Pro Anglers

[Dan N]

So, I don’t understand how these guys can afford this for a living? I realize first place pays 100g , but how often does a guy win? A 10th place finish ( which is great!) doesn’t even seem to be enough to pay the bills? A 4-5 day event, with all the lodging, food, and all the fuel has got to cost a bunch. Not to mention a 100,000$ boat, and a truck to pull it! 
I don’t get it.

[Pumpkin Lizard]

5 minutes ago, Dan N said:

So, I don’t understand how these guys can afford this for a living? I realize first place pays 100g , but how often does a guy win? A 10th place finish ( which is great!) doesn’t even seem to be enough to pay the bills? A 4-5 day event, with all the lodging, food, and all the fuel has got to cost a bunch. Not to mention a 100,000$ boat, and a truck to pull it! 
I don’t get it.

 

Pro Bass fishing is just a marketing engine that has a competition side.  It's a bit like racing.  They survive and operate based on sponsor dollars, business to business deals, going into debt and some lucky ones are financially independent. 

[Dan N]

I get the big names making it. But it’s gotta put some the young up and comers in serious financial trouble 🙄

[LrgmouthShad]

Let’s ask @Swamp Girl

Truly, Katie, how do you do it?

[WRB]

Support from sponsors is essential along with the ability to promote the products.

Fully rigged boats are part of a good sponsor package. Support from the family is also very important. It’s a tough life getting a good reputation to attract sponsorship without it very few can survive the out of pocket expenses!

Tom

[Dan N]

And I guess I don’t know how much the sponsors give?  Some guys say it’s just some equipment? Do they pay them? 
 

[WRB]

Depends on the anglers ability to promote products. Speaking at trade shows paid travel expenses and tournament entry fees etc , it’s a full time job with lots of pressure to succeed.

Tom

[gim]

I'm guessing that the boats/trailers and maybe the truck to tow it are supplied by sponsors.  Maybe a lot of the equipment used too, including electronics.

 

There is no freaking way they could pay for all that themselves if that's their only source of income.  The math just doesn't add up.  A very select few may be able to.  KVD comes to mind.

 

I know for a fact that Seth Feider (MN guy) has a side gig with Omnia Fishing and Outkast Tackle.  It's also possible many of them guide too.

 

I used to think that being a pro bass angler was a dream job when I was younger.  I soon realized that only a select few even have the will power to take on such a feat, and I'm not one of them.

[Dan N]

Yes, an 11th place finish in BASS pays 7000$, I believe. So if a guy finishes there in every tournament of the season ( what would be a great season) 

would make 56,000$ ? I make more than that! And I’m broke🤣

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Let’s ask @Swamp Girl

Truly, Katie, how do you do it?

 

Ha! I'm as far from a pro as an angler can be. First off, I'm scruffy. I tend to wear the same pants for months because they're treated with Permethrin. And my shirts are 40 years old. No lie. Plus, my canoes are scuffed and old too. And I'm old!

 

Contrast me with a young buck who's adorned with 52 logos atop a glitter boat with more electronics than NASA circa 1969.

 

Lastly, another way I'm different is that I catch more bass than many pros!*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*I can't believe I'm talking trash, but I did. Today, at least, I'm saltier than the sea!

[Tennessee Boy]

If the wife has a job making $100K a year and the husband is a professional fisherman and he’s good at it,  that $75K-$80K of family income.  Most families can live on that. 😂

[TOXIC]

Nobody knows the cash value of sponsorship deals because they vary from pro to pro and manufacturer to manufacturer.  The ones I do know about that I was told directly and not rumored are all vastly different.  Generally speaking the old boat memo deals are a thing of the past.  As for trucks they get discounts.  Gear and baits, depending on level, they get all they want.  I can tell you 2 of the pros I personally know told me they could not survive if it weren’t for non tournament income.  One was a bait designer for a major company and the other was a ghost employee who was paid and never worked for the company. 

