Matthew Dickerson, Addison Independent, September 16, 1999 (reprinted by permission)
I don't know that I've ever met a serious angler who hasn't, at some time in their life, wished they could get paid to go fishing. I certainly have. And I'm not talking about being a fishing guide. I've done that. Not only is it too much like real work, a professional guide doesn't even get to fish while with a client. They're constrained to spend their working days watching other people fish their favorite holes. I'm also not talking about being an outdoor columnist and getting paid to write about fishing--though that's not bad, I guess. And I'm especially not talking about being a commercial fishermen, whose livelihood depends on bringing in large quantities of food for the world market. That's definitely too much work. What I'm talking about is being a professional sport-fisherman.
This week a group of the countries top professional bass anglers--yes, there are people out there who really do get paid to fish--plus a few amateur anglers, converged again on Lake Champlain for the "BIG K-Mart BASSMASTER Top 150" bass tournament. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday were "practice days" on Lake Champlain. The actual competition days run the second half of this week: Wednesday (Sept.15) through Saturday (Sept.18).The pros compete for a first place prize of $100,000, while the amateurs are fishing for a $25,000 first prize. The biggest bass each day also collects $1000 for pros, and $400 for amateurs. The top 40 finishers all receive some prize, with a total payout of $409,450. The tournament will have approximately 300 contenders, from 35 states plus Canada and Japan. There are 19 participants from Vermont, all in the Amateur division.
The basic rules for the BASSMASTER tournament are simple. The anglers checkout at 6:20am each morning (one boat at a time) and must return for weigh-in by 3:00pm. All boats must have live-wells, and are limited to 250 HP. Those in the amateur division are paired with the pros (who supply the boats), with different pairings each day. Each competitor may bring in five bass per day, at least 12" in length. The winner is the bassmaster with the greatest total weight of bass (largemouth or smallmouth) at the end of four days. All fish must be kept alive for later release. Dead fish are penalized 4 oz--which is significant in a tournament where the winner may be determined by less than a pound. Though this rule alone won't prevent the later death of some fish due to stress and overhandling, it is a good safeguard.
But before you get too excited about becoming a professional yourself, you should know a few things. The tournament entry fee alone is $1,500 for pros and $400 for amateurs. Add the cost of hotel and travel, and you've spent quite a bit just to enter a tournament. Then there is the equipment. The average bass boat, with electronics, trailor, and towing vehicle, runs about $40,000. And most pros keep at least six and as many as ten $150 rod-reel combinations in the boat. (And I thought fly-fishing for trout was expensive!) If you're good enough, however, it pays off. Bass fishing is a $46 billion industry. More people fish (60 million) than play golf (24 million) and tennis (17 million) combined. And the average bass angler spends about $1,500 a year on the sport. So although the top bass professionals don't yet rival Michael Jordan for endorsement money, they do well with some topping $1,000,000. As for me, I'd be willing to go fishing for one tenth of that.