basspro05 Posted February 3, 2005 Posted February 3, 2005 My name is Chris Self, I live in Shawnee,KS, I am 19 years old, and have persued a professional fishing career since 11 years of age. Accomplishments: At the age of 15 I entered an essay contest for the state of Kansas, and won the Governer's Hooked on Fishing not on drugs essay contest. I was given the chance to fish on Coffey County Lake for the Governer's Classic Fishing Tournament, in the Governer's boat. This is a well known annual tournament, in which I competed against Brent Chapman and Jimmy Houston, and many other anglers. Our team placed 4th with a few nice smallmouth bass. After that I did not pursue any tournament fishing for two years, I went back to the basics and tried to master as many of the fundamentals as I could, keying on new techniques, and learning to fish virtually every method. Last year at the age of 17, I felt I was ready for a few tournaments. I fished as a non-boater in 5 MSTA tournaments on Smithville Lake, the best I finished was 16th. I had a horrible year on Smithville Lake, but I feel it has just made me stronger from learning from my mistakes. I also fished a couple of tournaments in the Lawrence Outdoors Club, and my partner and I won the September event on Lake Perry. In March of 2005, I purchased my first bass boat at the age of 18 with my own money. I fished the Burtons Bait and Tackle thursday night buddy tournaments and took 12th in points out of around 35 boats. I also fished the Mid-States Tournament Association Pro-Am circuit as an amateur. I placed 22nd in the first tournament, 6th in the second tournament, 17th in the third tournament, and took 1st place in the last two regular season tournaments. I was crowned the amateur points champion for the MSTA. This year was an outstanding year in which I actually made more money fishing than I spent on fishing. I am currently working towards earning my bachelors degree in Business Administration while taking courses in public speaking and accounting. I know that this profession is more of a business than most people think, that is why I am getting my degree. I think I would be a great asset to a company, because I am very knowledgeable about the sport of fishing, and I am very supportive of the growth of the sport. I would be more than happy to do seminars, boats shows, practically anything, to help out someone who has the confidence to support my dream. I just need to catch one break, and I am sure I can make it, I have devoted the past 8 years to fishing, and hopefully many more will come. Quote
basspro05 Posted January 28, 2006 Author Posted January 28, 2006 That is a picture of my 7 lbs. 3oz big bass i caught in a Thursday night tournament, it also took 2nd place in the tournament. Quote
Cephkiller Posted January 29, 2006 Posted January 29, 2006 What did that fish do? Your friend looks like he wants to kill it ;D Quote
Super User 5bass Posted January 29, 2006 Super User Posted January 29, 2006 What did that fish do? Your friend looks like he wants to kill it ;D LOL!! Thats the dude with the 7 lb 2 oz bass! Quote
cabela10 Posted January 29, 2006 Posted January 29, 2006 Okay...that fish doesn't look 7 pounds or even 5 for that matter but if you say so, what do I know. Also, if you plan on sending out resumes and/or letters for sponsorship and you plan on sending pictures, I suggest you crop that picture without that other dude in the white shirt in the picture. That will not look good for potential sponsors. Not a good look. Quote
cabela10 Posted January 29, 2006 Posted January 29, 2006 I think I would be a great asset to a company, because I am very knowledgeable about the sport of fishing, and I am very supportive of the growth of the sport. I would be more than happy to do seminars, boats shows, practically anything, to help out someone who has the confidence to support my dream. I just need to catch one break, and I am sure I can make it, I have devoted the past 8 years to fishing, and hopefully many more will come. I would suggest you not talk about what you would do after you get a sponsorship and go out and do it without the sponsorship first then come back and put your experiences on a resume. Anyone can talk the talk, but can't back it up by doing it. It's all fine and dandy that you say you will do seminars, boat shows or practically anything else, but how would you even begin to do that stuff, I bet you have no idea. So you should maybe go do that stuff first then come back. Another thing, probably not a good idea to say that you just need to catch one break and you are sure you can make it. Doesn't sound the best. I would eliminate that whole last paragraph. Thats the one thing that stuck out to me in your whole deal you wrote. I really only skimmed it though. Quote
