Anglers now make thousands on the tournament trail

IF ROLAND MARTIN hadn't spent the past 28 years on the professional bass fishing tournament trail, he probably wouldn't recognize the sport today.

In 1970, Martin won his first professional tournament and was tickled to death to net a $3,000 first prize. Today, Martin and other pro anglers regularly compete for first-place checks of $100,000.

Martin was among 168 pro fishermen who were competing in the 1998 WON BASS U.S. Open this week on Lake Mead -- a tournament that featured a $340,000 purse with a first prize of $50,000 plus a boat, motor, truck and camper shell. The winner of this year's U.S. Open, which concluded today, walked away with more than $113,000 in cash and prizes.

Last weekend in Moline, Ill., Davey Hite landed the largest cash prize in fishing history -- $250,000 -- for winning the Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship.

The recent surge in popularity in tournament bass fishing led Sports Illustrated to proclaim the sport "the next NASCAR."

While the popular stock-car circuit is the fastest-growing spectator sport in the United States, fishing -- bass fishing, in particular -- is among the fastest-growing participant sports.

"The sport gets more popular every year," pro fisherman Jay Yelas said. "There are more fishermen getting into the sport all the time.

"Professional bass fishing has been around for 25 or 30 years. Just in the last two years we've gone into a growth spurt as far as prize money. I can remember just two years ago when maybe once a year we might have a purse of $100,000. Now, we fish for $100,000 in every tournament."

By one estimate, more than 55 million Americans are hooked on fishing. That fact has not been lost on many Fortune 500 companies looking for new ways to get their products and services noticed by consumers.

"There are a couple of reasons behind the growth in this sport," Yelas said. "We've finally been able to attract some corporate sponsors into the sport and that's probably the biggest reason. Wal-Mart, Kmart, General Mills, Coca-Cola, Northwest Airlines and other companies like that are finally seeing a value to use bass tournaments as a marketing tool to promote their products.

"I guess that just shows these corporations that fishing has a big enough following now where it's worth their time."

Apparently, General Mills agrees. Earlier this summer, the breakfast cereal giant featured Wal-Mart FLW Tour champion Denny Brauer on a Wheaties cereal box -- an honor usually reserved for Olympians and other athletes from the more traditional "stick and ball" sports.

Another reason for the rapid growth in the sport's purses has been good old-fashioned competition, according to Martin, a nine-time Angler of the Year and host of a popular TV fishing show.

While BASS (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society) has been around for 30 years, the upstart Wal-Mart FLW Tour burst onto the scene and began offering $100,000 prizes, forcing BASS to increase its tournament purses to keep from losing its top anglers to the rival tour.

"With the FLW tour kicking off a couple years ago, that really helped," Martin said. "The FLW started giving away $100,000 first prizes and $40,000 for second, so all of a sudden BASS starts upping their prizes. There's a little bit of competition now and it sure has been a big plus."

Yelas, Martin and other top pro anglers can earn more than $200,000 a year -- without winning a tournament.

"With the purses the way they are now, the top money winners will earn about a half a million dollars in 1998 -- in tournament winnings," Yelas said. "And your top pros will make up to a couple hundred thousand dollars in endorsement deals alone.

"If you have a real good year tournament fishing, that's where the money is at -- it's more than the endorsements with all these big purses."

Martin, who has won 19 career tournaments, knows first-hand of what Yelas speaks.

"I had a great year last year, financially," Martin said. "I won one tournament but just by placing fairly high I won well over $100,000 and actually had one of my better years. It wasn't that I placed any better, it's just that I won more money because of the bigger purses."

Before you grab your rod and reel and head to the next pro tournament, Martin added that it can cost upwards of $75,000 a year to travel the tournament trail.

"Sure, you can make $100,000 a year," Martin said, "but you have a lot of expenses. Let's say I won $150,000 last year. I probably had at least $75,000 in expenses.

"If you're fishing 15 tournaments a year and they average almost $2,000 (each) in entry fees, that's $30,000 just in entry fees. You can throw in probably another $2,000 a tournament in travel, so that's $60,000 right there."

That, however, is pocket change for Brauer -- who will set the all-time earnings mark by a pro fisherman this year by reeling in more than $800,000.

Yelas said if the sport continues its current growth, pro fishermen soon will be earning a million dollars a year.

"No one has ever won a million dollars in one year fishing," Yelas said.

"The potential is there now and if it keeps growing like it has, five years from now it could happen."

The thought of which boggles Martin's mind.

"I really didn't ever think it would take off like it has," Martin said. "I guided a little bit in the '60s and I thought (pro fishing) would be a little bit better than guiding. I could make about $10,000 or $12,000 a year back then guiding -- which was a lot of money at the time.

"But a million dollars? No way."

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