Pros purposefully misleading about their sponsors baits?

[kenmitch]

30 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

They all work for the Bait Monkey.

 

He's a master at marketing and looks to be rolling in the dough....Can you blame him for man's weaknesses.

[SissySticks]

2 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

Was this an article or video? If it was an article then this hiccup could be the result of the writer/photographer using the wrong photo and not necessarily David ‘misleading’ you or using a different bait. 

 

 

You're right, could be the writer, but having done some of that kind of writing myself, usually the pro asks you to make sure to mention "x" sponsor in the article/caption/etc. Not always, and again, not in any way an indictment of Walker specifically, his photo is just where I happened to notice it this time around. As was said earlier, could very well be he ran out, too. 

[12poundbass]

Just now, J Francho said:

https://majorleaguefishing.com/bass-pro-tour/top-10-baits-how-the-10-best-tackled-lake-conroe/

Ok so possibly a photographer posting the wrong picture is plausible. Not that it really matters. 

 

He was using a hook with a hard metal head that was painted with pretty colors, that had rubbery dangly things that looked like spaghetti, and the hook thingy had a bug looking thing that had pinchers on it to catch his fish. ?

[J Francho]

There are SEVERAL errors in the captions.  One picture doesn't even show the right type of bait mentioned.

[12poundbass]

2 minutes ago, kenmitch said:

 

He's a master at marketing and looks to be rolling in the dough....Can you blame him for man's weaknesses.

Probably the best post of the day right here! LMAO

[SissySticks]

1 minute ago, J Francho said:

There are SEVERAL errors in the captions.  One picture doesn't even show the right type of bait mentioned.

True. Which begs the question, are pros misleading the writer or is the writing staff over there at MLF just so careless they've unintentionally made pros look like liars? If so, I would be major league mad at the writing staff if I was Walker or any of the others.

[thedilettantedad]

One of the few truths I learned in my short life was to be an educated consumer. It is their job to sell you something, it is your job to decide to buy it or not.

[EWREX]

it really all comes down to money with sponsors. do you honestly think scott martin want's to use favorite fishing rods and googan baits? both of those companies are cutting him a ridiculously large check to use and promote both products.

[Gundog]

Ever see that commercial with Randy Howell for Livingston Lures where Randy says "He choked it!"?  In an interview he admitted that he caught his first bass off that spot with a different company's lure. Then changed to a Livingston. My opinion, how he caught it and what made him fish that spot is more important to me than the brand he used. Man's gotta make a living. 

[12poundbass]

13 minutes ago, SissySticks said:

True. Which begs the question, are pros misleading the writer or is the writing staff over there at MLF just so careless they've unintentionally made pros look like liars? If so, I would be major league mad at the writing staff if I was Walker or any of the others.

I think you’re looking a little too far into this. I’m chalking it up to an honest mistake. Nothing more, nothing less. 

[Dwbassin]

It kinda is ethically wrong to lie about it as an angler to the fans, but they gotta make their money. That’s on whoever publishes this said photo. If it was him who published and directly stated on an interview holding a zoom or whatever in a video, yea he’s in the wrong. I trust certain things like when lee won the classic the second time gman got up on stage stating he buys jackhammers out of pocket like everyone else. Just what they use as tactics is what should be noted cause everyone knows business is business 

See Scott Martin switching to favorite rods, never heard him yet talking about reel sponsors but when it comes down to it he has shimano reels now. Unless I’m missing a video or statement from him that shows they are just like us and have choices but when you sign those contracts that goes out the window

[Missouri Rigging]

I understand the frustration. Defiantly watching these guys and trying to get into bass fishing. Idk about the rest of you guys but when I was getting into fishing I would see what the pros used and wanted to buy what they use because if they caught fish ik I could too. With saying that I have became more experienced in fishing and figure out that yes the brand matters sometimes but I can still go out to the lake a catch just as many bass with a salty craw (which you never hear about anymore) as someone using a rage tail.

30 minutes ago, OCdockskipper said:

It's fine that it doesn't bother you, but don't try to rationalize it as being "business".  Business does not have to be lying to potential customers, one can be truthful & have ethics. 

 

You can run your business however you choose, but how truthful you are with your potential customers is a reflection of your ethics, not of how business's have to operate.

 

[Glaucus]

27 minutes ago, EWREX said:

it really all comes down to money with sponsors. do you honestly think scott martin want's to use favorite fishing rods and googan baits? both of those companies are cutting him a ridiculously large check to use and promote both products.

Googan plastics, while not durable, are pretty good. 

[J Francho]

Why on earth would you show a spinnerbait, and say it's a chatterbait?

It's poor or sloppy reporting.

[RichF]

1 hour ago, SissySticks said:

LOL. Aren't we all?

Not me.  I almost never have one tied on.  I've never even bought a bag of Yamas! 

[12poundbass]

10 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Why on earth would you show a spinnerbait, and say it's a chatterbait?

It's poor or sloppy reporting.

Isn’t that par for the course in that field? ?

[Glaucus]

9 minutes ago, RichF said:

Not me.  I almost never have one tied on.  I've never even bought a bag of Yamas! 

