Message Sent through jimmyhouston.com From DJ
Hi. I\'m D.J. and I am 16. I am just writing to tell you thank you being such a insiration to me and i am sure hundreds of others. I was wondering if you had any tips for someone this young tring to be in a couple tournaments. I have never fished off of a boat cause most of my frieds don\'t have one and my family can not afford one. I am going to try to find someone with a boat so that i can get in a few tournaments. Well just wanted to tell you thanks for your show. I dont own any of your books but I am sure they are very helpful as well. Thanks for all.
Message Sent through jimmyhouston.com From Devon B
I\'m a senior in college soon to graduate and I have fished sinced I can remember and have been bass fishing for the past 8 years now. I have placed in tournaments in my local area and wondering how to acquire sponsorship to work my way up to the pro level. Any advice would be helpful. Good luck to you in the future. ~Sincerely, DevonB
Message Sent through jimmyhouston.com
hello jimmy, my name is brian farris, and i have been watching u ever since i could remember. i just wanted to know how would start out a begingg career in pro bass fishing? i thought it was fishing local tournaments to get experiance? but as mentor i would love to get ur advice on this matter. i would also like to know about the focas corperation. god bless brian fs
We have received 100's of letters over the years about how to get started as a pro.
The Number One thing is to not neglect your education. Devon will be graduating from collage soon, a very good thing. DJ, don't let fishing get in the way of your post secondary education. Part of making it as a professional fisherman is being a good businessman. You will have to be able to negotiate sponsorship deals as well as negotiate with your fishing partners on where to fish. You will need to know basic business accounting. A big plus is public speaking.
Sponsors don't really care how "good of a fisherman" you are or think you are. They want to know what you can do for them, not what they can do for you. How will you be able to reach their target audience? How many days will you be available to speak to customers at consumer shows during the winter? How much press can you generate for their product?
Starting out, you will need to fish as many tournaments as you can. Start with the local club tournaments, jack pots, state or area tournament trails. Build up a portfolio of your news clippings. Promote yourself. It may be that you have to write a story yourself about the tournament and submit it and your photo to your local papers.
Be willing to volunteer your time at fishing related events i.e. kids fishing clinics, casting competitions, helping with handicapped or senior adult fishing derbies. Again, your publicity counts.
As you work your way through the ranks, you will become noticed, but don't expect the sponsors to come running to you. They have a dozen just like you asking them for help everyday. You have to stand out in your application process. Get to know people at the companies, make contacts at tournaments.
Your biggest sponsor starting out will probably be your spouse or parents. There will probably be a lot of $1 burgers and sleeping in the back of the pick-up. With a lot of work, determination, and yes luck, you might be another Kevin VanDam. Good luck.
And remember, don't ever let the fun go out of your fishing.
