Pro Anglers: Teachers or Salesmen?
As fishermen, we're constantly bombarded with new products — many of which promise to make us better anglers or catch more fish. Occasionally those claims hold true, but all too often, they don't.
I have a garage full of stuff I've wasted good money on, and I bet you do too.
Hopefully, that's about to change. In this installment of Pro Spective, I'd like to introduce you to some products I believe will truly enhance your fishing experience … and give you your money's worth.
Let's get this out of the way right off the bat: if Live Target or some other company came to my house tomorrow and offered me money to sponsor their products, I'd take the deal in a second. I don't think that necessarily means that I'd be selling out, and even if it does, I don't really think selling out, from the perspective of an angler, is always a bad thing or something that should be frowned upon. Let's be honest, 99% of us would take ANY amount of money to sponsor a product if we had the chance. That said, if I was being paid by Live Target, and all of a sudden my blog was filled with great reviews of their products, you'd be suspicious, and rightfully so.
So while I was reading Bernie Schultz's article, excerpted above, on the Bassmaster website, I was sceptical. Frankly, articles on that website sometimes come off merely as advertisements, and this one was particularly bad. I had the suspicion that Schultz was sponsored in some way or another by most of the companies that make the products he raved about. And after some research, I found out that I was right: Schultz is sponsored by Rapala, and is a member of the pro-staff at JL Marine and Motormate. In other words, he gets PAID to tell you that those companies make good products. And though he may not get paid to write about all of the products he endorses, his unofficial endorsements might just be a way to try and secure new sponsorships. I'm not faulting him for doing his job- if I ever had a sponsor, and was told to jump, I'd say how high. Schultz is doing the right thing. But as consumers, we should question his ability to be objective.
Of course, there is an another explanation for Schultz's behaviour. It's possible that he doesn't tell us that certain products are good because he endorses them, but that he chooses to endorse them because they ARE good. Fair enough. As Kevin VanDam advises, "If you take on fishing-related sponsorships, only accept those with products you use and believe in. Know all of their features and benefits, and when you have success using them, emphasize how and why they worked for you. You will come across believable and build your credibility with the public and your sponsors, making you more valuable to them in the long run." Basically, KVD is warning anglers that there are long-term costs associated with a bad reputation, advice that should be taken by ALL businesses.
Nevertheless, we need to remember that sponsorships are merely investments- fishing companies pay professional anglers because they believe that doing so will ultimately increase their revenues. KVD gives this example: if ABC Bait Co. offers [a professional angler] $100 a month, [he] needs to help them sell $1,000 of product a month for them to break even. We can see, then, that anglers may have an incentive to push products to gain and maintain sponsorships. We should also remember that even most pro anglers aren't on KVD's level, and that while he may have his pick of the litter when it comes to endorsing products, most other guys may have to take what they can get.
I have a garage full of stuff I've wasted good money on, and I bet you do too.
Hopefully, that's about to change. In this installment of Pro Spective, I'd like to introduce you to some products I believe will truly enhance your fishing experience … and give you your money's worth.
Let's get this out of the way right off the bat: if Live Target or some other company came to my house tomorrow and offered me money to sponsor their products, I'd take the deal in a second. I don't think that necessarily means that I'd be selling out, and even if it does, I don't really think selling out, from the perspective of an angler, is always a bad thing or something that should be frowned upon. Let's be honest, 99% of us would take ANY amount of money to sponsor a product if we had the chance. That said, if I was being paid by Live Target, and all of a sudden my blog was filled with great reviews of their products, you'd be suspicious, and rightfully so.
So while I was reading Bernie Schultz's article, excerpted above, on the Bassmaster website, I was sceptical. Frankly, articles on that website sometimes come off merely as advertisements, and this one was particularly bad. I had the suspicion that Schultz was sponsored in some way or another by most of the companies that make the products he raved about. And after some research, I found out that I was right: Schultz is sponsored by Rapala, and is a member of the pro-staff at JL Marine and Motormate. In other words, he gets PAID to tell you that those companies make good products. And though he may not get paid to write about all of the products he endorses, his unofficial endorsements might just be a way to try and secure new sponsorships. I'm not faulting him for doing his job- if I ever had a sponsor, and was told to jump, I'd say how high. Schultz is doing the right thing. But as consumers, we should question his ability to be objective.
Of course, there is an another explanation for Schultz's behaviour. It's possible that he doesn't tell us that certain products are good because he endorses them, but that he chooses to endorse them because they ARE good. Fair enough. As Kevin VanDam advises, "If you take on fishing-related sponsorships, only accept those with products you use and believe in. Know all of their features and benefits, and when you have success using them, emphasize how and why they worked for you. You will come across believable and build your credibility with the public and your sponsors, making you more valuable to them in the long run." Basically, KVD is warning anglers that there are long-term costs associated with a bad reputation, advice that should be taken by ALL businesses.
