It seems that many tournament fishermen are willing to stop just short of selling their souls to be sponsored. I recently visited a website with several tournament fishermen listed and their sponsors. Some of these guys had eight or ten sponsors and have never left the ranks of the weekend tournament circuits. Out of curiosity and envy, I looked at some of the pro staff sections of their sponsor's websites. I stopped looking after three.
The first "join our pro staff" page told me they would love to have me join their team. All I had to do was sell $500 worth of their products to receive a window sticker and a 50% discount. I'd be watched over by a pro staff director and could be terminated if I didn't continue to prove my worth. The next one also had a hitch. To climb aboard their team, you only had to purchase a $200 starter pack which was not even $200 worth of baits. It also included stickers, fliers, and other promotional items that they expect you to buy from them, then give away. The next was the same as above except a bit less expensive at $150. After I buy $200 worth of fishing line, spinnerbaits, or whatchamacallits, how good will a 50% discount do me? I'll already have bought a year or two supply at the regular price.
It amazes me that they have people wanting sponsorship so badly that they would buy it. I'm not shy when it comes to spending money on fishing. Still, I would have to buy hundreds of dollars worth more than I needed of their bait just to break even when all I would have to do is work an extra day at my job and have more than the 50% of what I would have spent with them. Still, I couldn't turn everyone green with envy at my success and how many people wanted to sponsor me.
You already know the ins and outs if you fish the top-level tours. But if you're like me, you rarely, if ever, compete out of your home state, you'd be far better off seeking sponsorship from local companies, preferably from someone you already know, or even better yet, forget the idea altogether. Sponsorship takes up a lot of time and even money. For example, you may offer or be asked to put fliers on windshields at a large tournament. How many baits at a 50% discount would you have to buy to justify the travel time, gas, and time it takes to put fliers on a couple of hundred windshields?
Sponsors are looking at this also. If they provided you with $1,000 in entry fees, how many baits would you have to be credited for being sold before showing a profit on their investment in you? For the vast majority, sponsorship is not feasible. Most of us would be better off improving our skills than trying to impress other anglers with our patches and stickers. I'm not saying all tackle companies are like this or that no sponsorships should be considered. I am on one pro staff and enjoy helping him out in what I can. He's local and a good guy trying to grow a new business. Don't expect sponsors to smother you with discounts and entry fees just because you are sporting their logo on your truck, boat, and shirt. They may give you the stickers but expect to pay anywhere from $80 to $150 for their tournament shirt. You'll need to ask yourself what you have to offer them besides sporting their logos and telling a few of your friends about them, which will make them increase sales because of your relationship with them.
