Becoming a pro
My question is what path do you have to take to become a pro and to get Into the professional bass tournament circuit. It always been a dream of mine to become a pro and since I had a battle with cancer at a pretty young age this past year and beat it I told myself I want to chase that dream. Was hoping for a little direction to help work towards that goal.
In my opinion, I would recommend fishing in the Bassmaster opens and FLW s to get your feet wet and see if you can compete with those guys and hopefully win some and get your name out there. You could do it without sponsorship but it will be alot easier with sponsors. Try to consider what you can do for sponsors and not what they can do for you and you will be headed in the right direction .
If you live in the eastern US I would suggest fishing BFL tournaments as a Co-Angler to get into it
I have some advice on what NOT to do. Do NOT become a software developer, it seriously cuts into the fishing time :)
So glad you battle and won your cancer fight. Here are some things I've learned over the years on becoming a pro. The most importing thing is to focus on your fishing. You are at the right place here at Bass U. I can't tell you how many guys on the Elite tour and MLF use Bass U as a resource to learn. Take these lessons on the water and put your time in. I do recommend fishing as a co-angler or even a marshal. Watching the pros do their thing and adjusting to conditions if invaluable. Don't skip steps. Start competing locally, then regionally and then nationally. Try to improve your skills on each level before you move to the next.
Sponsors are a different animal. JCooley nailed it when he talks about what you can do for sponsors. That's the most important thing you can do is benefit sponsors. Today that mostly comes in the form of social media work. I think its important to focus on your fishing first and sponsorship down the road.
