I think Scott Martin is a good example of how social media is more important than tournament success. He's making millions but rarely finishes in the top 50.
i never go fishing without getting beef jerky...i just bought some 10 mins ago and i looked for bridgford but the gas station didnt have any so i got some old trapper
I appreciate your insite and comments on the start of professional fishing. Sadly I have to agree that social media has overwhelmed professional fishing and the sport has drastically changed. I'm not sure for the better.
Milliken has a great video where he breaks it down on a white board. Tournament fishing is for most “pro’s” a pay to play game. For a lot of guys, they use their “pro” status as simply a way to build their creds to build their TH-cam channels. It seems this is what Randy does. He’s probably making $150k to $200k per year from TH-cam, and paying a little to fish “pro” to build that income. There are a few guys on TH-cam making that kind of money without fishing a circuit. Some make a good living doing videos fishing creeks for bluegill with good entertainment value.
I had the same experience happen in competitive shooting where I wax as top 20 nationally ranked shooter but then all these "average shooters" were starting to compete and they would slap a company logo on a shooting jersey that they paid for and in return get 20% off stuff and they started calling themselves "sponsored shooters". It really dumbed down the sport where everybody was a 'sponsored shooter', it was kind of silly. I decided to pivot and market a training system that I had created which I hadn't told anyone about and used it to propel me to the top 20. I decided to get a booth at Nationals in 2015 and the rest as they say is history. The company is still going strong making 5 figures a year even though I stopped shooting 2 years ago because of multiple retinal surgeries ... which is why I ended up buying a bass boat and returning to bass fishing after a 25 yr hiatus ... don't have any interest in tournaments so now I just trophy hunt for big bass here in florida ... nothing ever stays the same. As my Marine friends say: adapt and overcome ... 👽🦖
I hunt trophy bass in the lower Colorado river in AZ. I like what Bob Crupi, a trophy bass hunter from California said. There are giant bass and the rest are shit birds.
@ when I was stationed in California 1990-1992 I joined the Antelope Valley Bass Club and we would alternate between a Colorado River lake (Meade, Mohave, Havasu) one month and then an Antelope Valley lake the next - Castaic, Castesis, Silverwood. Thats where I learned all about 'split shotting', the pre cursor to drop shotting ...
Thanks. Interesting. Obviously the majority if not all of non-endemic sponsors are not profiting by sponsoring anglers. I''d guess even Bridgford Foods doesn't, and it's difficult for them to even measure. I'd guess it's more of a charity deal, supporting some anglers and the outdoors, and entertaining some of their clients, who would enjoy going fishing with one of their sponsored pros.
I watched a tournament where Brent Ehrelrs won. The official comment should have been a harbinger for what was coming. The top 20 pros are the best at using their electronics. I've completely cut ties with BASSMASTER, FLW, professional bass fishing. They've done everything to ruin the sport. If you watch Yellowstone then you'll understand why Rip Wheeler needs to take the leadership of these destructive organizations to the train station!
If it was not for the social media these pros would not make any money. Most of the content is not that great, it is just the same old stuff. Sponsorships are hard to come by these days.
YT is flooded with bass fishing channels by guys who thought they were going to get rich just by turning on a go pro and going fishing. And 99% found out that ain't the case ... lol. There are less than 10 really quality channels that provide something of value to bass fishing and they do well but that's it. Making quality content that people actually want to watch regularly is hard, nothing wrong with that as making money on YT shouldn't be easy. Like with most things the cream usually rises to the top and perseverance is usually rewarded.
@ Mikey Balzz (heavily geared to FFS), Tactical Bass'n if you want to learn about lures, Tyler's Reel Fishing (Great teaching style), Matt Stephan (good all around info). All these channels are 'drama free ' which is the most important thing about them and Bogg & Swimsuit Girl on Mikey's channel are hard too best ... lol 👽🦖
@ each one is tailored to something different so it jus5 depends on what your focus is. Tackle junky? Tactical Bass'n. Wan5 to learn the details of specific techniques? Tyler's Reel Fishing. FFS ? Mikey Balzz
There are just a few that are worthy to watch on a regular basis. Even watching those its easy to skip or fast forward through their content. I can get bored pretty quick. Keith Poche's off the grid videos however for some reason I can watch beginning to end. It's original, always new and Poche is fun to watch. Todd Castledine is another odd duck who I can watch without skipping. He's a guy that will take 5 different tangents off the main subject to make or not make a point but the entertainment comes from watching him try to get back to his original point. He's got some great on the water content too. The how to and the why's most importantly.
