|
|
|
|
|
|
(Continued from page 1)
a regular basis they aren't giving you a dime.
Working with sponsors should be viewed almost as another full time job. You are essentially a sales person for the company. Your job is to promote and sell their products with hopes of giving them an increase in the market share. You should be prepared to hear the word "No" quite frequently which reverts back to the earlier statements about mental toughness.
Let me give you just a little example of the rejection aspect from sponsors. I am a Business Management and Marketing major which means I was taught how to market and promote products. My grade point average was pretty high and I was on the honors list. My tournament statistics are fairly good, with a few wins and various top ten finishes. At one point about a year ago I mailed out nearly one hundred sponsorship requests and guess how many of those companies agreed to sponsor me? You
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
guessed it none. The first few kind of bothered me a little but, I quickly got used to the rejection and tried to concoct a plan on how to get sponsors to want me.
Once you do find a company that is willing to give you a shot, chances are all you will get is a couple boxes of free lures or maybe a couple reels or some other form of product. All of this is fine but it is sure hard to pay an entry fee or put gas in the boat with a box of Crankbaits and four thousand yards of monofilament. I guess what I am trying to say is that there is only one person that you should count on in order to have the opportunity to compete and that is yourself.
Dealing with the fatigue you get from spending countless hours on the water and traveling from tournament to tournament can also take it toll on you. I had a stretch this year where I fished five tournaments in six weeks (none within 150 miles of my home) and it seemed like I just couldn't get my en
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ergy level up to where it needed to be. I felt like as soon as I got home it was time to hit the road again. There were also times where my traveling partner and I would pack up from one tournament and jump in the truck and head straight for the next one. It is very important for you to be in good physical condition. The lack of sleep and getting up at 3 am can have a strange affect on your body. So eat well, get a good night sleep whenever possible and do not visit the local bars in every town you visit.
The weather is just a whole different ball game. Once you decide to make the jump to fishing professionally you can kiss the days of being a fair weather fisherman goodbye. You will be subject to fishing in rain, wind and yes possibly even snow. That is when the men are separated from the boys or the women are separated from the little girls. This year alone I fished in just about every condition possible. Everything from 30 (Continued on page 4)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
