know, because your probably wondering...No I didn't get burned fishing, and have enjoyed a life long passion for the sport as well as hunting as well. I'm 44 years old, so although I do not have a world of experience like many of our veteran's in here, I have been around the block a time or two..Now, at 44, if I am able to discern between what is realistic and what is not in the fishing industry, and am willing to admit that I have much to still learn, don't you think that you young men can realize that to be successful in this economy you need to have the experience...Something many of us on here at our ages do not even have yet.. Life lessons are the things that need to come first..If you have a true passion for the sport, then hang tough, and let life teach you the rest..And maybe, just maybe, if you hold the long term desire to stay with it, then in time, and if your truly a good performer in the sport, you can be successful. A man told me the following one day, while me and him were having an awful day of fishing in a pro-am tournament on Ky. Lake years ago...It was windy and we were having an awful day.. He paused and said: A pessimist curses the wind... A optimist waits for the wind to change... But a realist adjust his sails... That stuck with me through my whole life..I'm a realist, what, my friends are you?

I started to tell this long drawn out story that happened one time over losing a fish but decided against it...Anyway, If I miss a fish or he breaks off or there is a tackle issue that causes me to lose one then I'm peed at myself for not tying a knot right or not checking line,lure or equipment..Now if I get a good hook set and everything works perfectly and he jumps 5 feet from the boat and slings the lure...I'm not mad..fish wins fair and square..We both tried our hardest and only one can win...

Gosh what a tough one..I did most of my serious tournament fishing back in the early 80's - 90's so keep that in mind..I'll list a few and why. Gary Klein- I fished a pro-am once with him when he was up and coming on Ky lake. The man taught me how to set the hook properly..I have never seen a man set a hook on a bass like he could/can. Hank Parker- Would just be an all around fun day now..Back in his tournament hay day he was all business though.. Tomm Mann- Would have loved to spent a day on any lake with him. Woo Daves- To learn more about smallmouths. Guido Hibdon- Love watching him use spinning gear to perfection. Rick Clunn,Larry Nixon,KVD,Ike, for obvious reasons. I know I'm leaving out some very good names here..Oh it was just supposed to be one..oops!!

Well let's see..I'm 43 now so probably 35+ years..In my 20's I fished Red Man (now FLW), because it's local right up the road in Benton,Ky. I fished most of the local tournaments and did ok I guess..Life sort of got in the way and have really only started back bass fishing last few years..At 43 I'm at a weird spot in my life where I would like to go "all in" in the next few years and see what I can do...I know Ky Lake really well and can usually find some fish..Going out in about an hour today..I'm going to give myself 2 years to see if I can still find quality fish on a regular basis on Ky Lake, with differnet conditions and different times of the year..If I can keep consistently catching 5 fish that weigh 20 pounds (4 lb average) then I will probably consider gearing up again with another big boat and maybe some of the more high tech gear available..Don't need to sink a fortune to catch fish though..I still have a old super sixty that I use to locate a drop, and an old humminbird on the TM just top keep me in the right water..I wonder how many kids even know what a super sixty is..lol..I have been fishing the same drops that I fished in the 80's and still catching good fish after all these years..Kinda nice to do that..I'm pretty versatile though..The other day me a one of my boys were catching some 3-4 lb largemouth on a drop and started catching some good stripes..Well couldn't let them suckers just swim around down there...so we ended up catching a nice limit of solid 1.5-2 lb stripers..Darn those things fight like a shark...So anyway that's in in a nutshell...Whether or not I decide to fish tournaments or not is not a big deal and I'll be happy just catching fish either way..And I'd rather give myself a few years and just quietly poke around to see what I'm capable of doing instead of doing like a lot of kids do know days and put the cart before the horse...Well gotta go..Time to hit the deep water..

Sorry guys...Not making this one up..There were several people witnessed this. I don't remember ever hearing about it in the paper or that he was arrested..But I will tell you that this guy was certifiable...He didn't take alot, well any crap from anyone....Not condoning this behavior by any means...I guess I would have just turnedthem in to the water patrol instead...

I knew a guy back along time ago..back in around 1985 or so that some hot doggers were out circling him in jet skies and speed boats while he was on a ledge..Catching some good bass by the way too...What finally made him snap was when they went by so close and threw 2 beer bottles and hit his Ranger boat...one hit his 200 merc...He very calmly got his colt 45, chambered a round and drove his boat right up to them and popped 2 rounds right through the bottom of there boat and said politely"Now you boys have a good day" And proceeded back to his spot and started fishing..They never reported him to the cops..I'm not saying what he did was completely right but.......Makes you feel at least a little warm and fuzzy inside doesn't it...Oh come on..You know you love that he did that for all of us...BTW.. word got out about that and he was NEVER bothered again, acording to what he told me..

I forgot to post that I think this is a decent deal on the rig...The motor would bring that around here with power trim. I'd wanna hear it run with muffs at least..Go ahead and plan on spending another 1,000 to get the things you'll find later fixed...that way your not slammed unexpectedly..Just my opinion..You could always trade down in motor size...Mines just got a 50 merc and I'm happy..

I bought a 83 tracker 18" myself this year to hunt this winter out of..It has a 50 merc same year..Guy wanted 1,200, I gave him 1,000 for it..Pretty rough but motor ran good on muffs in Feb when I bought it and it was cold that day.. So 1,000 for the rig 700.00 for Doug Meyer to redo all the leaky rivets with ss bolts, and recarpet and new lids for everything,new floor and front deck. Back deck is aluminum. Trolling motor- 75 bucks on Craiglist. Tracker model Motor Guide foot control. Had the motor gone through from top to bottom 300 bucks.New water pump,plugs,seals, the works.Runs like a new one. 2 new interstate batteries 100 bucks(traded in old ones) New (on ebay) super sixty in the box..Can't beat em..Mounted on the console. 40.00 New HB LCR 4id mounted on front deck 60 bucks 4 new seats from wal-mart 300.00 total. new bow and stern light sockets 30 bucks Rewired the whole boat myself and installed fuse block with master switch, all new rocker switches. around 50 bucks for everything..had the wire and some other parts for this. New livewell aerator pump 30 bucks rod saver straps for rods,trolling motor,batteries and bow and stern lights.(BPS on sale for 6 bucks a set) 18 bucks total Refinished and painted the console(All metal) and what little metal on the inside, and entire outside of boat. less than 100 bucks Mounted all new transducers on stern and on Trolling motor(Came with units) Cleaned out 6 gallon fuel tank and new hose,bulb,and fuel line ends.(free..extras came with boat) Recarpeted bunks on trailer.. extra carpet leftover. Still need to paint trailer and repack bearings and/or replace but seem good now.. Total for entire redo ...around 2,800 give or take... If you get it right and do alot yourself you can have a great boat for cheap..I can sell this boat all day long in the spring here around KY lake for 3,500 or more..Especially when the trailer is painted..By the time I redo the trailer and add LED lights I'm probably looking at 3,000 total..And you get a little satisfaction out of watching it come together.. Will be a great fishing boat for a couple years till I get a new Bass Boat and will be a great duck hunting boat as well.. I painted it sand color and the carpet is sand as well.. Hope this helps to make people realize what can be done if you shop around..I'm happy with the litle ole boat..