Pro Gear Vs Our Gear

[garroyo130]

19 minutes ago, CrankFate said:

If I was good enough to do it. I definitely would be doing it right now.

Thats the problem. Most of us want to just get straight to great not realizing that before these pros were great they were poor fishermen, then average, then above average, and finally great. 

 

There's no secret recipe

 

They just put less 'buts" after it when they said "I want to be a professional fisherman".

The rest of us add "buts" such as "but I can't afford it, but it takes too much time, but I'm not good enough".

[soflabasser]

One thing people need to understand is that professional bass fishermen tend to fish with gear from companies that sponsor them. Their job is to convince you that what they fish with is the best gear and convince you to buy gear from their sponsored companies. Once you fully understand this you will be more educated in what fishing gear to buy and not buy so much unneeded fishing gear.

[mheichelbech]

1 hour ago, FishTank said:

Odd... Last year I bought a couple of the Gen 4 Abu reels and I like all of them except the STX, which is what this guy used.  I don't think I got a lemon, it sort of failed for me all around.  It didn't cast well, the brakes worked when they wanted to, the drag was marginal and not smooth, and the reel it's self was kind of geary and rough.  I did try two of these before I totally gave up and bought a Curado DC. 

 

The other Abu reels I have (ALF, Winch, and Revo Toro Beast) are smooth and have been great reels.

 

 

 

 

You never know what they do to their reels inside.  These guys are detail fanatics and I’d guess he has modified them big time.  You never hear about that part of it.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

2 minutes ago, mheichelbech said:

You never know what they do to their reels inside.  These guys are detail fanatics and I’d guess he has modified them big time.  You never hear about that part of it.

If you never hear about it what makes you think it’s happening? They might get a prototype to try before launch but that’s probably as radical as it gets. 

[mheichelbech]

One thing I believe is that these guys really are the best.  I try to fish with guys better than me as much as I can and have learned a lot doing that.  I have fished with the same exact everything, lure, line, reel, rod and gotten spanked simply because they could fish better than me...the way they dropped a jig in the water and detected bites or the way they fished the very same jerkbaits.  I fished with a guy that caught 22lbs in 5 fish over 8 hours.  Those were literally the only 5 bites we got the whole day.  It taught me a lot about fishing and being patient.  I didn’t feel too bad as 10 pounds was 2nd place in that particular tournament.

 

As I have improved, I have tried to impart the knowledge I’ve gained into those less experienced.  Becoming good at fishing isn’t any different than any other sport.  It takes a lot of time on the water and dedication.  Although I still love fishing small ponds and lakes from the bank or a Jon boat, there’s a big difference in stepping up to fishing big lake tournaments.

What really amazes is how the old guys like Denny Brauer, Mark Davis and Rick Clunn keep at it.  Professional level fishing is very hard on the body!

16 minutes ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

If you never hear about it what makes you think it’s happening? They might get a prototype to try before launch but that’s probably as radical as it gets. 

My experience with guys fishing the old Red Man tournaments, some of whom made it to the bass master series level.  All of the guys I knew were constantly trying new types of bearings, handles, rod guides, guide placement, etc.  They might start out with off the shelf but it’s not what they ended up with.  
I have have had custom rods made to enable me to fish better and recently looked at getting a rod made just for skipping.  If I’m doing it and guys at the mid level tournaments are doing it, I’d surely think the top level pros are doing it.

I don’t think custom rod building could be a business if everyone was happy with off the shelf.

[rangerjockey]

I think it's the Indian not the arrow. There are guys making a living fishing with rods I personally wouldn't use for a tomato stake. Jacob Wheeler comes to mind.

 The biggest difference is the talent they have with electronics , finding fish and staying on them.

Hank Cherry found a bunch and they didn't leave that was the difference.

