Pros purposefully misleading about their sponsors baits?

[ratherbfishin1]

Dang, that googan reel sounds terrible!! 

[Glaucus]

2 minutes ago, ratherbfishin1 said:

Dang, that googan reel sounds terrible!! 

 

You just know he and the squad want to take the video down. Marketing fail. But the damage is done and it would be a bad look. 

[jbsoonerfan]

Do people really buy fishing products based off who endorses them? A few, maybe. A lot, doubtful. The reason I say this, Quantum has to be the least used reel that I know of yet the best Angler in the world for many years was their main man.

[Dwbassin]

2 hours ago, Glaucus said:

Right?! I learned from reading and somehow I ended up on YouTube to see how things were done. I didn't catch on that it was a big thing until far too late. Now there are many far better channels with far better fisherman with far better personalities and they don't have a fraction of the following because it's essentially owned by these stars. It's almost impossible for a new channel to take off. Ndyakangler has some of the best content in my opinion. He's been at it for like 5 years but sits at 20k subscribers while Jon B and Lunkers sit at 1 million. 

To their credit they try to help other channels take off but it just doesn't work. 

Ndyakangler and Alex Rudd should have so much more but they cut a lot of crap out to target certain people I think the younger guys do. I’m glad though cause they are sooooo much more enjoyable to watch. Jon b and lunkers to me make good content but I obviously prefer the channels that are more fishing oriented (Jon b mostly is) IMO, some of the guys that exploded lost their way with explaining tactics and what they used and just seem to clickbait 

[ike8120]

It doesn't bother me at all. It whats catching fish that day or that moment. All about marketing and keeping the bait monkey fed

[soflabasser]

1 hour ago, MIbassyaker said:

Is it wrong of me to sort of smugly enjoy the spectacle of humble, earnest fishermen discovering, to their distaste and dismay, that the fishing industry is.........an industry?

 

I mean ethics are great and all, but there's product to move.

Is it wrong for me to sort of smugly enjoy knowing the fact that there are northerners in muskie waters that have never caught a muskie yet I caught a muskie in my first day of fishing for them while on a weekend vacation? If a person falls into this ''northerner who never caught a muskie in his life group'' then it might make them a little salty knowing that? That salty feeling is very similar to the feeling many gullible newbies in bass fishing have when they buy overhyped gear and realize they did not get what they expected. That is one of the many reasons why I focus more of my time learning on the water to improve my bass fishing game and not so much time on other sources of unreliable information about bass fishing

[MN Fisher]

Just now, soflabasser said:

Is it wrong for me to sort of smugly enjoy knowing the fact that there are northerners in muskie waters that have never caught a muskie yet I caught a muskie in my first day of fishing for them while on weekend vacation? If a person falls into this ''northerner who never caught a muskie in his life group'' then it might make them a little salty knowing that? That salty feeling is very similar to the feeling many gullible newbies in bass fishing have when they buy overhyped gear and realize they did not get what they expected. That is one of the many reasons why I focus more of my time learning on the water to improve my own game and not so much time to other sources of unreliable information about bass fishing. 

Lived in MN since 1974 - with a 4 year break due to the Air Force. Never caught a Muskie in my life...and I don't care. I've never targeted them, so why would I worry if I haven't caught one?

 

Far as the over-hyped gear. I buy what

A. I can afford

and

B. What I think will work.

 

So far that viewpoint hasn't let me down.

[soflabasser]

57 minutes ago, ratherbfishin1 said:

Dang, that googan reel sounds terrible!! 

Saw the video and I agree with you. Youtubers will keep advertising these reels as long as they get paid you can bet on that!

4 hours ago, NYWayfarer said:

Even got his dear old Dad, Roland using them.

 

Roland drops YouTube videos every Wednesday and Sunday.

Remember the helicopter lure? My grandfather bought me a couple of them when I was a kid. Those lures where terrible but they where advertised well. There will always be overhyped lures as long as companies pay professional fishermen to do so. That is why it is best to put lots of time on the water and learn from real life experience and not pay much attention to what some paid fisherman says about a fishing product.

