Pro bass fishing's in a boatload of sponsorship trouble

[Spiel]

Pro bass fishing's in a boatload of sponsorship trouble

 

 

Sunday, January 04, 2009

Mike Bolton / www.al.com

 

 

Pro bass fisherman Randy Howell watched with limited interest on New Year's Day as Georgia trounced Michigan State in football. The smoked turkey he had brought got most of his attention.

 

The upcoming Bassmaster Classic in which Howell will participate finally became a topic of conversation but that talk didn't last long. The unknown future of the 2009 Bassmaster season was obviously heavy on his mind.

 

The parallels between NASCAR and pro bass fishing are remarkable but none are as key as both being sponsor-driven sports. The crumbling economy that has caused many NASCAR sponsors to flee is hitting equally hard in the professional fishing world.

 

Professional bass fishing hit it big only after plastic worm and hard-plastic lure manufacturers were replaced by big-buck corporations as primary sponsors. With an economy that has caused all major companies to tighten their advertising reins, I suppose it was only natural that pro fishing would suffer. The professional fishing circuit, many companies have decided, isn't where they can get the biggest bang for their buck.

 

The savvy Howell was one of the first to land a major sponsor outside of the fishing industry. His years-long association with Purolator opened the eyes of many pro anglers to the vast possibilities. But that sponsorship deal will be no more in 2009.

 

"Everybody is losing sponsors," Howell said. "Greg Hackney and Marty Stone have lost Advance Auto Parts. GE Silicone has pulled out.

 

"The fishermen are losing sponsors. BASS is losing sponsors.

 

"We're keeping the lure companies but the big, non-endemic sponsors are saying they can't do it right now."

 

Just as it takes a lot of sponsorship money to put a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car on the track, it takes a boatload of money to fish on the professional circuit.

 

Those anglers fishing on the Elite Series this year will pay $57,500 just in entry fees. Toss in expenses such as gas, lodging and meals and the costs can push $100,000. Howell says he spent $85,000 last year just to fish tournaments.

 

"The bad part is that it comes on the heels of what was a tough year because of the gas prices," he said. "You pull a boat across the country and spend days running a boat when gas is close to $4 a gallon and it just about killed everybody."

 

Howell believes the top 25 or 30 established anglers will struggle but survive. He says for the newcomers to the sport, the future will be questionable.

 

"Sponsors are spending their money more wisely," he said. "They can't take a chance of getting a return on their dollar with a rookie."

 

Howell says he and others are now focusing their sponsorship sights not on the big companies that pumped so many dollars into the sport in recent years but on independent companies that might want to get a better bargain on their advertising dollar. He isn't getting any takers yet.

 

It just isn't a good time for the fishing industry. The major boat sponsors on the circuit - Ranger, Triton and Skeeter - were all off 17 percent or more in sales in 2008, Howell said.

 

Regardless, he's headed to the Classic next month on the Red River in Shreveport, La., with his best opportunity ever to win bass fishing's biggest event.

 

"It's perfect for my style of fishing," he said. "There are rocks and wood everywhere. I'm a shallow-water junk fisherman. If we can get a little bit of warm weather, it should be good.

 

"The place is full of 3- to 6-pound fish. We'll probably see one of the biggest catches ever in a Classic."

[diggyj]

just shows that this tough economy hits everyone, including professional fisherman.

[bountyhunter]

Today’s sport fisherman is happy to pay the price for his pleasure. To a certain point that is. Sponsorship will hopefully pick up with 2009, but it won't be for a little while yet. The question is, With sponsorship dwindling, How's an Amateur or Semi - Pro supposed to compete?