So you want to be a Bass Pro??

[Bill McElroy]

 

[Bill McElroy]

FYI--Check out David Dudley's comments......very VERY true!!
http://bassfan.com/news_article.asp?ID=1142

 

[Thomas Macaluso]

Another good read on the life of a Bass Pro is by Joe Thomas & Tim Tucker . I believe it's called a "year in a life of a Bass" Pro. Once seen Thomas at a Bass Class seminar real nice guy

 

[Texas Transplant]

I truly do appreciate what some of the folks have to go through to be a bass pro. However, the flip side of this is that they 'choose' to be a bass pro.



If you 'choose' to do something, I don't want to hear about how difficult it is on you and your family. If it is, then get a job whereby you don't have to travel all the time. Or one that pays you a flat salary for your weekly contribution.



My comments are not going to be popular with some, but we all make choices in life. Nobody is forcing people to become full time professional anglers. I don't mind that the pro's are attempting to get a better 'deal' for themselves (who wouldn't).



Tex

 

[Bill McElroy]

Absolutely,.....life is full of "choices",..and a lot of what we experience on a daily basis is a result of those decisions. I think the jist of his message is:.."Our life isn't all fame and fortune,...so be careful what you ask for!!"...LOL

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Short and sweet it is a good article. Sometimes we do what we love to do regardless of the money. My wife says it all the time,........ you get up at the crack of dawn in the cold, rain, heat, sleet, storms, wind, go hook up that $35,000 boat, burn gas to get to the lake, burn gas/oil in the boat, get sunburned, windburned and frostbit, deal with rude fishermen and clients, wear out tackle, break rods, lose gear, get done and clean the boat to get ready to do it again as soon as you can get your worn out self back in the water.



She says, "You are either a fisherman or you're not, it is something inside you". And she's right.



TOXIC

 

[Michael Snow]

Okay, but for those of us who aspire to be on stage pushing Van Dam out of the winner's circle, it's nice to hear the pros and cons. Now, if a baseball star wants to complain, I'll be happy to give them the grief they deserve. Then you have to look at the bigger names, those with tv shows and such... that's got to help with the finances too. I think the fact that Hank Parker quit fishing tourneys says a lot about where the money is.

 

[Geo. Beason]

I went to a Bassmaster fishing school in St. Louis and met six Bass Pros. I heard about their trials and tribulations and sacrifices. All about the stress on the final day of the tourney.

I just retired from Law Enforcement and I can tell you that stress is very simple.



Stress is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you handle it!

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

I don't think it is so much the stress as it is the pressure/seperation. Granted, law enforcement is a stressful environment but bass fishing for a living??? Not in my book. So, you have to place to get a check to cover your expenses and/or support your family......that is "pressure" not stress. Now I have been in the seperation situation, when I am out closing banks, I can be gone for months at a time. Once I was gone for 2 years!! I did make it home about once a month. If you have little ones at home than that really hurts. You miss a lot. So, the touring guys miss their familys and have pressure to produce but that ain't textbook "stress". That's a stretch in my book.



TOXIC

 

[fatrap]

Tox

A fishin guide must believe his reward is in heaven because it can't be here on earth. When I go walleye fishing in South Dakota every spring the first guy who gets blamed for ANYTHING wrong is the guide. I'm having my morning coffee and listening to the carping from the guys who didn't do well the day before and it's always because they're guides suck.

Along time ago I met the late Al Easson from Texas. I has written a book on his exploits as a guide. It is absolutely unbelieveable what people do in a guides boat. The pros have it easy in compairson. My two cents



fatrap



PS How about those Huskers!!!!!!!

 

[TrepMan]

I see it all as choices. IF you want the life of a Bass Pro and have the skills and drive, then do it! It's like the Baseball pros, sure they get $100k+ as a starting salary (their unionized you know but like other Pro's they are away from their families most of the season. That is a CHOICE they make, and have to live with. I did like the guys' take on the Sponsors, some folks are in it for the quick $$ and others are in it for the good of the sport and long term. I don't judge either as right or wrong, it's a choice! Heck I could CHOOSE to sell my Tracker, buy a brand new 911 (or Simmys 911!!!! LOL) and try to go pro!! Start talking to sponsors, get a job at BPS or a sporting/boating place and start working my way up the trails. Am I going to CHOOSE to do that given my SKILLS and Proven Abilities on these here bassus?? NO WAY!!! I know I want my kids and wife to eat!!!! LOL



I love this sport and the people in it, I hope some day it's recognized like other Pro sports and there is more $$ in it, but i've yet to meet a REAL pro who didn't start out in this field just because he LOVES to fish!!!

