I ask you all to examine the situation and inspect the vibe that is being sent out from The West as a whole. Our Western roots are responsible for so much in bass fishing, and I hope we can all say for many years ahead that the family tree has continued to blossom, not need to be pruned of many dead or dying branches.
The prevailing sentiment seems to be that there’s not enough money or payback available, so a lot of angler won’t waste their time and money fishing them. That sentiment has to change, because if it doesn’t, then the organizations will not be able to keep operating, or be able to attract enough sponsorship to make it worthwhile, so the opportunities to participate fade.
Many upper level careers have been built in the West on Pro-Ams that featured $300 pro entry fees, and top heavy payouts that anglers at the end of the payback did not get all of their money back. Names like Gary Klein, Skeet Reese, Byron Velvick, John Murray, Aaron Martens, Ish Monroe, Dee Thomas, Dave Gleibe, Gary Dobyns and a host of others built careers in those types of circuits and had a lot of fun doing it too.
FALL 2014
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