As a kid growing up, teachers would ask the question of what do you want to be when you grow up? For boys, this was a trick question because we never grow up! Back in my day, the standard answers were policeman, fireman, teacher or for the super smart students in my class they would say…. a doctor or lawyer. Some had even greater aspirations of becoming an astronaut, mainly due to the fact we had just landed on the moon. But you never heard anyone say, “I want to be a professional bass fisherman.”

Another thing you never heard was that someone was going to sell water for a living. Can you imagine how your classmates would have reacted back in the 1970’s if you had announced you were going to bottle and sell water. You would have been the center of all their jokes from that day forward. But it turns out, you would have gotten the last laugh as you became wealthy selling water.

You probably would have gotten the same reaction if you said you were going to be a professional bass fisherman. Today, this is a real career choice for a select few. I have always compared it to being a professional athlete. The odds are not in your favor and these two are very comparable. Let me expand on this. Only 1 out of every 10,000 baseball players in the country gets drafted and only 1 out of every 5,000 makes it to the Major Leagues.

I tell you this because it just might be the same odds for becoming a professional bass fisherman. There are literally thousands of anglers across the world who want to make it to the United States and become a professional angler. Not only are you trying to be the best in this country, but you’ll be competing with anglers from Canada, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, and Australia for what amounts to about 80 slots in either B.A.S.S. or the MLF Pro Tours.

Bass fishing has become an international sport and is very competitive for those who want to try and make a living doing it. Catching fish is only a small part of what it takes to fish for a living. Today, you must be good with social media, understand business, be a great salesman and you better have good communication skills with the ability to talk to people.

Now let’s look at the sacrifices you’ll have to make. First, prepare to eat a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while learning how to sleep in your truck or camp out to save money. Just to enter a B.A.S.S. or MLF event will cost you at least $50,000 up front and you have not even wet a hook yet. Travel expenses today with gas, hotel and food is off the chart. Hence, the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and campgrounds to try and save money.

You’ll pull your boat all over the United States with constant wear and tear on your vehicle. Don’t forget, it takes gas to fill up your boat which is an easy $75 to $120 per fill-up which includes all the practice and competition days. To be conservative, you’re probably looking at $100,000 to fish your first season which means you need to finish in the top 50 in every event to collect a $10,000 check and break even. I’ve only known one angler to ever achieve this accomplishment.

If you’re a family man, this just might be the toughest career choice you can make as you will miss birthdays, anniversaries, and some holidays. You will shed a lot of tears as you drive away from your wife and kids waving goodbye while you live the gypsy life away from home for days and weeks at a time.

I’m not trying to discourage anyone from pursuing their dreams, but understand, it’s one of the toughest and most competitive career choices you can ever make. It takes a special angler/person to make it in today’s world as a professional angler. You will need as many sponsors as you can land and if this is your dream, start saving your money now so that when you get that opportunity, money is not an issue. Anglers who are fishing just to get a check are the anglers who will struggle. Tournament fishing is kind of like gambling, anglers who fish to win can take chances rather than having to worry about just making a check so they can fish the next event.

Finally, if you’re married, make sure you have a wife who understands how tough this lifestyle can be. Today, many of the wives act as business managers for their husbands and help with coordinating appearances and interviews that pro anglers are called to do. This allows the angler to stay focused on catching fish and being competitive.

I hope I’ve shed some light on what it takes to enter the world of being a professional bass fisherman. It’s not an easy life, but one that can have great rewards if done correctly. Till next time, good luck, good fishing, and think long and hard if you decide to pursue a career in the professional bass fishing world.

Steve Graf

Anglers Perspective