Questions for those prestige Tournament Fisherman

All my life I have been wanting to fish competively. Even as a 3 year old haha.. But anyways lets get to the point. How does a fisherman “begin” too get to such gratification? And how does one work his way into the FLW tour? It’s a life time dream and through all these life time experiences I’m fine with not living the rich life like all my city friends.

So in all I am transfering to BSU to the bemuda triangle of lakes (Red Lake, Leech, and Winni). One major question I have is how “hard” is it to work yourself into a resort? I have a uncle that lives on Leech and Greatfully enough as I already am he has gaven me permission to basically visit and stay whenever I want. So the real question is does anyone here work with any resorts on leech?

I get the point on how all the pros did it; through hard work and practice. But with some help from all the First-Class fisherman on IDO I believe I can achieve my dream one way or another.

I’ve acknowledged plenty of info from fishing lakes and reservoirs with my peers and myself and I believe it’s time to start putting my name to the test.

Thanks
-matt

Matt,

If you haven’t already done so, a great starting point is fishing as an co-angler on the FLW tour. It will certainly give you a first hand view of how many of the pro’s do it.

Fishing many of the smaller, non-national tournaments on Mille Lacs, Mississippi River and anywhere else is a great way to measure you’re skills and get a feel for what it takes to compete as a tournament fishermen.

Be prepared to work long & hard. It’s not easy competing as a tournament fisherman.

Good luck!

Hey Matt, Joel is correct,I know people who are personally involved in tournament fishing. One thing to always remember: The only guys who start at the “TOP” are well diggers !! Good Luck in your future endevors.

I got the same dreams as you do starting from a young age and last year i took my first step to get into it my fishing the flw tour as a co and some things a knew already but learned a few things as well its a great way to start and you get to meet some great fisherman from all over i feel its the best way to get started im not sure when i will give it a try as a boater but know i will at least be giving the co side one more try first its a diff way of fishing and anything can happen from day one to day three good luck to you in what ever path you choose i know what you mean by where do you start cause i feel im still at that point

Matt,
I agree entirely with Joel. But in addition to this, there are more venues available to you to seek experience and to grow your skills. Club level tournaments in your state’s federation, the numorous open tournaments, Fisher’s of Men, and the list goes on and on. Goos luck on pursueing your dream. I’m sure for many of us, we wish we had made the commitment many years ago to follow that drum. I know I do… Good Luck.

Not only should you fish as a co for a few years, but you should try to connect with a touring pro so you can prefish and see everything that actually goes into it. The top guys put more into every event then you’d ever imagine. These guys are researching water the day the schedules come out.

Contacts help, but you see guys who just go out and fish hard and study their surroundings do well to. The work ethic and dedication is something that must be learned, no matter how much you love fishing. Fish as a co a few times, post on the internet looking for prefishing opportunities, and make some friends on the pro side while fishing in their boats. Good things will happen.

Good Luck,

Any start to fishing these tournaments involves money, plain and simple…If you have money for the entry fee..pay it and your in. You don’t need to qualify for these tournaments anyway.
I would also suggest giving the co-angler a run first. I did this in 2005 and learned so much about tournament life, struggles, and finances. Not to mention your fishing with some of the best walleye fishermen in the world, with the best equipment. They are all true professionals in my opinion! The are great teachers as well.

Good luck!

All you need is money.
I can see the benefits of going as a coangler, but at the same time disagree.
If you are one who likes to run the show, have confidence in your fishing for a body of water, then get in as a boater. Most likely you will not win, but the experience of getting thrown to the wolves is sometimes what we need. Long as you try your best, learn something and don’t financially strap yourself-what harm is coming in last place? Mainly, only the ego. Like the others said, enter all the local tourneys you can and gain experience where ever you can. If you are riding the fence, then go as a co and figure out what you really want to do, otherwise, run with the big dogs. Only person you need permission from is yourself.

Good luck and have fun!!!!

I would suggest starting as a co-angler, as well as joining the National Professional Anglers Association (NPAA). The NPAA will allow you networking opportunities with proven professionals that will be willing to answer your questions. Also, the NPAA will help teach you how to acquire sponsors. Without sponsors the tournament game is tough and we all know sponsorship money is really tight right now.

Dan Jochum
NPAA #269

I’m going to toss one other tidbit out there.

