How To Go From Average To Pro

[WRB]

I know Aaron Martens doesn't get much support on this site, he makes a good example. Aaron's family didn't have money, average wage earners. You can plug in most of the bass "pros" names into this category.

What Aaron has and most of the other "pros" is talent to catch bass under all kinds of conditions and the drive to get out there and compete.

Time on the water doesn't do much good unless it's quality time where you learn something to improve your bass catching skill.

Competition tends to bring out your bass catching skills, you start winning and earning checks and get noticed.

The bottom line is you earn it.

Tom

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[tomustang]

I'd say it's more about skill. Enter tournaments and see if you win them, if your A game is really better then the others. Do you have what it takes to advance. People can spend all the time on the water, read all the books, follow what others do but if you can't mentally get it together for all the obstacles that get in the way than trying to be pro isn't an option. Sure all the knowledge and time out on the water helps, what really matters is how you interpret all the data and make the right choices.

[Naplock]

1. Keep a journal. EVERY time you return from the water, write down what you tried, things you learned about THAT body of water, etc. what worked? What did your electronics tell you (or try to that you couldn't decipher?

2. Review your notes.

3. On non-tourney trips, work on things that you don't do well. Hone the techniques you do well to stay sharp of course, but spend most non-money time getting better at the things you stink at. It will help you get to the point others have mentioned ... being able to catch fish anywhere and under any conditions.

Full disclosure, I'm not a professional angler. Never have been. In fact I mostly suck at it. Nonetheless, I was very good at some things that very few can do. I used the methods above to get and stay that way (at least during the 27 years I spent in the military).

[Catt]

There anglers who excel in local club tournaments but struggle in tournaments like Bass Champs or Bass-N-Bucks.

There are anglers who excel in Bass Champs or Bass-N-Bucks but struggle in Elite or FLW tournanements.

Some of us are born with!

Some of `em don't ever, ever get it!

It aint about rod/reels, lures/lines, or even money!

You either have it or you don't, B.A.S.S. & FLW events are full of anglers who will never be anything but an also ran!

[swagkid300]

i have classes for how to bass fish like a pro elite for only $79 / hour

come visit me in Toronto

[Preytorien]

I'm no average fisherman, I'd say I'm a bit below average because I've not been doing this very long, I'm still a rookie

 

However I am a pretty avid and what I could consider "above average" cyclist. I've done some races, especially in my late teens and early 20's, I never did much good, and now I'm in my early 30's and only ride for personal enjoyment. I've been able to ride with olympic caliber riders and nationally sponsored riders, and let me tell you it was eye opening. While the physical differences were as expected (they blow everyone's doors off), the most impressive thing was their mentality. Even when conditions seemed awful for riding a bike, they never once complained, instead they got down to the business of riding. Their work ethic was one of total concentration and focus on the job at hand. That caused their preparation and training to be impeccable - they never had dirty bikes, they never wore dirty clothes, their bikes were silent and in perfect mechanical order, their form on the bike was flawless, and since their mechanics weren't around, I knew it was of their own preparation. Every single tweak-able aspect of their involvement in cycling was improved upon and improved upon until seemingly there was nothing more they could do to improve it, however, they weren't even "big time" riders, they were somewhat nationally successful, but never rode the Tour de France or any major European races (the standard by which all is measured), imagine what the true pros are like. I can't even imagine their drive and focus.

 

I think that aspect is one applied to about any sport. Just the consistent self-improvement of EVERY aspect of your involvement in the sport - from equipment, to boating skills, to mentality, lure techniques, your sacrifice (time and money), your self-exposure (get out there and compete), all of it adds up. It's what I like to call marginal gains. Slight improvements here and there in every single part of your hobby will soon add up to much bigger gains. Sure your a bit better this year at weightless plastics, but you're also a bit better at topwater, and you got a better rod, and learned some new boating techniques that will get you in better casting position, oh yea you also got some new electronics for the boat.......you see, everything will start to add up and soon your slight gains will start to become big advantages once they're all added up.

 

I once heard a guy who was on the olympic cycling coaching staff in the 90's say this, "The performance gap between you and the guys at the Tour De France is closer than the performance gap between a non-rider and you", which is a neat concept to think about. Is it possible that Bass Resource harbors the next FLW champ they just don't know it yet? There are probably more than a few guys here that are closer than you'd think, it's just ticking over that final hurdle and it'll be done......I think it'd be cool to see a Bass Resource logo on a pro's jersey and they be able to tell folks that he/she started here. This place is great!