basspro05 Posted January 29, 2006 Author Posted January 29, 2006 Cabela 10, do not assume that I do not know the responsibilty and the effort it takes to keep a sponsor. I have worked a few sports shows around Kansas City with one of the largest boat dealers, moving boats in and moving boats out. It is not easy at all. There is so much to it, I know, I am not ignorant as you assumed earlier. BTW, constructive criticism is fine, it can only help others, but I think I need to teach you a little something. In your earlier statement, you bet me that I had no idea, what were we betting lol, because what ever it was I win the bet. Before posting on this forum read your thoughts you seem very arrogant, and cocky. My statement about catching one break is confidence not arrogance or cockiness, that just shows my determination. Fishing has been my first priority since the age of 11. How old are you, can you say you worked 80 hour weeks while being a full time student to buy your first bass boat at the age of 18 with your own money. Let me know a little about you, so I can give you some constructive criticism. BTW. go to this website www.burtonsbaitandtackle.com click on 2005 tournaments, then thursday night tournaments. scroll down to july 14 2005, yeah that is me 2nd place 7lbs 3 oz. and big bass 7lbs 3oz. You know I would love to fish against you where are you from, we need to set up a little friendly wager on this, you are very negative and I would imagine that people do not enjoy being around you at all. Quote
Super User KU_Bassmaster. Posted January 29, 2006 Super User Posted January 29, 2006 Well said basspro05. Quote
cgs2004 Posted January 29, 2006 Posted January 29, 2006 Hey, basspro05, you sound like you've got plenty of fishing accolades to start a quality sponsorship, it can be tough to get started but keep with it and you will find something. I see that your 19 and in Kansas City. I just turned 20, graduated from Olathe North HS in '04. What college do you go to now? I'm at Kansas State Univ. and within our University we have a fishing club and team. I have had great luck getting sponsorships that start out as sponsorships for the entire Kansas St. Univ. Fishing Team but then turn into personal sponsors. Not having a name for myself it is much easier to affiliate myself with the university (which a lot of people can relate to) rather than by myself. With American Bass Anglers having a separate division only for colleges, it's quite easy to start up a team at your school. Quote
basspro05 Posted January 30, 2006 Author Posted January 30, 2006 Thanks guys, I apologize for losing my cool, but he made me really angry. I am very competitive with my fishing, and he just kind of pushed the wrong buttons if you know what I mean. CGS2004, I am from Shawnee and I graduated from Shawnee Mission North high school. I am currently going to school full-time at Johnson County Community College, and I plan on transferring to Emporia State to get my Bachelors in Business Administration. I fish any tournament I can or hear about, so the college related circuit sounds like a very neat concept. I would love to hear more information about it. Man that guy really got me heated, I hate losing my cool like that, like I said, I enjoy constructive criticism, it helps me realize my weaknesses. He was just being insulting though. The fish really was over 7 pounds lol. Quote
cgs2004 Posted January 30, 2006 Posted January 30, 2006 lol, you can call him names, you can insult his intelligence, you can correct his grammar...BUT the second you try to tell him how much his bass weighs...ooh boy you have crossed the line!! I feel you man, I would have done the same, I'd say you handled it very well 8-) To my knowledge neither JCCC nor Emporia St. have tournament bass teams set up. Just to give you some background; Butler County and Dodge City Comm. Colleges already have teams as well at Fort Hays St. and Pitt. St. So you don't have to be going to a state University to compete. Go to americanbassanglers.com and check out their CAST (Colligate Angler Scholarship Tour) division. On the ABA homepage there will be a "CAST" pull down tab that leads to all the info about it. Basically, those of us who are CAST members are just any other ABA regular member except that we don't compete for money, don't worry though, we don't have to pay entry fees You only compete against the other college students for points, and if you quality, you can go to the ABA national championship and there, the top 5 college anglers win scholarships. To see all the tournaments look for the pull down tab labeled "tournaments" and you can select all the states that have ABA districts and see where and when they fish. The tournaments for around Kansas start up in March. It's a great way to get tournament experience for cheap! Check out the website, it will give you a much more detailed explanation and what all you need to do to get your school registered. Quote
basspro05 Posted January 30, 2006 Author Posted January 30, 2006 Thanks for the info, yeah I do not care what you call me, Just do not make fun of my fish lol. I will check out the website, do you think that it would be possible to start a JCCC fishing team? Quote
cgs2004 Posted January 30, 2006 Posted January 30, 2006 If you can get around 5 guys or so willing to do it then I'm positive you can. If your less than 5 I really don't know. Unfortunately there is no ABA district around KC. A district in Nebraska actually fishes a few tournaments on a lake in Marysville MO which I want to say is like an hour and a half drive from Johnson County. Another one of the KS districts fishes Stockton a couple times a year. If you're wanting to fish the tournaments most of us Kansas St. guys fish in you're looking at a good 2 hour drive out to Milford. So you're looking at some good drive time but all these places have great camping along the lakes if your willing to pitch a tent. Quote