[MIbassyaker]

12 minutes ago, soflabasser said:

Is it wrong for me to sort of smugly enjoy knowing the fact that there are northerners in muskie waters that have never caught a muskie yet I caught a muskie in my first day of fishing for them while on a weekend vacation? If a person falls into this ''northerner who never caught a muskie in his life group'' then it might make them a little salty knowing that? That salty feeling is very similar to the feeling many gullible newbies in bass fishing have when they buy overhyped gear and realize they did not get what they expected. That is one of the many reasons why I focus more of my time learning on the water to improve my bass fishing game and not so much time on other sources of unreliable information about bass fishing

 

Not at all wrong! But I already told you: I don't fish for musky, I don't fish much in waters where they are present, and I have only lived here 10 years. 

 

I'm now imagining you hauling in your first musky, "Well, that was easy! What's all this 'fish of a 1000 casts' nonsense??"

 

[Glaucus]

I've lived in the North all my life and I've caught exactly 1 muskie. It was last year during a tournament using a KVD 1.5. Total accident. I thought it was a huge bass that would have won it for me. I was so mad when I started to realize the fight just didn't feel right, and then I saw it. I released it quickly without a picture because I was mad at it lol. Minutes later I regretted that so much. Should have captured that moment. But... I don't fish for muskie and I currently don't care if I ever catch one again. But if I do I will snap a picture. 

10 minutes ago, MIbassyaker said:

 

I'm now imagining you hauling in your first musky, "Well, that was easy! What's all this 'fish of a 1000 casts' nonsense??"

 

Hahahahaha where I caught my muskie was at a muskie lake I'd never been to before. Leading up to the tournament my buddy was telling me all about it and that he'd been fishing there for years and had never caught one and that I won't either since we don't target them.

 

Your hypothetical response is basically what I was telling him when we met up later. 

 

But of course I know it was all dumb luck. 

[soflabasser]

On 3/7/2019 at 11:07 AM, Tennessee Boy said:

I can't say it bugs me that much.  It is a fact of life.  Pros are loyal to their sponsors and they should be.  I guess it also makes them liars in some cases which is not admirable.  I question everyone's motives when they give me advice.   I think most of what we hear from pros and the fishing press in general is 90% BS. 

I wonder how much money it would take to buy off a Youtuber and make him post videos of him fishing with googan combos with helicopter lures and banjo minnows on top of a fishing jetski?

On 3/7/2019 at 11:14 AM, the reel ess said:

Notice how often the shows that feature touring pros are really 30 minute infomercials for the latest innovative new bait? The same bait that will be on clearance at Dick's at the end of the season.

I have noticed that as well.

[Logan S]

The 'un-named' and 'unspecified' baits are sort of the new way pros are dealing with this and I think it's a nice change....Some pros handle it better than others.  When Martens won on the Chesapeake he admitted on camera he wasn't using a Picasso bladed-jig even though he's sponsored by them, he said the ZMan was better for what he was doing.  Lots of other examples out there of anglers being honest too.  

 

This was one of my favorite posts related to the topic after Lee won the classic...Everyone knew what the jerkbait was but Lee never mentioned it specifically .

[Log Catcher]

How about this blast from the past. Bill Dance had the wonderful Dancin Eel out there. It didn't catch fish. It also didn't catch fish over 30 years ago the first time it was put on the market. Guess he thought if he waited long enough nobody would remember it. Sponsor ship is a wonderful thing.

[OCdockskipper]

4 hours ago, MIbassyaker said:

 

That perception has been sold to you as well, right along with all the material stuff.  And it worked -- you bought it.

 

The fishing industry does not differ from any other industry on the planet in this regard.

Again, declaring that all industry or business is inherently unethical is incorrect.  There are ethical companies in all industries and there are unethical companies.  Ethical companies succeed and ethical companies fail.  Unethical companies succeed and unethical companies fail.  In the same way there is no magic lure, there is no magic formula in business that requires you to be either ethical or not ethical in order to succeed.

 

To paint all industry as unethical comes across as a way to try and justify or rationalize ones behavior.  If you are comfortable lying & cheating customers in order to earn your income, that is fine.  Just don't make the excuse that one has to act that way in order to succeed, that is a refusal to take responsibility for your choices on how to conduct yourself.

[Columbia Craw]

11 hours ago, J Francho said:

That's probably the most reasonable explanation.  Didn't think of that!