[Nice_Bass]

It's not about the amount of time but the amount of detail. When you look at them or any of the elites who are consistent, they have, and this sounds corny, "star quality" Not everybody has that, and I guess that wasn't the original question asked. How many pro fisherman are unknowns? Plenty. Same with pro ball players. I guess when I think of a pro, I think Ike or KVD or Clunn or Parker. Chris Lane gave a seminar at my clubs tournament of champions a couple weeks after he won the classic. I just didn't feel the passion from him as I did with the others. Like he's forgettable. I'm not knocking his talent, He's just not in the same ballpark as the other guys. So, I guess when I think of "pro" I'm really thinking of the guys consistently at the top.

I guess I think the opposite. When I think of Ike I think of emotional teenager, kvd a salesman, etc. I don't necessarily think of them as pros because of type A personalities or attention seeking behavior. When I think of pro I actually think about the people who "act like they have been there before" Aaron Martens, Brent Ehler, etc. Who can also catch some fish when it matters. One thing they all do have is an intense drive no matter what I think of them!

[slonezp]

On 1/16/2014 at 5:47 AM, Nice_Bass said:

I guess I think the opposite. When I think of Ike I think of emotional teenager, kvd a salesman, etc. I don't necessarily think of them as pros because of type A personalities or attention seeking behavior. When I think of pro I actually think about the people who "act like they have been there before" Aaron Martens, Brent Ehler, etc. Who can also catch some fish when it matters. One thing they all do have is an intense drive no matter what I think of them!

Not disagreeing with you. If you get a chance check out a seminar. When I say seminar, I don't mean the sales presentation. A paid seminar. There are many pros out there, not many naturals. There's only so many Michael Jordans or Tiger woods of the bass fishing world. 

[K_Mac]

PSN81 you make some good points. The differences between good or great at the local level and making it as a top professional are hard to quantify. Even if they could all be listed, defining them clearly is harder yet. The one key that all have IMO is a commitment and focus most of us are not able to achieve. 

[basscatcher8]

I guess I think the opposite. When I think of Ike I think of emotional teenager, kvd a salesman, etc. I don't necessarily think of them as pros because of type A personalities or attention seeking behavior. When I think of pro I actually think about the people who "act like they have been there before" Aaron Martens, Brent Ehler, etc. Who can also catch some fish when it matters. One thing they all do have is an intense drive no matter what I think of them!

 

Trust me Ehler has his moments too FLW just doesnt let them get to TV. My best friend was his Co-Angler last year on a day he blanked or didnt limit and he was throwing a fit like a little kid.

[Nice_Bass]

Trust me Ehler has his moments too FLW just doesnt let them get to TV. My best friend was his Co-Angler last year on a day he blanked or didnt limit and he was throwing a fit like a little kid.

true....

I guess we have all been there and done that.  I know I have.

[Glenn]

It's important to stop here and define what the OP is asking.  Is it "how do I become a professional angler", or is it "how do I improve my fishing skills"?

 

Two distinctly different topics.

[Felix77]

Buy a tournament jersey with brands all over it 

 

Kidding!

[jhoffman]

The biggest aspect is the money. Second biggest aspect is Want and Third is Time.

 

I made it to the top as far as I was concerned with a fly rod. I still get questions from guys I taught to fish, one just asked me about a fly pattern today after I told him his last wouldnt work on a certain creek. Its those minor details that can make or break a day.

 

Without the money to have the right gear, you dont stand a chance. Sure we all know a guy who has a row boat who can catch fish but hes not the norm. If you wanna run with the big dogs you better have the gear to do it. If I can cover half the lake in a day and you can cover it three times over you will spend more time fishing then me and have a wider range of structure/conditions to work with. Theres also something to be said for always thinking the grass is greener though. Most of us fish way too fast, by that I mean rather than knowing that stump has six or eight bass on it, we catch one and think we need to go to the next stump or we think that one little stick is no way holding a fish.