[padon]

15 hours ago, TOXIC said:

Nobody knows the cash value of sponsorship deals because they vary from pro to pro and manufacturer to manufacturer.  The ones I do know about that I was told directly and not rumored are all vastly different.  Generally speaking the old boat memo deals are a thing of the past.  As for trucks they get discounts.  Gear and baits, depending on level, they get all they want.  I can tell you 2 of the pros I personally know told me they could not survive if it weren’t for non tournament income.  One was a bait designer for a major company and the other was a ghost employee who was paid and never worked for the company. 

exactly . Except for the top 1% most of the long time pros have income other than tournaments. some own a business , some are involved with tackle companies etc. if all you have is a few minor sponsors and tournament winnings you cant afford it.

[greentrout]

Kevin Van Dam's career earnings are a little more than 7 million. 

Source Wikipedia

[Choporoz]

Social media has become critical to (nearly?) every pro angler.  It feeds the sponsor machine; and more importantly in many cases, views, likes and follows are more profitable than tournament winnings.

[Tennessee Boy]

8 minutes ago, greentrout said:

Kevin Van Dam's career earnings are a little more than 7 million. 

Source Wikipedia

What are his career entry fees?

[Swamp Girl]

17 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

Social media has become critical to (nearly?) every pro angler.  It feeds the sponsor machine; and more importantly in many cases, views, likes and follows are more profitable than tournament winnings.

 

"Instagram nfluencers with a million or more followers can earn between $10,000 and over $1 million per post.

 

A YouTube channel with 1 million subscribers can earn between $10,000 and $100,000 per month from AdSense alone. However, the exact amount depends on several factors, including video performance, audience retention, and brand deals."

 

[Pat Brown]

The value in pro bass fishing has always been in its abilities to both educate the consumer on techniques and technology that are working well to catch bass and to sell tackle for sponsors.

 

Electronics has monopolized their role in bass fishing for the most part with the advent of forward facing sonar - yes you can't make them bite and it still takes skill - I'm not against the technology at all - just think it has no place in the professional side of the sport - intended to educate and inform anglers and to sell tackle.  It essentially monopolizes all of that.

 

Learn to use forward facing sonar and buy that or don't bother - people don't want to tune in for that and it's not relatable - it doesn't move the needle like it used to.

 

Every pro angler has to have a YouTube presence now.  

 

YouTubers are moving the needle and making relatable content that educates and informs anglers on how to catch a bass and sells tackle.

 

 

[Catt]

It's easy now!

 

During the early tournaments B.A.S.S. only paid first place & there wasn’t any sponsors.

[JHoss]

17 hours ago, TOXIC said:

the other was a ghost employee who was paid and never worked for the company. 

Uhhh how would one go about getting one of these jobs? Asking for a friend of course. 

[Mobasser]

When I was much younger, I had thoughts of becoming a pro anglers. I fished a few small tournaments when I was in my  twenty's and gave up on the idea.                                                                       We always here about the winners, and all the success they have. They don't talk about the guys who barely have gas money to get to the next event, then sleep in they're cars when the get there. They might grab some fast food along the way.                        It's not easy, and even with all the new gear and electronics lots of guys fail, and go back to working a job somewhere. You've got to win or place near the top in these events and do it consistently. Otherwise, your just another guy out there casting, and nobody knows you or cares- until you start winning.

[Dwight Hottle]

Well Roland Martin & Bill Dance are still working in their mid eighties although both men's net worth would suggest they doesn't need to. Maybe it's just the love of the sport. 

[Harold H]

9 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

"Instagram nfluencers with a million or more followers can earn between $10,000 and over $1 million per post.

 

A YouTube channel with 1 million subscribers can earn between $10,000 and $100,000 per month from AdSense alone. However, the exact amount depends on several factors, including video performance, audience retention, and brand deals."

 

I bet the guys that own the Tactical Bassin channel make more from it than the average pro. And some guys fish more than one circuit, the NPFL picked up some big names this season. 

[Bass Rutten]

9 hours ago, greentrout said:

Kevin Van Dam's career earnings are a little more than 7 million. 

Source Wikipedia

Over his 33 year career minus taxes and expenses that's less than 60k yearly. Obviously tournament winnings are one of multiple income sources for these guys.

[Dan N]

I know you tube can make some money, but no pros that I follow have anywhere near a million subs, most have under 100,000. Still I would think they would get paid something from sponsors for pushing their products.