JT Bagwell

It may have crossed my mind. lol JT Bagwell

After reading what seems like hundreds of posts on BassResource.com I am curious to know why kids these days are so infatuated with getting sponsors? I did some "Ask A Pro" stuff for a childrens fishing program and I got asked, by kids that were 11 or 12 years old, how to get sponsors. In reality "most" people (regardless of age) shouldn't even be concerned with trying to get a sponsor. That energy should just be focused on fishing. I want to hear from the 18 and under crowd as to why they are looking for sponsors? I am also curious as to why they would even think that a company would even be interested in dealing with someone with little to no business experience? I would also like to hear from some of the over 18 group as to why they are looking and why they think they are worthy of a sponsorship deal? This topic is something that I have thought about numerous times. JT Bagwell

For some reason I never really find too many white comedians funny. However, I do think the guys from the Blue Collar tour are pretty funny. For the most part I like dudes like Carlos Mencia and people for the old Def Comedy Jam (not even sure if that is what it is still called). My wife says they all talk too dirty for her. lol JT Bagwell

I was taught in Business Law in college that you can not patent something that mimics a living creature. Which is why you see 400 different brands of plastic worms that look the same. What you can do is patent a particular part of that plastic worm. For example if your worm has a double corkscrew tail with bubble pockets (or some crap like that) in it, then you would patent the unique tail design. JT Bagwell

17 correct for me.

I don't know for sure but you might want to check www.xtools.us I know Xtools has pliers and cutters, but I am not sure about the specific model you are looking for. JT Bagwell

I pretty much agree with you on all counts Hale. One thing I do as far as letters are concerned. I send them to the exact person that makes the decisions. In the proposal packet, I tell them that I will call on a specific date. This gives them time to review the information and when I call it is decision time or discussion time. JT Bagwell

LOL - That's funny. The ice jams here are causing some minor flooding on one of our local rivers. I hate cold weather. JT Bagwell

You have nearly double the word count for information about you and what you want, than you do about what you can do for the company. I will be point blank honest with you because I believe that is what you want. That letter will not get you a single sponsorship dollar. Sponsors do not care where you live or what you want to be. They only care about how you can help them make money. You need to put together a business plan that details what you will do and when you will do it for the companies. Then explain how your activities are going to grossly affect their bottom line. These companies get literally thousands of letters per year from people just like you. When you are asking for something, you need to come up with a way to make yourself stand out. I for one, do agree with the fact that you ask for what you want in the letter. I do the same thing and it has worked for me. I do not beat around the bush with companies. I explain in great detail how I will work for them and then I tell them what I want in return. After doing that, I run some figures to demonstrate how they are getting a great bargain. Hope that helps a little. JT Bagwell

It is always easier to move into the current. Going down or with the current seems to make steering more difficult. Another thing that might help with your control is a drift sock. I use one every now on then if it is really went. JT Bagwell

Well you can do a search for your favorite angler and see if he has a website. If so, sometimes there will be an email address listed. You can email the Yamamoto Pro Team at pros@baits.com you can submit your questions and they will be posted on a special message board that only the Pro Team can access. Once your questions are answered someone from Yamamoto will email the responses back to you. Every now and then they will use the questions and answers in Inside Line magazine. JT Bagwell

Ish has always made good money on the West Coast and he does a lot of promotional work. There are some West Coast guys that have over $1,000,000 in winnings and have never fished the two major tours. JT Bagwell

Very few are getting free boats, trucks, gas, etc. As stated previously, most are just making enough to keep fishing. JT Bagwell

RW, If you go to Jay Kumar's site, there is a listing of how much each angler won this past season. These figures look decent right off the bat, but this doesn't account for the $60,000 in entry fees, hotels, gas, trucks, boats, food, etc. I used to get asked a lot, why I didn't try to fish the tours. My response was always that I already make more money than 85% - 90% of the tour Pros. I for one like to have a secure income and leave the fishing industry as my 2nd income. JT Bagwell

I would if I had time, but I don't. Sorry JT Bagwell

lol I would be willing to bet that Skeet's Nike Air Bass Shoes would be black and yellow. JT Bagwell

That is a nice boat. I have nearly the same color scheme on my TR20. I would like to hear some input about the Verado after you run it a while. My boat has the Optimax on it, but I have heard good stuff about the 4 stroke. JT Bagwell

That is one sweet ride. I would like to see it hooked to your H2 so I can really slobber all over myself. lol I thought my red TR20 looked nice behind my red Crew Cab Silverado, but you take the cake man. Nice boat. JT Bagwell

I have to disagree with that statement. Even when I first started writing articles, I had no trouble calling the biggest names in the business and getting some of their time. Even when they weren't around for the original telephone call, I had returned calls from guys like Hank Parker, KVD, Gerald Swindle, Larry Nixon, Jay Yelas, and dozens more. Heck, I even got a prank call from Ike one night (that was rather amusing). These guys are more than willing to talk because it gets them more press. More press for them, usually equates to more press for their sponsors and that is what drives the business. Nobody has ever even implied that they wanted to charge me a fee for an interview. They just ask that I send them a copy of the magazine, newspaper or internet column that they are quoted in. JT Bagwell

I use the Kreature a lot. It is one of my favorite baits for Flippin and Pitchin around wood and other heavy cover. I used to go with a 4/0 hook, but now I use a 3/0 hook. The hooks that I use are the Daiichi Fat Gap Bleeding Bait hooks. JT Bagwell

How close are you to Fremont? JT Bagwell

I really miss that JT Bagwell guy. He is a really nice guy and pretty cute too. ;D (Ok maybe I made up the last part) JT Bagwell

Well guys, I will have to take a break from here for about 4 days. The company I work for has a plant in Fremont, MI. so I have to cruise all the way up there tomorrow afternoon and I will not be back home until Saturday night. Nothing against Fremont (because it's a nice little town), but geez couldn't they send me to Florida, Texas or somewhere warm? lol JT Bagwell

I replace the OEM split rings with the Peformance Split rings. JT Bagwell

I use the Daiichi Wacky Rig hooks. JT Bagwell