Some one may have broken into his boat and took all his sponsored baits and he had to scramble to find a replacement until his overnight shipment arrived.  He may have got them from one of the two Dicks. That's plausible.  I guess it's still winter.

[MIbassyaker]

29 minutes ago, OCdockskipper said:

Again, declaring that all industry or business is inherently unethical is incorrect.  There are ethical companies in all industries and there are unethical companies.  Ethical companies succeed and ethical companies fail.  Unethical companies succeed and unethical companies fail.  In the same way there is no magic lure, there is no magic formula in business that requires you to be either ethical or not ethical in order to succeed.

 

To paint all industry as unethical comes across as a way to try and justify or rationalize ones behavior.  If you are comfortable lying & cheating customers in order to earn your income, that is fine.  Just don't make the excuse that one has to act that way in order to succeed, that is a refusal to take responsibility for your choices on how to conduct yourself.

 

It is not that all industry is inherently unethical. It is that ethical and honest business practice is not consistently or universally incentivized, and cannot simply be assumed.  Companies tend to behave as ethically as they want to be, or calculate they need to be in order to maintain profitability and public reputation, and to avoid legal trouble (or at least trouble they can't afford).  How much that actually is varies greatly, but no industry is immune from perverse incentives toward dishonest behavior in business, even those that pitch themselves to customers as being principled or wholesome or having values.

 

We don't actually appear to disagree on the substance here. As you say "there is no magic formula in business that requires you to be either ethical or not ethical in order to succeed." Indeed, that's the point. 

[TOXIC]

Remember, the pro's are fishing for a paycheck.  They are going to use whatever bait gives them the best chance to win.  Sponsor or not.  It's that simple.  

[Allaroundfishing]

20 hours ago, Glaucus said:

Googan plastics, while not durable, are pretty good. 

Yep i agree the bandito bug is my favorite but it has such a high salt content it isnt durable enough to go through more than a few bites.

[livin2fish]

Doesn't bother me in the least to hear a pro fisherman tout a bait of his sponsor as his goto bait.  I figure these guys are good enough that in certain circumstances it can easily be a goto.  In all circumstances, not a chance.  If we believe goto means every circumstance, then we must be a little naive. Like Toxic says, they have to make a check.  The sponsors help make it possible for them to fish.

[LonnieP]

I could care less about what the pros and youtubers use. I use baits and gear based on what works for me through experience and what I have confidence in.

[Allaroundfishing]

17 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

My question is - two rods of the same model but one has a Pro's name attached for an extra charge...is there a functional difference between them or are you just paying for a name?

So yea basically you're paying for the name and scheme but they have different lengths and powers that said Youtuber specifically "designed", I don't know how true that is but thats business I suppose. I own the "Defender series" and a Rigged rod, as well as a balance series and a white bird. All of them perform superb.

[Choporoz]

 

[JT Bagwell]

On ‎3‎/‎7‎/‎2019 at 12:17 PM, 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.  

Are you sponsored by Yamamoto?

 

I have personally been sponsored by them for almost 20 years but I still have some sporadic other soft plastics in my boat. Just stuff that GYCB doesn't make like 16" worms and stuff like that.

[JT Bagwell]

On ‎3‎/‎7‎/‎2019 at 5:32 PM, jbsoonerfan said:

Do people really buy fishing products based off who endorses them? A few, maybe. A lot, doubtful. The reason I say this, Quantum has to be the least used reel that I know of yet the best Angler in the world for many years was their main man.

I can tell you that when I was a teenager, who used a bait was really important to me. I bought so many baits because Rick Clunn and Hank Parker used them, so they had to be awesome. Once I was older and understood the marketing game, all of that went out the window.

What I will say now that I have been doing things in the Bass Fishing industry, in one way or another for 20 years, is I look more at the type of bait, the color of bait and the technique being used and go from there. I don't care who is using what. If I hear Ike say I am using XYZ jerkbait in this weight, in this color, in this water temp and here is why. Then I will go to my tackle and see if I have something similar to replicate that or get some from my sponsor that fit the same specifications. I am not going to just go buy the exact model that he mentioned.

[Trappernewt]

On 3/7/2019 at 5:49 PM, 12poundbass said:

You mean there is no magic lure that will catch fish all day every day? ?

Yes of course!!!  The Banjo Minnow!!