[Shimano_1]

I agree that these guys are for the most part just better fisherman than the average Joe. I also realize they fish what their sponsors make at least when the camera is around.  I do feel that as far as line size and types go they fish what they feel is their best option for given situations.  With 300k or whatever it was on the line im sure he was using what he thought was the best for the situation.  I personally use fluoro for most everything as well but a lot of guys would disagree with it being superior.  It is interesting to see what they use tho...skeet comes to mind. One of my favorite anglers but I wouldn't give a plug nickel for those rods or reels he uses. Seems to work well for him tho..

[CrankFate]

3 hours ago, garroyo130 said:

Thats the problem. Most of us want to just get straight to great not realizing that before these pros were great they were poor fishermen, then average, then above average, and finally great. 

 

There's no secret recipe

 

They just put less 'buts" after it when they said "I want to be a professional fisherman".

The rest of us add "buts" such as "but I can't afford it, but it takes too much time, but I'm not good enough".

This is true. I happened to spend tons more time doing other types of fishing. And I am way better at those types of fishing than I am with bass. 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

2 hours ago, mheichelbech said:

One thing I believe is that these guys really are the best.  I try to fish with guys better than me as much as I can and have learned a lot doing that.  I have fished with the same exact everything, lure, line, reel, rod and gotten spanked simply because they could fish better than me...the way they dropped a jig in the water and detected bites or the way they fished the very same jerkbaits.  I fished with a guy that caught 22lbs in 5 fish over 8 hours.  Those were literally the only 5 bites we got the whole day.  It taught me a lot about fishing and being patient.  I didn’t feel too bad as 10 pounds was 2nd place in that particular tournament.

 

As I have improved, I have tried to impart the knowledge I’ve gained into those less experienced.  Becoming good at fishing isn’t any different than any other sport.  It takes a lot of time on the water and dedication.  Although I still love fishing small ponds and lakes from the bank or a Jon boat, there’s a big difference in stepping up to fishing big lake tournaments.

What really amazes is how the old guys like Denny Brauer, Mark Davis and Rick Clunn keep at it.  Professional level fishing is very hard on the body!

My experience with guys fishing the old Red Man tournaments, some of whom made it to the bass master series level.  All of the guys I knew were constantly trying new types of bearings, handles, rod guides, guide placement, etc.  They might start out with off the shelf but it’s not what they ended up with.  
I have have had custom rods made to enable me to fish better and recently looked at getting a rod made just for skipping.  If I’m doing it and guys at the mid level tournaments are doing it, I’d surely think the top level pros are doing it.

I don’t think custom rod building could be a business if everyone was happy with off the shelf.

Oh ya for sure. I’m a custom rod builder myself. I read that you were talking about reel internals over and above what average anglers have access to. 

[mheichelbech]

32 minutes ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

Oh ya for sure. I’m a custom rod builder myself. I read that you were talking about reel internals over and above what average anglers have access to. 

My thinking was equipment in general.  Even boat engines for that matter.  I knew of guys that used false engine cowlings to coverup for an overpowered boat or 150s bored to be bigger, etc.

 

If i were to do another custom rod it’d be by you/Del Valley for sure!

 

 

[Team9nine]

On 5/15/2020 at 1:03 PM, OnthePotomac said:

Just saw what Hank Cherry used to win the Classic. Aways interesting to see what these guys use.  Boy, he sure likes 20lb flouro.  Notice, no braid.  

Jerkbait: Megabass 110 w/#5 EWG Fusion trebles fished on a 6'10" medium Abu rod, an Abu STX reel, 15lb 100% flouro

Jig: 3/8oz Picasso Dock Rocket fished on a 7'4"ABU MH rod, ABU STX reel, 20lb 100% flouro

Crankbait:  Bloody Thumb no rattles, 7'4" medium ABU rod, ABU STX reel, 12lb %100 flouro

Bladed Jig: 1/2oz Jack Hammer w/3" grubs, 7'4" medium ABU rod, 20lb %100 flouro

It all worked for him to win.

 

Is there even one single pro that uses braid for most every rod/reel combination? A lot do for spinning, along with specialized baitcast applications (frog, punching, etc.), but I'm not certain I've ever read about a high level pro that  was primarily an 'across the board' braid guy.