topwtr81 Posted January 30, 2006 Posted January 30, 2006 don't let him get to you, I've been battleing ney sayer's my whole life I did work all through high school and bought my first skeeter at 18 you seem to have the right mind set. One thing I've learned is that especially in this sport there are alot of guy's that have the talent to fish, but lack the marketing,selling and personal control to succeed above the club level. they all lack one other big thing. THEY WON'T GAMBLE did you see jeff coble on basscenter sat? he said that he learned what it would take to fish full time, his quote was"you have to quite your job and just go for it full time, I wasn't willing to do that" this took courage to say and even more to qualify through the weekend series. most guy's in the sport have a certain amount of jealousy toward anyone willing to risk it all, I've spent 18 year's in fishing tackle retail making a modest living by choice so I could be around the sport and learn the in's and out's of the business. finally with the proper support at home the last 3 season's have been profitable I'M IN THE BLACK and in 07 I think I have nailed down the sponsorship to move on to the northern tour. both of you guy's 19 and 20 year's old if you want it GO GET IT don't let anyone hold you down, just be smart and do it right don't be like me and need 20 year's to get on the right track. Goof luck Quote
ranger50 Posted February 3, 2006 Posted February 3, 2006 Hey Chris that's a nice bass. I am a little behind the times, I just got the internet this week, and this is my first day on this sight. Those guys that put you down and knock your nice bass do that because they can't catch bass like that. I have fished in national trails and I say go for it. When you make it those who slam you will probably still be putting people down on this sight, so good luck to you! Quote
basspro05 Posted February 3, 2006 Author Posted February 3, 2006 Thank you for the encouragement sir, i still love positive encouragement, rather than being put down Quote
DDH Posted February 3, 2006 Posted February 3, 2006 I get this harassment from other anglers too. ALL of the negative I get is from older guys. They think that they are better than me b/c of their age.. They may know more, but that doesnt mean I cant kick their a$ $ fishing. I think they do this b/c they are intimidated in a way and dont wanna lose to a kid thats 2-3 times younger than they are. I also think that there is jealousily in there... they wish they would be at the same level they are now.. when they were my age... They dont want you to succeed b/c they didnt or maybe they just think I"m a teenage PUNK who likes to cause trouble b/c they believe the stereotype of todays kids...that also makes it so SWEET when i do beat them.... This applies to the FEW... I also get a lot of postitive encouragement from my elders.. they WANT to see me succeed b/c they think its great that i'm so into fishing, instead of drugs and what not.. they want me to succeed b/c they think they are to old to go pro . or maybe they just want to say to themselves one day... Hey I fished with that kid in a tournament a few years ago and gave him some pointers... I THANK ALL OF YOU WHO SUPPORT THE YOUNGER GENERATIONS.. i am always wanting to learn.. and to do that I must watch and learn from my elders.. I myself along with a friend started our own bass club, and are creating a youth club to get kids into fishing and keep them away from the dark side of teenage life today.. and who knows.. we make create the enxt KVD, clunn. Again.. thanks to all who support the younger generations.. sorry to ramble on.. this has been bothering me for some time and i felt this was the right itme to let it all out.... Quote
topwtr81 Posted February 3, 2006 Posted February 3, 2006 futurepro I don't think you were rambling but I hope that the negativity inspire's you not anger's you, When I was 16 my cousin who was a very high level officer in a fortune 500 co called me into his office to give me the old"bass fishing is a pipe dream" speach and how I should grow up, Well to this day 20 year's later I am hell bent on bringing that up to him when I make my first classic. It never made me mad it just fired me up and motivated me more. moral of the story take it all with a grain of sand, don't let it seep into you because that is what lead's to the dark side. Good luck Quote
DDH Posted February 3, 2006 Posted February 3, 2006 i dont take it to heart... IT ADDS FUEL TO THE FIRE!! it makes me even more motivated! they aint gonna bring down with what they say Quote
cabela10 Posted February 3, 2006 Posted February 3, 2006 What I love the most is that you guys can't write complete sentences or punctuate correctly. I'm wondering how you will do promoting your sponsors in front of people or if you have to write an article on a product you are endorsing. I wish you the best of luck in all your tournies, but I hope you spend some time learning how to correctly write sentences. Best of Luck Quote
topwtr81 Posted February 3, 2006 Posted February 3, 2006 come on cabela's my fingers get goin a rapidfire on here if I were to send you some of my promo material or video interview's i've done I believe you'd find a different thing. beside's I know how important it is to enunciate every d**n syllable!!! Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.