Pay attention to your family too.

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All you need is money.
I can see the benefits of going as a coangler, but at the same time disagree.
If you are one who likes to run the show, have confidence in your fishing for a body of water, then get in as a boater. Most likely you will not win, but the experience of getting thrown to the wolves is sometimes what we need. Long as you try your best, learn something and don’t financially strap yourself-what harm is coming in last place? Mainly, only the ego. Like the others said, enter all the local tourneys you can and gain experience where ever you can. If you are riding the fence, then go as a co and figure out what you really want to do, otherwise, run with the big dogs. Only person you need permission from is yourself.

Good luck and have fun!!!!

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Money and time and no family comitments, that’s all ya need to be a pro.

Tried it back in the 80’s and didn’t have enough of any of them, almost ruined my love of fishing and almost cost a wife.

Now I just fish local club matches, cheap, fun and home nights.

Good luck, remember many try, only a few make their living at it.

Al

It appears from your profile that you are 20 years old… so I would suggest that you take Cade Laufenberg out to dinner,”(at a very nice place)”, and have him tell you his story….

Matt, if you do become a Pro. Please, please don’t become a douche like some of those pro can become. I’ve had a couple run ins with pro’s who thought I was in their way and should not be on “their” water.

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It appears from your profile that you are 20 years old… so I would suggest that you take Cade Laufenberg out to dinner,”(at a very nice place)”, and have him tell you his story….

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“not that there’s anything wrong with that”

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Matt, if you do become a Pro. Please, please don’t become a douche like some of those pro can become. I’ve had a couple run ins with pro’s who thought I was in their way and should not be on “their” water.

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Now that is an awesome bit of advise!

Great advise indeed – same thing applies to “joes”

I’d suggest a degree in sales and marketing. With a big focus on public speaking. Remember the “Pro” in pro fisherman stands for “Promotion”. Most won’t make it on the fishing side without the money from the promotional side.

Remember, many pros spend the off season fulfilling boat, motor, electronic and gear contracts by working sports shows and dealer promos. Hard work that does not come naturally to a lot of people. You need to “Brand” yourself and a true spokesman for the products you support. These companies don’t want some uneducated dufus representing their products. The pros out there that do this off season stuff well are the same pros that succeed on the tour. Many guys are simply wealthy enough to finance the sport on their own. It’s not about the money, it’s about winning. These are typically guys who run their own business. Have enough money and time off to do the fishing side alone. You need to figure out what kind of pro you want to end up being.

Good Luck.

-J.

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These companies don’t want some uneducated dufus representing their products.

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Now that’s not entirely true.

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These companies don’t want some uneducated dufus representing their products.

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Now that’s not entirely true.

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Looks alone will only get you so far…..

-J.

Close in age and they would have tons in common???? Not like he would if he talked to an old goat like me ???? I paid Cade a compliment… gave the young man good advice and its still a problem Hilarious.

LE – it’s from a Seinfeld episode. …you must have missed it. It was meant to be funny

A well known pro gave me a breakdown a few years back that really stuck in my mind. He said making it as a “pro” walleye guy was 1/4 fishing skill, 1/4 luck, and 1/2 salesmanship. Selling oneself to sponsors, then selling sponsor’s products to the masses. He also warned that a pro needs a hugely supportive family, lots of money, and the realization that, somewhat like any other celebrity, success is fickle. Sponsors clamour for your endorsement when you are on top, but quickly fade if the payoff is not there. Good luck in your quest. Keep in mind that if the sport becomes a job, some of the fun will be lost, but it can be done!!!

I just wanna thank all of IDO for all of your comments. I respect every word of advice that has been spoken. Also I would like to ad that earlier some of yall talked about some pros over egoing. To me, water is open to everyone, I too dislike people who think this is “THEIR” spot. Hopefully through all of this knowledge of dedication and everything else I can somehow hold true to working my way into the fishing system and than to the FLW and furthermore…

Thanks
-matt molitor

Matt,

You should send DustyFish a PM asking this question. He went to Bemidji State not too long ago and worked his way up to fishing in the FLW League championship and some of the FLW Tour events.

From personal experience, I would recommend fishing as a co-angler in some events. AIM will be on Winni in September, so that may be a good local one to look into.

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Looks alone will only get you so far…..

-J.

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so, you’re saying i have a foot in the door?…