I have always wondered, what are the economics of bass pros? And, how can they sustain ‘chasing the dream’ and still manage to pay the bills?

I pulled some data from a full-time tournament angler based on the last 12 full years of fishing tour and series events. The results are interesting. A mere $267,000 in winnings with at least $510,000 in expenses. Expenses are calculated at $1500 per event.

He did have a big win in a series event, but was unable to capitalize and carry that momentum to gain bigger sponsors and cement a bona fide pro career.

Now, maybe I am way off on how much sponsors pay, or expenses, but the net result is annual earnings of about $22,689 a year. After 12 years, the average AOY standing of this angler was 101 with one title appearance. It is noteworthy that his best performing year came while rooming with some of the top pros in the game. I guess the buddy system does work.

Many pros shrug off a bad year or event with “I’ll get ‘em next time”, but at what point is this business model not sustainable? When do people decide that they just are not good enough and quit? I understand the desire to never give up and all that, but the numbers just don’t add up. 12 years with less than mediocre results in any job would not be acceptable. Then there is the factor of time away from family, which cannot be replaced.

There are some people in the game with the same record, but have excellent marketing skills. This allows for more income and is sustainable.

In the future, it appears that the tournament organizers are making it harder for under performers to keep fishing. In the past, they just pay the entry and fish. This doesn’t make them “professionals”, and taints the legitimacy of the sport. In the Elites for example, it is hard to qualify, and stay in the roster. Folks who do not cut it here don’t last very long. The cream rises to the top.

1. The top 5% cream of the crop make money.
2. The rest are either already wealthy/have the money to waste or don't mind going into a few hundred thousand dollars in debt for a few years to chase a dream.

And that's on the actual "pro" level circuits.

There is a reason the professional circuits are front-end loaded. Most of the Pros have other events or business ventures that has a significant flow of cash. Unless they are in the 5%, they have to work harder during the off-season to keep up...

Fishing/Boat Shows
Bait Design
Sponsor Events
Guiding
Etc.

If you're not already, I think you'll enjoy the weekly email from Best on Tour. Get's a little more into the "behind" the scenes stuff.

I don't know who is behind the emails but I enjoy getting them each week.

If you are a person determined to live your dream it is hard work and sometimes with little reward. I applaud those that keep at it and do not give up. That is a great testament to who they are. Strong character. We need more people like that.

Matt Meyer

Thanks, Mark

I agree. They wont let everybody else tell them they are wrong and it will fail.

It would be easy to show a loss (I'd think) so the income would be tax free. That's worth another 20% probably. So the same as about $27,442 gross for a W2 employee to fish full time.

I'd definitely need a side hustle these days but I've worked for less when I was a youngster.

Also without healthcare or retirement benefits

Randy Blaukat did a little dissertation on this very issue earlier this year. From a man that has been a pro for 35 years, it was an interesting perspective. Look on YouTube.

Let's say for discussion sake that there are 200 "pros" between the two Tours. 50 do well, 100 end up being able to make it work year by year and 50 don't need to be there.

There will always be a line of anglers ready to step up and take their shot regardless.

I enjoy each of them!

Some of them are eye opening for sure!

Randy Blauket video
https://youtu.be/ICxNkI6s8gs

I think the pros do a lot better than we think, they get new and latest everything and they get to fish for a living.