[MIbassyaker]

8 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Why on earth would you show a spinnerbait, and say it's a chatterbait?

It's poor or sloppy reporting.

 

Now that I see the picture series, it seems pretty clear that whatever detailed information the pros gave about the lures they were using, those statements were not given with the intent of captioning these particular pictures.

[Spankey]

55 minutes ago, EWREX said:

it really all comes down to money with sponsors. do you honestly think scott martin want's to use favorite fishing rods and googan baits? both of those companies are cutting him a ridiculously large check to use and promote both products.

I agree with that. Something doesn’t smell quite right there. 

 

But than again there are more holes in that business than this guys story. I’m a bit old school when it comes to Brands I use. 

[Glaucus]

3 minutes ago, Spankey said:

I agree with that. Something doesn’t smell quite right there. 

 

But than again there are more holes in that business than this guys story. I’m a bit old school when it comes to Brands I use. 

You should have seen the video Lake Fork Guy dropped the other day. He went to Florida for a wedding and only brought a spinning reel with him. He went to the store and got a cheap rod to pair it up with to fish on his last day with 3 hours to go before his flight home. The reel juuuuuust happened to be the Googan reel off their $60 combo. He was putting it on display HARD lol. He made sure every shot showed the Googan branding on it. 

 

The thing sounded like an ancient coffee grinder. It was so bad and so obvious that he got blasted in the comments. I've never heard a new reel sound so bad.

 

But the plastics are good. 

[TOXIC]

Easy way around it.........carry only your sponsor's baits.......period.  You will not find another plastic in my boat besides Yamamoto.  There's no way I could ever take a picture of anything else, unless someone else brought it aboard.  There is no way I could run out and have to use a competitors bait.  

[GReb]

5 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

Easy way around it.........carry only your sponsor's baits.......period.  You will not find another plastic in my boat besides Yamamoto.  There's no way I could ever take a picture of anything else, unless someone else brought it aboard.  There is no way I could run out and have to use a competitors bait.  

Side note. Jacob wheeler hinted that they can no longer borrow baits from competitors once competition starts so he has to be sure and bring plenty of everything under the new format. 

[fishballer06]

Pro's have been doing it for years. It's no secret. The most important part to try to take away from it is what style of bait were they using, what kind of water were they using it in, and why was that area the right area for that presentation. 

 

Randy Howell won the classic throwing a demon DT6 almost the entire tournament. On the final day he switched to a Livingston crankbait and he weighed in one fish off that bait. Yet that Livingston bait got all the credit for winning the tournament. Here's a little excerpt from his Bassmaster article whenever he won. 

 

Quote

His Classic lure arsenal included a Livingston Lures model being developed within the Pro Series. Not yet available to the public, it’s a medium diver in a crawfish color. He also used a Rapala DT6 crankbait in the “demon” crawfish color and a Yamamoto bladed jig.

 

 

Jacob Wheeler for years was sponsored by Okuma. However, if you watch any of his YouTube videos through all those years, he's clearly using Shimano Stradic ci4+ spinning reels anytime he has a fairy wand in his hand. 

 

Scott Martin put out a video the other week showing one of the largest bass he's ever caught. After the catch, he broke down all of his equipment calling out the hook, bait, line, and rod. I commented on his video "You're not going to give that Shimano Metanium any credit for winching that fish out for you?". Scott replied to my YT comment with a  emoji. Clearly his words in his video were carefully made. 

 

My favorite line is whenever articles will say "KVD was using an un-named jerkbait". Basically meaning, hey this guy wasn't using his sponsors bait, and we know it but we're not going to get the guy in trouble over it. 

[MIbassyaker]

6 minutes ago, fishballer06 said:

Pro's have been doing it for years. It's no secret. The most important part to try to take away from it is what style of bait were they using, what kind of water were they using it in, and why was that area the right area for that presentation. 

 

Randy Howell won the classic throwing a demon DT6 almost the entire tournament. On the final day he switched to a Livingston crankbait and he weighed in one fish off that bait. Yet that Livingston bait got all the credit for winning the tournament. Here's a little excerpt from his Bassmaster article whenever he won. 

 

 

 

Jacob Wheeler for years was sponsored by Okuma. However, if you watch any of his YouTube videos through all those years, he's clearly using Shimano Stradic ci4+ spinning reels anytime he has a fairy wand in his hand. 

 

Scott Martin put out a video the other week showing one of the largest bass he's ever caught. After the catch, he broke down all of his equipment calling out the hook, bait, line, and rod. I commented on his video "You're not going to give that Shimano Metanium any credit for winching that fish out for you?". Scott replied to my YT comment with a  emoji. Clearly his words in his video were carefully made. 

 

My favorite line is whenever articles will say "KVD was using an un-named jerkbait". Basically meaning, hey this guy wasn't using his sponsors bait, and we know it but we're not going to get the guy in trouble over it. 

 

 

The key principle here is, the purpose of a sponsorship is not necessarily for the pro to use the bait, it is for the pro to help sell the bait.

[J Francho]

3 minutes ago, MIbassyaker said:

it is for the pro to help sell the bait.

This is it.  They sponsor you and you help sell the product.  Most think it's just about free tackle.  It isn't.