how can i get sponsored?

[fishingrulz]

how can a young bass fisherman like myself get sponsored and into tourneys and such?

[earthworm77]

Since you are a young guy, you need to develope a strategy to show potential sponsors you are marketable. You can successfully endorse their products and people will actually hold your endorsement with value. For the average angler, this is very tough.

My advice is at the moment, don't try to get sponsored, instead hone your skills and become a good angler and attempt to gain a positive reputation locally. Maybe join a club in the future and get some accomplishments under your belt that would show potential sponsors you are a force in the fishing community. I also advise you to get Fish For Free I and II. These are two books that go through the steps you should take when trying to attract sponsors. I have both books and they helped me. I'm sure guys will chime in and say the same.

One thing I would do is clean up your profile/signature. I've noticed that in order to walk the walk, you must also talk the talk. Don't advertise that you are a new guy trying to learn tubes and plastics in your signature. Think about it, why would any lure manufacturer consider a guy who isn't already proficient with these particular baits? You want to give the impression that you know what you are doing without looking like a egotistical maniac. I would just go with a nice clean, basic signature with no personal info. You don't want to have people thinknig you are really young based on what you have written.

And although DimeBag was the force behind Pantera, I'd leave his photo out as well. You want to project a positive, clean cut image.

As someone who owns a successful tackle company, I deal with people from all walks of life, I do a ton of business with people from the South and mid west. These areas are often referred to as the bible belt. This is the home of bass fishing as we know it. These people are much more conservative in their lives than you may be, keep that in mind as you may be writing your resume to someone who is more refined.

There are people from various manufacturers who cruise these sites.