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

I consider being a "Pro" and being a guide 2 different things. Yeah it's easy to blame the guide when you don't get on fish but those same guys are the ones calling you for another trip. It goes with the territory. I don't have to deal with changing lake conditions, weather, etc., on different bodies of water, for the most part I get to concentrate on 3 or 4 lakes, rivers, whatever and try to produce "on-demand"LOL!! Consistency is the name of the game for the pro's and the guides. It's a game of numbers. It is tough when somebody gets in your boat and says, "I will consider this trip a failure if I don't catch at least a 6 pounder".......You go out and do your best. That's all you can do. Sometimes you hit a home run and sometimes you strike out. It's all worth it when you see that kid catch his/her first 3+ lber, or the look I saw on the 6 year old little girl when her fishing rookie dad started catching Crappie faster than he could get the minners in the water, or seeing Carlos out with his son for a day on the water. If you wait for the rewards to be $$, you'll go bust.



Q. How do you make a small fortune in the guide business?



A. Start out with a large one!!



TOXIC

 

[Bob Robinson]

Mike,

I don't think we can seperate a "PRO" wether they are a baseball, football or bass pro. Each one of these people give up family time at some point in there lives to achieve there goals. Each one does it in there own way.

The ball sports people if there real talented do it earlier in life than most bass fisherman. The many nights that we are out enjoying our "youth", they are lifting, running drills and shooting or throwing to try to shine for some scout that could like or not like them for some reason.

I think both classes of "PRO'S" give up alot and in there own ways and time.

We only get to see them after they make it and they've become jerks or non social a**es.

Sports of all kinds are difficult to be great at, and only a few can be real good. The rest of us enjoy it to the fullest and dream of having the talent and the drive to succeed like the great ones..

My 2 cents..........

Bob

 

[Steve Hutson]

This is kind of on the same topic. Before taking up serious fishing, I used to race stock cars. One year on dirt and 10 years on asphalt. I quit when my second wife was pregnant with my second son. My oldest son is from my first marriage. Why did I give up racing? I lost one marriage and missed the biggest part of my oldest son's early years do to either being at the shop, a local track or on the road. All choices that I made. I decided never again. I sold my car, trailer, hauler and all of my pit equipment and never looked back. Heck, I wasn't really making it any way. I had a lot of fun, met some great people and dern near starved.



Trepman is right, it is a choice and I feel for the guys that make it. Being on the road a lot can be a hard life. Combine that with the family sacrifices and the monitary risks, that's when it stopped being fun for me. I guess that I just didn't have the drive needed to make it.

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Nah Steve, your priorities just changed, you found something more important than racing. I set aside "family time" and go to my daughters (7 year old) soccer games, take her to her riding classes and of course take her fishing when she wants to go. "Our" time is usually after dinner and homework but before bed, we get about 1 1/2 hours where we watch tv or surf the net, or just talk. It is her time with me. You only get one chance with kids, you gotta make it count.



TOXIC

 

[Steve Hutson]

Toxic, I'm with you. On my days off I take my son to school every morning on my way to the lake. I have to say, I get some weird looks from the some of the moms and all of the dads when I pull up with the Tracker attached. I know that I give up some time on the water, but like you, I would not trade that time for anything. I really love it when he is out of school and goes with me.

 

[TrepMan]

Steve - I LOVE afternoon Carpool pickup when I have the Tracker behind the van! All the kids LOVE looking at it as they come out and watching the eyes of my little one LIGHT UP as he get's walked out and see's the boat, is PRICELESS!!!



I've not tried the drop the kids off and GO fishing, hmmm, gotta work that into the schedule!!!! Hey Drop them off, Go fishing, pick them up, go fishing!! now THAT's how to spend a work day!!!



Trep

 

[Bob Robinson]

Our daughter is sixteen and for all her school years my wife and I have either taken her or picked her up at school. We are the ride home for many girls after cheer practice and school events. We have been able to make our schedules fit into her school schedules and it has been great.

Most, if not all her friends tell her they wish there parents could be there to pick them up.

We are lucky that our jobs afford us the hours and the flexibility to do this. I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Bob

 

[Steve Hutson]

I'm really lucky to work the mid-night shift. That enables me to be able to take Zane to school in the mornings. He rides the bus home as I'm still asleep when school lets out. I'm always up to greet him when he gets home.



My days off are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Those are the days that the boat follows us to school.