...and more profitable. He's done the circuit and touched everyone/everything he needs to from an industry perspective.

I've heard him in a couple of different interviews say that he doesn't know if the Pro circuit is where he is going to stay. This was right after he qualified for the Elites.

I think he did it to prove the nay sayers wrong

What he was doing is an easier way to make money than the Elite Series where you must pay to play. It’s a grind and about $100K a year to be comfortable on the trail. You can do it for less but it’s not easy. Others have slept in their truck when starting out. $80K to 100K to just break even. You can’t live on breaking even. After a year he knows what the economics are on a solid year. Zero guarantee of a solid year. You see great anglers have horrible years. Swindle was 94th in AOY this year. $27,500 in checks. After a while you would think checks are just a bonus for established well sponsored angler. It would be interesting to see a few balance sheets.

I think he declines year two. 28th in AOY points in first year is pretty respectable. Proves he is able to compete at that level. Even Hackney when I rode with him mentioned “I want to sell Tackle”. Apparently his Strike King deal is decent.

According to how his You Tube channel is doing he could do that too full time.

He had stated in the past that his goal was to fish a Bassmaster Classic. He has now fished one and qualified for another. He has shown that he can fish on the top level and been able to experience what its like. I don't think he feels he has anything else to prove. I imagine after accomplishing those goals he will go back to doing the Youtube thing the way he did before and spend more time at home with his family and newborn child.

I saw that coming. He has a kid. He is already loaded. Why in the world would anybody want that lifestyle for that little of money.

Exactly.

Yup and it seems the story line that people want to put forward is that BASS provides a platform and it's up to you to be a market maker for yourself. Well he already has a platform and has made his own market. The whole profession of fishing is just warped to begin with. Hell any decent guide makes more than most and can sleep in his own bed, not have the gas expense, not have the travel, not have massive entry fees... and at the end of the day the only way for them to make any kind of living is peddling product.

I think BASS will figure out a way to get him to come back. BASS got more from him, than he got from BASS.

A young family and the grind of being on the the road. I believe his family travels with him but still, hard to be fully committed to craft & the family.

It’s the dream (nightmare) everyone seems to think they want….

I think it's more about the culture and drama at BASS than the travel. I don't blame anyone on the Elites that is financially set or has and good alternate income source for leaving. Not sure why any honest grown man would want to be mixed up with the soap opera style organization BASS has right now. I guess the same is probably true with MLF as well, but the guys at BASS are literally acting like a bunch of school girls. And it's not just the rookies. BASS had a golden opportunity to literally take over the bass fishing world with all the stupidity at MLF. Instead they one upped the stupidity. Both organizations are run by idiots.

It’s not the rookies at all- it’s the old timers creating all the drama.

He could guide on TX. local lakes and easily make a 100K plus annually. Why put up with the travel/expense grind of fishing the B.A.S.S. trail?