COLUMN
NEWELL’S NOTES
ROB
NEWELL
F
12
Keeping the Day Job
ifteen to 20 years ago, the idea of becoming a full-time
professional bass angler came with a rather idealistic
notion: You could quit your day job to fish.
Say what? Quit that J-O-B to fish for a living?
Yes, that’s correct. And back in those days, many anglers
did just that. But those were different times.
That was the era of “two-tour” pros who fished both FLW
and B.A.S.S. for a total of 16 to 20 national-level events per
year. Also, team deals, whereby pros were funded by and
competed on behalf of FLW’s corporate sponsors, were far
more common back then. The combination of multiple big-
money events across two tours and a team deal helped many
pros garner additional paying sponsors from companies
looking to piggyback on their national fishing exposure.
Indeed, fishing was a full-time job.
The new reality, however, is that the schedules of the
national circuits now conflict. Consequently, the number of
events available to pros has dwindled: Choose one or the
other. In addition, marketing gurus at fishing companies are
now faced with far more options for spending promotional
dollars than ever before, and the sponsorship opportunities
once afforded by big team deals are drying up.
The result?
Now, although there are pros who make their living solely
by competing and handling promotional duties for sponsors,
many more “full-time” bass pros are keeping the security of
their “day jobs” while bumping up their bottom line with tour-
nament winnings. Resisting the urge to quit the “real job” has
resulted in some anglers having the best of both worlds: the
security of a job and the opportunity to fish the FLW Tour.
Back in the late 1990s, Florida pro Mike Surman was win-
ning regionally and racking up sponsors, and was eager to
take the next step into t he full-time ranks of pro fishing. At
various points, he considered the consequences of quitting
his day job as a senior sales manager for Siemans
Corporation, but he decided to stick with it.
“Sure, I wanted to quit my job,” he recalls. “But these days
I’m so glad I didn’t go that route. Looking back, I may have
done better in a few more events if I had fished full time, but
those extra few successes would have never made up for the
salary, benefits and security of my job for the last 35 years.”
Surman knows he is very fortunate to have an employer
and work schedule that allow him to fish the FLW Tour. He
misses some practice days because of work, and there have
been some long drives to get home for Monday morning
sales calls, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“When I fish an FLW event I’m relaxed because my bills are
paid,” he says. “I’m not worried about how much weight it’s
going to take to get a check so I can get home. When I do win
money, it’s like a bonus. Fishing the Tour is a profitable side
gig for me that I really enjoy.”
Brandon McMillan, another Florida pro, also feels the
temptation to quit his day job as a UPS delivery driver. In
recent years he has won an FLW Tour event, a Costa FLW
Series event and a B.A.S.S. Open, and he’s qualified for the
Bassmaster Elite Series, which he declined to join.
FLWFISHING.COM I JULY 2018