@ yeah I don't typically watch fishing videos for entertainment. Since I only fish 3 places here in florida a very large part of what most channels put out don't apply to me so they are not really worth watching. Having said that, MLF team series just finished their last event on my 3 home lakes so I watched all 5 episodes at 6 hrs each which is more fishing tournament video then I watched in the last 20 years ... lol.
Irwin Jacobs doesn't get near the credit he should for the positive impact he had on the sponsorship situation. As a small business owner, I don't remember the strong economic recovery in 2008 and somewhat thereafter.
TH-camrs also just steal each other's videos and I have to see 20 people say the same things over and over. The pros have no respect from the companies, and the TH-camrs often lack respect from the community. A lot of these online people literally never show themselves caching fish, or when they do it's with FFS. So it doesn't matter what lure they're talking about. They either didn't even use it, or used it in a situation where a rock on a hook would work.
Social media influencers must have credibility just like professionals, or they will fall to the way side. There are several TH-camrs I have stopped watching because they have no credibility. Anyone can start a TH-cam channel, but not everyone can produce fish.
Everyone has seen the lizards in the casinos who bet their families on slots and black jack tables . It’s no different with “pro anglers” and u Randy gambled and is why u need click bait to eak thru this last phase of active life. Sad but true Randy. Your dad was right. All the highschool privileged tournament anglers are headed for the same trap. Keep your daughter’s way from “pro anglers”.
Gerald Spohrer's out of the box approach to getting a major sponsorship is the most interesting and well thought out I've ever heard. He talked about it on BTL. th-cam.com/video/7MJhlC5OjyU/w-d-xo.html
I love the amount of “INFLUENCERS” that are self proclaimed experts that know less than I do!!
I think Scott Martin is a good example of how social media is more important than tournament success. He's making millions but rarely finishes in the top 50.
His daughter makes more on her youtube channel than most bass pros make every year in winnings
i never go fishing without getting beef jerky...i just bought some 10 mins ago and i looked for bridgford but the gas station didnt have any so i got some old trapper
I appreciate your insite and comments on the start of professional fishing. Sadly I have to agree that social media has overwhelmed professional fishing and the sport has drastically changed. I'm not sure for the better.
Very interesting the way things work ** cool beans RANDY!
Milliken has a great video where he breaks it down on a white board. Tournament fishing is for most “pro’s” a pay to play game. For a lot of guys, they use their “pro” status as simply a way to build their creds to build their TH-cam channels. It seems this is what Randy does. He’s probably making $150k to $200k per year from TH-cam, and paying a little to fish “pro” to build that income. There are a few guys on TH-cam making that kind of money without fishing a circuit. Some make a good living doing videos fishing creeks for bluegill with good entertainment value.
The flw 45 min shows are some of the best
Thank you for the
info ...that's very interesting...I always wondered how much it really paid back then...
Thanks Randy..keep em coming bud !!
Thanks Randy.
Thanks to the internet a world of commerce and opportunity has opened up for all. Keep killin’ it, Randy. 🤟
I had the same experience happen in competitive shooting where I wax as top 20 nationally ranked shooter but then all these "average shooters" were starting to compete and they would slap a company logo on a shooting jersey that they paid for and in return get 20% off stuff and they started calling themselves "sponsored shooters". It really dumbed down the sport where everybody was a 'sponsored shooter', it was kind of silly. I decided to pivot and market a training system that I had created which I hadn't told anyone about and used it to propel me to the top 20. I decided to get a booth at Nationals in 2015 and the rest as they say is history. The company is still going strong making 5 figures a year even though I stopped shooting 2 years ago because of multiple retinal surgeries ... which is why I ended up buying a bass boat and returning to bass fishing after a 25 yr hiatus ... don't have any interest in tournaments so now I just trophy hunt for big bass here in florida ... nothing ever stays the same. As my Marine friends say: adapt and overcome ... 👽🦖
I hunt trophy bass in the lower Colorado river in AZ. I like what Bob Crupi, a trophy bass hunter from California said. There are giant bass and the rest are shit birds.
@ when I was stationed in California 1990-1992 I joined the Antelope Valley Bass Club and we would alternate between a Colorado River lake (Meade, Mohave, Havasu) one month and then an Antelope Valley lake the next - Castaic, Castesis, Silverwood. Thats where I learned all about 'split shotting', the pre cursor to drop shotting ...