 

As for equipment, I bet most run stock equipment these days (rods/reels/line). I'm sure there are a few that do some fine-tuning to suit their personalities, but it's probably not near as many as some think. 

[PourMyOwn]

39 minutes ago, mheichelbech said:

My thinking was equipment in general.  Even boat engines for that matter.  I knew of guys that used false engine cowlings to coverup for an overpowered boat or 150s bored to be bigger, etc.

 

If i were to do another custom rod it’d be by you/Del Valley for sure!

 

 

I've never ridden in a boat with a 9.9, but I've ridden in lots of boats with 9.9 stickers on the motor!

[rangerjockey]

8 hours ago, mheichelbech said:

My thinking was equipment in general.  Even boat engines for that matter.  I knew of guys that used false engine cowlings to coverup for an overpowered boat or 150s bored to be bigger, etc.

 

If i were to do another custom rod it’d be by you/Del Valley for sure!

 

 

Back when there was a 150HP limit maybe.  There's no reason for it anymore. I don't think there's half of the black magic going on that you think.

I've involved with 3 different rod companies  and have been able to get a couple rods that were used by pro's that got returned at the end of the year. I see no difference in them vs the off the shelf rods that I had. They were just beat up more.

 I love the equipment side of the sport, but if you think that if you just had that rod or reel or boat you'd be there with em..Aint gonna happen.. Time on the water and talent.

[Sam]

OK, here is the story on what the pros use, by the numbers:

1.  Pros are either given or get discounts on their rods, reels, and tackle. The more successful you are the more you get.

2.  Pros need to send photos of themselves and their best catches to the sponsors. I caught a beautiful lady on Lake Chesdin about 10 years ago in the Swamp and the guy I was with took off his shirt and put on one of his sponsor's shirts and I took a photo of him holding the bass. He sent the photo to his sponsors.

3.  Pros modify their tackle and you do not know it. From baits to reels they modify everything to give them a little advantage.

4.  Pros push their sponsors equipment by mentioning it at weigh-ins. But if you listen very closely they don't say they used their sponsors tackle. The just promote it as best they can. So listen to Ike carefully at weigh-ins to see what he is actually saying. 

5.  Pros get new baits before they are introduced in the marketplace. KVD was using some baits in tournaments that we never heard of before. Same is true with other pros who are given the new baits to try and then report back how they did. Do you remember when Timmy Horton let the "Underspin" out of the bag? Other pros were really PO'ed at him. We now can use the Underspin as the pros do. Had Timmy not mentioned it in an interview we probably would pass it up when shopping for tackle.

6.  See those beautiful boats the pros use? As explained to me by a pro they get to buy the boat, pay monthly installments, and at the end of the season they either sell or trade in the boats for a newer one. Or, they can either pay off the note on the current boat and keep it, but who wants to ride around in an old one-year old boat from last season?

 

So you can see that the bass pros do things to their baits and tackle that we don't do. And they always promote their sponsors products in their articles, on videos, on TV, on the radio, in the newspapers, etc.

 

What would be funny would be to come up with crazy sponsors for the pros' fishing shirts. Like in the original Bad New Bears movie when the sponsor was a Bail Bond company. We could make some really good suggestions.

 

And by the way, Ike was the first bass pro to get a "non bass fishing" company to sponsor him. Look at his shirt and notice the name of a car manufacture like Toyota. 

 

It is a business. Play along and be successful. And you can try to get a sponsor. Just contact them with your resume and your tournament successes. You probably will not be given equipment but you will probably get a discount.

[rangerjockey]

The boat deal works or did work like this. Years ago I was offered a deal on a Legend. There was a discount on the boat and the motor and back then you could get a interest only loan.

So you ran the boat, worked shows and gave a few demo rides when asked. At the end of the year hoped to sell it for enough to satisfy the loan and on to a new one.

 At the time I had a Ranger that was paid for so I decided against it.