The fishermen's cost of a tournament
I have never entered a tournament before. I cant' believe the money that the fishermen spend on new gear and tackle.
It is a larger money maker than I ever thought.
If' it's new, bass fishermen will buy it
By Terry Knight -- Record-Bee outdoors columnist
Updated: 02/23/2010 10:40:52 PM PST
The major bass tournaments return to Clear Lake starting this weekend when West Coast Bass holds its two-day pro/am tournament. That tournament will be followed by the Holder Ford-Mercury event, and right behind that is the nationally televised ESPN Bassmasters Elite Series.
Just about all the fishermen entered in the tournaments will be running new bass boats and they will have the latest in expensive fishing equipment. Few sports enthusiasts spend as much money on their sport as bass fishermen.
In addition to the $50,000 or more bass fishermen spend on a boat, they spend thousands of dollars on equipment. The fishing industry has responded with one of the most aggressive marketing programs in history. As one old-timer once told me, "Thirty years ago if I had known just how much money bass fishermen spend on their equipment, I would be a millionaire today."
For example, forget about the old standard of going fishing with just one or two fishing rods. Today's modern bass fisherman has a fishing rod for all occasions. There are specialty rods for flipping, casting crankbaits and split-shotting. There are swimbait rods, jig rods and even a special rod for casting a plastic frog. These rods each cost as much as $500 and every fisherman has to have one. The reels that go on the rods are also expensive. The most expensive casting reel will set an angler back $500. Even the standard reel will cost upward of $200. When you total up the cost of a modern day rod and reel it can easily add up to $700. Multiply that by a dozen rods and you know why the rod lockers on most of the bass boats have locks on them.
In fact, bass fishermen now have so many rods that their boats have giant rod lockers just to stow them. Most bass fishermen have at least 10 fishing rods, all rigged and ready to use. When you take into consideration that most of the time there are two fishermen in each boat, the rod lockers often resemble the sporting goods department in a major store.
It's not just the number of fishing rods that most fishermen feel they are required to own. There is also other gear, including lures and plastic worms. Today's lures don't come cheap. A simple crankbait can cost as much as $35 and the popular swimbaits can set you back more than $100 each. The old days of $3 lures are long past. Most bass fishermen have several tackle boxes jammed with expensive lures and plastic worms.
Unlike trout fishermen who basically use the same flies year after year, bass fishermen switch lures constantly. If a manufacturer comes out with a new lure, the fishermen will buy it. Most bass fishermen -- myself included -- have drawers stuffed full of plastic worms, jig and crankbaits that were popular a few years ago, but are no longer used. In fact, recently I tried to give some away of my old lures and no one wanted them.
It's not that these old plastic worms or lures won't catch fish, it's just that we are convinced the newer ones are better. For example, 15 years ago a plastic worm called the "shark" was the hottest worm on the fishing scene. Tackle manufacturers couldn't produce them fast enough. Nowadays very few fishermen use a shark. The Sluggo was a plastic jerkbait and every fisherman had a tackle box full of them. Today, you can't even buy a Sluggo.
Now compare a bass fisherman with a trout or panfish angler. Whereas the trout purist may have a $500 fly rod, he usually ties his own flies. His biggest expense is his fly rod and a pair of waders. All a crappie fisherman needs to enjoy a day on the water is a cheap spinning rod and reel and a couple of crappie jigs that sell for about $2 for a pack of five.
Does all this mean that you have to spend your life savings on fishing equipment to catch a bass? Not really. A bass doesn't know or care if you're in $50,000 bass boat or a cheap aluminum cartop boat. It's called marketing and the industry knows how to market to the most gullible people of all the bass fisherman.
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