Thanks. Interesting. Obviously the majority if not all of non-endemic sponsors are not profiting by sponsoring anglers. I''d guess even Bridgford Foods doesn't, and it's difficult for them to even measure. I'd guess it's more of a charity deal, supporting some anglers and the outdoors, and entertaining some of their clients, who would enjoy going fishing with one of their sponsored pros.
They do make great jerky!
I watched a tournament where Brent Ehrelrs won. The official comment should have been a harbinger for what was coming. The top 20 pros are the best at using their electronics. I've completely cut ties with BASSMASTER, FLW, professional bass fishing. They've done everything to ruin the sport. If you watch Yellowstone then you'll understand why Rip Wheeler needs to take the leadership of these destructive organizations to the train station!
I'd be happy to make any money doing what I love😂
If it was not for the social media these pros would not make any money. Most of the content is not that great, it is just the same old stuff. Sponsorships are hard to come by these days.
I remember when you had Fuji film! Are they even around anymore?
YT is flooded with bass fishing channels by guys who thought they were going to get rich just by turning on a go pro and going fishing. And 99% found out that ain't the case ... lol. There are less than 10 really quality channels that provide something of value to bass fishing and they do well but that's it. Making quality content that people actually want to watch regularly is hard, nothing wrong with that as making money on YT shouldn't be easy. Like with most things the cream usually rises to the top and perseverance is usually rewarded.
@ Mikey Balzz (heavily geared to FFS), Tactical Bass'n if you want to learn about lures, Tyler's Reel Fishing (Great teaching style), Matt Stephan (good all around info). All these channels are 'drama free ' which is the most important thing about them and Bogg & Swimsuit Girl on Mikey's channel are hard too best ... lol 👽🦖
@ each one is tailored to something different so it jus5 depends on what your focus is. Tackle junky? Tactical Bass'n. Wan5 to learn the details of specific techniques? Tyler's Reel Fishing. FFS ? Mikey Balzz
There are just a few that are worthy to watch on a regular basis. Even watching those its easy to skip or fast forward through their content. I can get bored pretty quick. Keith Poche's off the grid videos however for some reason I can watch beginning to end. It's original, always new and Poche is fun to watch. Todd Castledine is another odd duck who I can watch without skipping. He's a guy that will take 5 different tangents off the main subject to make or not make a point but the entertainment comes from watching him try to get back to his original point. He's got some great on the water content too. The how to and the why's most importantly.
@ yeah I don't typically watch fishing videos for entertainment. Since I only fish 3 places here in florida a very large part of what most channels put out don't apply to me so they are not really worth watching. Having said that, MLF team series just finished their last event on my 3 home lakes so I watched all 5 episodes at 6 hrs each which is more fishing tournament video then I watched in the last 20 years ... lol.
Irwin Jacobs doesn't get near the credit he should for the positive impact he had on the sponsorship situation. As a small business owner, I don't remember the strong economic recovery in 2008 and somewhat thereafter.
If you want to see an economic recovery just look up what happened following Reagan, Bush, Bush, and Drumph 1.0....then whoever follows Drumph 2.0 😉
TH-camrs also just steal each other's videos and I have to see 20 people say the same things over and over. The pros have no respect from the companies, and the TH-camrs often lack respect from the community. A lot of these online people literally never show themselves caching fish, or when they do it's with FFS. So it doesn't matter what lure they're talking about. They either didn't even use it, or used it in a situation where a rock on a hook would work.
FLW was the best
Anyone who really thinks thier going to make money fishing bass tournaments is an absolute fool!!!! Complete waste of money!!!!
Damn Googans
Social media influencers must have credibility just like professionals, or they will fall to the way side. There are several TH-camrs I have stopped watching because they have no credibility. Anyone can start a TH-cam channel, but not everyone can produce fish.
Everyone has seen the lizards in the casinos who bet their families on slots and black jack tables . It’s no different with “pro anglers” and u Randy gambled and is why u need click bait to eak thru this last phase of active life. Sad but true Randy. Your dad was right. All the highschool privileged tournament anglers are headed for the same trap. Keep your daughter’s way from “pro anglers”.
Sounds like a dying hobby
Pretty much everything was better in the 90's!
Gerald Spohrer's out of the box approach to getting a major sponsorship is the most interesting and well thought out I've ever heard. He talked about it on BTL. th-cam.com/video/7MJhlC5OjyU/w-d-xo.html