Nevertheless, we need to remember that sponsorships are merely investments- fishing companies pay professional anglers because they believe that doing so will ultimately increase their revenues. KVD gives this example: if ABC Bait Co. offers [a professional angler] $100 a month, [he] needs to help them sell $1,000 of product a month for them to break even. We can see, then, that anglers may have an incentive to push products to gain and maintain sponsorships. We should also remember that even most pro anglers aren't on KVD's level, and that while he may have his pick of the litter when it comes to endorsing products, most other guys may have to take what they can get.
I'm not trying to create a conspiracy theory, and I'm not saying that all or even most anglers are endorsing products that they don't believe in, but simply that sometimes their advice goes a little overboard: for example, when you're told to change your mono line every time you go fishing, or that you need to own 10 different kinds of rods. Sure, changing your line every time might prevent you from losing a fish once in awhile, but is that really worth spending $10+ every week? I understand that this kind of attention to detail might impact a pro's tournament life significantly, but I'll lose a fish or two every summer if I can save a couple hundred bucks on line (note: I can't remember the last time I lost a fish due to a line break, and I change the mono on my ONE rod ONCE a year, and treat my equipment, relatively speaking, quite terribly- call me lucky).
One of the things to be wary of, if you're an average angler and CONSUMER like I am, is that the fishing industry is full of marketing gimmicks (admittedly, from a business perspective, these gimmicks are often brilliant). You can make the same rod, call one a walleye rod and the other a bass rod, and move twice as much merchandise. You can read articles about how using 18lb braid over 10lb braid makes ALL the difference when it comes to catching fish, and forget that the article was written by some pro who doesn't have to pay for his line (I don't want to say it's 'free' because he has to work to endorse the products). I don't mean to say that all equipment is equally good, but that for the average angler, many adjustments in equipment will not in any significant way change the number of fish caught.
What some people LIKE to think, or, perhaps more accurately, what fishing companies want them to think, is that if only I have this fish finder, this rod, this reel, I will suddenly become a pro angler. But this is like thinking that buying an expensive guitar and a great amp will magically turn you into Eric Clapton, even if you don't spend any time learning the damned instrument. But arguably, what prevents most amateur anglers from catching more fish is not equipment, or even technique, but actually knowing where to find the suckers. Think about it: does Dave Mercer ever tell you exactly where he is on Lake Simcoe? Hell, most of the time, especially in his web cuts, he won't even tell you what lake he's on. My advice? First take the time to actually learn about the habits of fish and their biological characteristics. Then study a particular area by looking at books or, better yet, browsing through fishing forums online and looking at maps. Finally, pay attention to what works and what doesn't when you're actually on the water. I guarantee you that focussing on these things will get you more fish than buying the latest products. And once you start having success regularly, then you can reward yourself by upgrading your equipment. But even then, think critically- ask yourself when you're watching fishing shows on TV or online- is the host trying to be a teacher, or a salesman?
One of the things to be wary of, if you're an average angler and CONSUMER like I am, is that the fishing industry is full of marketing gimmicks (admittedly, from a business perspective, these gimmicks are often brilliant). You can make the same rod, call one a walleye rod and the other a bass rod, and move twice as much merchandise. You can read articles about how using 18lb braid over 10lb braid makes ALL the difference when it comes to catching fish, and forget that the article was written by some pro who doesn't have to pay for his line (I don't want to say it's 'free' because he has to work to endorse the products). I don't mean to say that all equipment is equally good, but that for the average angler, many adjustments in equipment will not in any significant way change the number of fish caught.
What some people LIKE to think, or, perhaps more accurately, what fishing companies want them to think, is that if only I have this fish finder, this rod, this reel, I will suddenly become a pro angler. But this is like thinking that buying an expensive guitar and a great amp will magically turn you into Eric Clapton, even if you don't spend any time learning the damned instrument. But arguably, what prevents most amateur anglers from catching more fish is not equipment, or even technique, but actually knowing where to find the suckers. Think about it: does Dave Mercer ever tell you exactly where he is on Lake Simcoe? Hell, most of the time, especially in his web cuts, he won't even tell you what lake he's on. My advice? First take the time to actually learn about the habits of fish and their biological characteristics. Then study a particular area by looking at books or, better yet, browsing through fishing forums online and looking at maps. Finally, pay attention to what works and what doesn't when you're actually on the water. I guarantee you that focussing on these things will get you more fish than buying the latest products. And once you start having success regularly, then you can reward yourself by upgrading your equipment. But even then, think critically- ask yourself when you're watching fishing shows on TV or online- is the host trying to be a teacher, or a salesman?
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