whats your opnions on this.. not really talking about if the person is using high end geat etc... I am talking about affording the trips, paying for tournaments, and cost of living in general. I know a few local boys that fish the weekly tournaments and smoke em alot, they are what you would call lower middle class. It got me thinking this. Not really knowing were this will go, but i want yalls opnions, if you are starting out, do think you gotta have somewhat of a descent amount to fish. I am not up on sponsers but i figured youd have to catch the eye of them by winning a few pro tours before getting them to give ya cash

There are locals who "smoke" waters with which they are familiar, but struggle outside of their element. There are a few ponds I fish that make me feel like a pro but get on unfamiliar waters, it a whole 'nother story. There are a lot of excellent fishermen around, but only a tiny fraction of those have what it takes to meet the expenses of tournament fishing.

Think four to five bucks per gallon, probably more at the marina where the pros will fuel up. Some pros will make a round trip of several hours to get in a couple of hours fishing where they expect to do better in a much shorter period of time. Sixty, seventy, eighty and many more miles are not unusual distances to travel one way. Multiply that by three or four days in some instances. It will keep you awake at night.

Towing and maintenance of the boat and tow vehicle is prohibitive unless you are independently well off or have sponsors willing to foot your bills.

A number? I wouldn't even hazard a guess.

yea went to the opens today and alot of people were talking about the gas, all of em said NC aint in a recession with all the boats on the water, while they were trying to fish, and yea that is somthing i always think about, i mean the local pros who cant afford to travel more than 40 miles to fish, they could be good at disecting other lakes, just maybe have a money problem..

I don't know anything about tournaments but I know a lot about business, and fishing for money is a business. Many businesses fail due to a lack of financial staying power until that score comes along. Even when that score does happen is it enough to take care of routine maintenance, living expenses away from their profession and debts that have been created a long the way.......most likely not. As a business man, and I had 4 tractor trailers on the road, the price of gas or diesel was never a major concern, it's just the cost of doing business. If it cost me too much in fuel to service an account, it's an account I'd be better off without. Same would apply to fishing for a living, if one is worried about spending too much on fuel they ought to be doing something else.

Another thing that may be overlooked is healthcare, no one is mandated to furnish it to you or your family being self employed. It may be possible to obtain a group plan thru the local chamber of commerce, but income must be provided to do so. No disability compensation if hurt, unless one furnishes their own private policy. IMO fishing for prize money is a loser, unless you are one of the 10% making 90% of the money. Unless a tournament fisherman makes more than 15k a year after expenses, a minimum wage job would be better and with some benefits.

All this said the bottom line is how much money is at stake? It's one thing to have a chance to win 5 or 6 figures, it's another story if the prize fund is considerably less. It's also different if tournament fishing is a labor of love and it isn't one's main source of income, then go4it.

If you are involved in tournaments and want to make it into a money making prospect, then you've got to be willing to spend money to get you there. Like any other business, it all boils down to what your goal for that return on the investment is. As an example, I could say that the guy with a rolling hotdog stand may not have near the amount invested as the guy that owns a five star restaurant. You also need to consider the market. A full blown restaurant isn't going to do very well if the customer base is more interested in just grabbing a quick bite of lunch, just as a hotdog stand isn't going to do very well with the Saturday night date crowd.

Bass tournaments actually run fairly close to the above example. You can choose to compete in a small local club or go full bore into one of the national tours. For any tournament angler to be successful, you've got to understand what your potential payoff is going to be. It would make little sense to buy a 21' fiberglass rocket with a 250hp motor tied to it if the tournament lakes are as small as the $20 entry fees in a small club are. I also wouldn't choose a 16' tin boat to fish the FLW/BASS tours on bodies of water where you can easily run 100 miles. The same holds true as far as fishing tackle goes.

Nobody can answer this question on how much you need to spend because the potential goals are so diverse.

When I was down at okeechobee I had a former flw pro as a guide. He told me the gas is what kills you, you need to figure 80k a year in fuel, he had sponsors so the entry fees werent an issue. When you factor staying in hotels and eating out your probably around 100k per year, if you finish in the money enough times youre really only banking 20-30k. If you win a big event and cash a big cheque then I guess you can make some good money. Its a big sacrifice though if you have a family