 

Time without a doubt is what it takes to be consistent. On the stream I grew up on, which is a C&R trout stream that sees pressure from excellent anglers 365 days a year, if I couldnt put 60 fish in the net fishing all day I had a bad day. Some guys were happy to catch one an hour. I remember friends commenting how I just slayed them one night three of us were fishing a pool and I really didnt think much of it. I actually thought that we didnt do that well. We probably caught 20 in that hole, but I knew that hole itself had 60 so we shouldve caught way more in my mind. That came from spending so much time on the water. It wasnt a matter of if I was going to catch fish, I was going to catch them and in places guys never even thought to look. I knew that creek bottom to the point I could navigate and fish it in pitch black darkness with no light. I had to force myself to stop one summer because I had tennis elbow. When I lost the time to fish that often the catch rates declined drastically. I can still go to my best holes on that creek and catch fish, but the sixth sense I almost had of knowing to set the hook when there was no indication to set the hook is gone. I can still nymph without indicators but no way would I expect a 60 fish day anytime in the near future.

[WRB]

Good point Glenn.

I believe the OP just wants to know what it takes to improve his bass fishing skills or take it to the next level.

My first interpretation was how to improve my bass fishing skills to become a pro, very different questions.

Tom

[flyfisher]

The biggest aspect is the money. Second biggest aspect is Want and Third is Time.

 

I made it to the top as far as I was concerned with a fly rod. I still get questions from guys I taught to fish, one just asked me about a fly pattern today after I told him his last wouldnt work on a certain creek. Its those minor details that can make or break a day.

 

Without the money to have the right gear, you dont stand a chance. Sure we all know a guy who has a row boat who can catch fish but hes not the norm. If you wanna run with the big dogs you better have the gear to do it. If I can cover half the lake in a day and you can cover it three times over you will spend more time fishing then me and have a wider range of structure/conditions to work with. Theres also something to be said for always thinking the grass is greener though. Most of us fish way too fast, by that I mean rather than knowing that stump has six or eight bass on it, we catch one and think we need to go to the next stump or we think that one little stick is no way holding a fish.

 

Time without a doubt is what it takes to be consistent. On the stream I grew up on, which is a C&R trout stream that sees pressure from excellent anglers 365 days a year, if I couldnt put 60 fish in the net fishing all day I had a bad day. Some guys were happy to catch one an hour. I remember friends commenting how I just slayed them one night three of us were fishing a pool and I really didnt think much of it. I actually thought that we didnt do that well. We probably caught 20 in that hole, but I knew that hole itself had 60 so we shouldve caught way more in my mind. That came from spending so much time on the water. It wasnt a matter of if I was going to catch fish, I was going to catch them and in places guys never even thought to look. I knew that creek bottom to the point I could navigate and fish it in pitch black darkness with no light. I had to force myself to stop one summer because I had tennis elbow. When I lost the time to fish that often the catch rates declined drastically. I can still go to my best holes on that creek and catch fish, but the sixth sense I almost had of knowing to set the hook when there was no indication to set the hook is gone. I can still nymph without indicators but no way would I expect a 60 fish day anytime in the near future.

Just curious but what is the top in fly fishing?

[jhoffman]

Free fishing trips/Free rods/Giving seminars to other anglers/Guiding

 

Theres no big money really in fly fishing on the actual fishing side. No competitive organization for big money.

 

That was the top for me, which is why I said in my opinion. When you start having rods recommended based on who you are as a fisherman then you did something amazing.

 

I knew I would never be the next Joe Humphreys.... although we share the same water

[Catt]

So let me get this right!

Take away KVD's money, highend equiptment & he's just another angler like us!

Yea I don't so!!!

[BassLass]

The best way to go Pro: spend countless hours/days on the water for a few years, at least. Then: get a job in the fishing industry(tackle store). Work in the industry for a few years at least to get your name in the public eye and to make contacts of potential sponsors. Then start fishing local tournaments, club events then open team events. Next: start fishing a tournament trail that goes to water and states that you are unfamiliar with. Do this for at least a few years. While you are gaining experience, develope a fishing resume and persue sponsors. When you have sponsorship, the ability to travel, good financials and the experience and confidence needed, go for it. This is how it is done, no magic just time, money and hard work. Good luck. Mary Hencken

[A-Jay]

Several interesting and thought provoking responses in this thread.

 

 This would be an excellent question for Glenn to ask a few of the top pros during his interviews at the Classic this year.

 

A-Jay

[slonezp]

Several interesting and thought provoking responses in this thread.

 

 This would be an excellent question for Glenn to ask a few of the top pros during his interviews at the Classic this year.

 

A-Jay

There's a video series on youtube asking pros what it takes financially to make it. Most Americans couldn't afford it and 90% of the top pros wouldn't be there if it wasn't for their sponsors.

[WRB]

If being a pro bass angler is taking it to the next level, then several BR members are at the next level.

If you intend to become top level pro bass angler then you need more than bass fishing skills.

Tom