If You Were A GOAT

[padon]

i would love to make a living in the fishing industry but not as a touring pro. way too much travel , pressure etc. i have some ideas now on how it could be done but im 12 years from retirement and cant throw everything away right now.imglas there are guys that can do it and entertain me but thats not the lifestyle i could live. youtube social media , etc play a big role now. sponsors expect you to have a presence tournament finishes , social media exposure whatever. whenever you turn your passion into a job the lines get blurred and it can become work.

[Catt]

1 hour ago, Big Rick said:

Yes, he's won $2,284,746.14 in his life but he's fished BASS nearly 37 years.

 

Back in the beginning of B.A.S.S they only paid first place! 

[Columbia Craw]

Not a chance in you know where.

[Mobasser]

6 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

Back in the beginning of B.A.S.S they only paid first place! 

Catt, this would have been really hard! Lucky to have enough gas to get to the next town.

 

[slonezp]

I traveled in the past to compete. It sucked.

[Trox]

I don't think so... I love to fish tournaments and travel but part of me feels that the joy would be lost if my livelihood and family depended on it. I'd probably try it if given the opportunity though... I mean, I could always stop if I wanted to.

[throttleplate]

only try it if they had a bank and wader fishing league.

[jbsoonerfan]

Nope, big difference though in needing to win to survive as opposed to winning just gives you more money. Some guys had financial backing to give it a go and were successful, while there are hundreds of guys who tried it and failed. There is no way I would take a chance, no matter how good I thought I was.

[schplurg]

About Swindle: $60,000 a year was a lot more money 37 years ago when he started. Nowadays that might cover your fuel...in truck not the boat

[T-Billy]

6 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

If I was a goat, I would eat tin cans and what not……….

[scaleface]

The original post was if you were a top 5 angler , a KVD type , would you  like to live life as a pro . Heck yea.  I'd like to be a Tom Brady too .

[Hammer 4]

The thought of being a pro bass fisherman never entered  my mind, made a decent living at building houses, which I loved to do.

[Catt]

Today's tournament trails are difficult enough even with sponsors. Back in the beginning there were very few if any sponsors.

 

Only a hand full of guys could afford a hotel room. They sleep in their trucks, cars, & camped in tents. Between tournaments 99% of the anglers worked full time jobs to support their families & save enough money for entry fees let along travel expenses. 

 

If I remember right entry fees were $400-500. 

 

 

[Choporoz]

I think I'd have enjoyed the traveling and pressure when I was younger.  Where I would have failed miserably was in the sales and promotion arenas.  I can put my head down and battle a different region every week, but the appearances and marketing side don't appeal to me even a little bit.

[WRB]

In the beginning no one had earned their wings yet, everyone was equal until several derbies sorted out the who’s who. Bill Dance, Tom Mann etc. 

Like Catt said you needed someone willing to back you and pay entry fee’s and it was winner takes the pot everyone gets a atta boy. Fishing tournaments was more about proving yourself then thinking of making a career doing it. Career’s were made later when bass fishing was promoted into what it became by B.A.S.S.

Who is the Goat, the greatest of all time bass pro?

Tom

 

[Mobasser]

9 minutes ago, WRB said:

In the beginning no one had earned their wings yet, everyone was equal until several derbies sorted out the who’s who. Bill Dance, Tom Mann etc. 

Like Catt said you needed someone willing to back you and pay entry fee’s and it was winner takes the pot everyone gets a atta boy. Fishing tournaments was more about proving yourself then thinking of making a career doing it. Career’s were made later when bass fishing was promoted into what it became by B.A.S.S.

Who is the Goat, the greatest of all time bass pro?

Tom

 

Tom, there's been so many good ones. Very hard to pick just one GOAT.

[RDB]

1 hour ago, WRB said:

Who is the Goat, the greatest of all time bass pro?

The easy answer is probably KVD.  My answer would be Rick Clunn and the last few years sealed it for me.  When we talk about the greats in other sports, there is always an argument about the differences in eras and how you can’t compare.  Not with Clunn IMO.  Name another athlete who started and learned in the early days,  saw a complete evolution in the industry (especially in the latter parts of his career), and still after 40+ years on the tour and at age 74, is not only competitive, but winning tournaments.  That is the GOAT IMO.

 

Edit:  The GOAT as far as impact on the fishing world is Bill Dance for me.  I grew up on his shows and there is no telling how many people he brought into fishing.

[DitchPanda]

1 hour ago, WRB said:

In the beginning no one had earned their wings yet, everyone was equal until several derbies sorted out the who’s who. Bill Dance, Tom Mann etc. 

Like Catt said you needed someone willing to back you and pay entry fee’s and it was winner takes the pot everyone gets a atta boy. Fishing tournaments was more about proving yourself then thinking of making a career doing it. Career’s were made later when bass fishing was promoted into what it became by B.A.S.S.

Who is the Goat, the greatest of all time bass pro?

Tom

 

Who is the goat? The shortlist in my opinion would include Clunn, KVD maybe Larry Nixon. If Jacob Wheeler is able to maintain his current pace he will pass those guys...some people believe he already has. I think he has years of consistency ahead of him before I'd consider him the GOAT...but can't deny that since KVD he is the most dominant guy hands down.

An even more interesting topic in my opinion is who is the best to never win a super bowl.caliber tourney-Forrest wood cup or Classic. That in my estimation comes down to 2 guys- Roland Martin and Aaron Martens. I believe I'd give that edge to Martens.

[KSanford33]

I was fortunate to play a sport for a living for about 5 years in my 20's, although very low level minors. The one thing I used to tell people is it's a fun job, but it's still a job. If you have fun doing x (whether x is fishing or whatever else), it's probably a good idea to keep it as fun. Because once your livelihood depends on it, it's no longer fun. Even if you enjoy the pressure of tournament fishing; saying, I need to catch x number of inches or pounds of fish to finish in the top 3 or whatever it is, having to do that week in and week out just to survive begins to wear on you. 

 

 A lot of it also depends on where you are in life. I was able to do what I did because it was my early 20's. I had nothing to lose. But now in my 40's with all of the accoutrements that come with being my age (family, mortgage, etc.), I have a lot more to lose and I wouldn't be comfortable gambling all of that on my ability -or lack thereof- of catching fish.

[BassNJake]

When I fished the BFL's, I learned some hard lessons.

Most guys camped/stayed at the lake for the week leading to the event

Tourney pro's and Everstart Pro's fished the BFL's as well

Every lake had multiple local hammers/guides entering as a one time event to make some cash

Many fisherman are networked so they would share certain bits of information

Some guys were ruthless and did not have an ounce of courtesy to them. 

There are no unwritten rules in tournament fishing.

 

And here I thought this was the lowest tier of professional tournament fishing

 

 

 

[TnRiver46]

I’ve been to a few big tournaments and noticed ………. If you want to make good consistent money in the bass industry, selling stuff to fishermen is the route you want to take 

[Bankbeater]

Nope, not for me.  The stress would be a killer if tournaments were my only source of income.  

[TnRiver46]

6 hours ago, Bankbeater said:

Nope, not for me.  The stress would be a killer if tournaments were my only source of income.  

Starvation would be the killer for me under those circumstances 

[Bird]

If I was guaranteed KVD success, I'd still decline as I detest being in the spotlight.

[txchaser]

I'm trying to -stop- fishing like I have to pay rent, and I don't get paid for it now...I'm way too intense about the whole thing. 

 

So no, I think I'd just do some regional tourneys for kicks at most.