You have to have a screw loose to fish professionally.
I say that as a guy who has done this for 25 years and knows a thing or two about the realities of pro angling. And being a Bassmaster Elite Series angler is a different animal altogether.
The public looking from the outside in only see the glamorous side to fishing for a living. There is a dark side that goes unnoticed until you’re in the middle of your career.
Now, don’t get me wrong … I absolutely love it! But I’m here to tell you it’s not easy.
Sure, we get to fish for a living – or try to fish for a living. I’ve been fortunate enough over the years to be successful and able to endure off years, like the one I had this season.
But the fishing part is only 25% of the job. For example, I left LaCrosse, Wis., at 3 a.m. and drove straight through to get home at 9 o’clock that night. I’ve been away from the family for three weeks.
That’s the part of the job I hate the most. We all deal with not being with our loved ones, but if you want to be successful, you have to stay on the road and work hard at it every day.
Then you factor in the drama, largely due to the social media influence. Earlier in my career, we didn’t have to deal with that.
But as a veteran, all of this feels normal because I’ve been doing it a long time. It’s scary to think the day is coming when I may not be able to do it anymore.
I’ll be like that Puma you see at the zoo, continuously walking in circles in its cage.
These comments may seem unrealistic to a rookie Elite angler who is just happy to be out there. A lot of these kids coming into the sport have very little obligation other than to spend time on the water.
I can relate to that when I first started. But life changes over time — you go from being a rookie to being a family man and working for sponsors. As your family grows and you gain success, you obtain more sponsors and more financial stability, but with that come more obligations.
Without those sponsors, you gotta catch ‘em to pay your bills.
We see a lot of young guys come into the Elites and get off to a great start. That makes life easier. But the true test is how well they can handle coming out of a bad season, especially when you’re a new guy and you have to finish consistently high to avoid getting bumped out of the Elites.
This year, we’re losing several guys, a few who are seasoned veterans and some who were just trying to make it early in their careers. It can be brutal.
A big change I see coming is you won’t see the longevity of pro anglers like we have for the past 25 years. The sport is evolving, and the average age is the lowest it’s been for a long time. Career lifespans are being shortened; the days of 25-year Elite veterans are becoming a thing of the past.
Like I said, I still love it and wouldn’t do anything else.
But … my advice to parents who are encouraging their kids to pursue a pro fishing career is to consider all the facets. Only a small percentage of people can handle juggling matters away from the water while trying to catch enough to stay in the game.
