Won Bass Pro/Am Payouts and Purse

[WON BASSIN]

I want to start by saying that I apologize for not getting the payouts posted sooner. There is no reason why we don't or have not been, other than the time it takes to do so. With as many tournaments that we have sometimes the time just slips away from you, and you are always having to play catch up! I wanted to thank all of our loyal anglers and those anglers who decided to give us a try at our recent Clear Lake event. It really means a lot to myself and our staff to see you there. We love running these events and seeing you all there. You all know how the fishing was, and how things panned out after the event. Now that the payouts have been posted I felt it was the proper time to explain our current payouts, so that you could all understand what we are doing, and why the choice should be easy for all to decide what circuit to support in the future.

Our Pro/Am payout structure for 2011 was set with these parameters in mind.....

Pro Payout

80% on site based on participation - With 100 boats at $500 per entry, we payout $40,000 with a 1 in 5 payout
15% is reserved from each entry for payout at the Western Classic - With 100 boats that's $7,500 each tournament.
5% is held to pay for permits, staff, staff food, staff lodging, trophies, paper to print results, ink for print, Ashley's time, release boats and many others at our offices that help me run a great tournament.

With 6 tournaments with 100 boat fields, that reserve fund would reach $45,000 for the Western Classic. Plus all the great sponsorship items, such as the 2 Nitro/Mercury/Motor Guide/Lowrance boat packages, the Costa Glasses, Lowrance items, Plano items, Seaguar packs, Pradco items, Dobyns Rods, Canyon Plastic packs, Bass King products, Promar nets and the many more great sponsor goods that have been held in reserve for the year end event.

As always we have a 100% payback on all options. It is really easy to figure out were the best payout is, and who pays out the best at the year end event. Not to mention all the great products we have because of our great sponsorships. Make sure to take a look at our 2012 schedule and plan on coming out to see for yourselves!

http://www.wonbass.com/archives/2011/pr ... edule.html

[TXRIGGED]

Bill,

Thanks for the post. With a variety of team circuits that may deploy different payout structures, it's always a mystery where the $$ goes. It appears the Pro/Am payout structure you described is simple and straight-forward.

Oh, and I got your text.........bring-it!!

j/k

[Brian D.]

Thanks for the visibility to proverbial tournament payout pie.

[Marty]

What about the AM side?

[WON BASSIN]

Marty,

I don't believe I have had the opportunity to meet you as far as I know. If we have and I have forgotten, then I apologize. The AAA payouts are 70% on site with a 10% reserve. The payouts are listed on our entry forms. We have no issues with our numbers on the AAA side of the fence. Our AAA's are very happy with our payouts, and understand the structure quite well. This information that has been shared is to help the Pro's who drive these events to participate more, and get the numbers up. I have done something this year that has not been done in many years, and that is include them in the opportunity to win a Boat at this years Western Classic. I treat everyone with the same respect no matter their position. I would encourage you to attend one of our events yourself and see how things are run. At times I do most of the hardest work for the AAA's and I know they all appreciate it. In past years and truthfully in the industry, the AAA's were the ones that funded the Pro/Am's and were left with the crumbs. I for one do not believe in that and have insured that all our anglers are treated fairly and with respect at all times. Ee also changed the options this year to include a separate option for each level. I am sure there are a few AAA's reading this post that will chime in for themselves.

[WON BASSIN]

Marty,

Besides.... Where else can any fisherman have the opportunity to fish with our caliber of Pro's for two days, and learn the techniques and styles of fishing that they are subjected to for $250. Most guides charge twice that for one day of fishing. It's all about learning for the AAA's and graduating to the Pro level at some point!

[Marty]

Thanks for the answering Bill and I believe we have meet. Please don’t take my question wrong, I just wanted to know the break down. I take it the other 10% is used to help with permits, staff, staff food, staff lodging, trophies, paper to print results, ink for print, Ashley's time, release boats and many others at our offices that help you run a great tournament?

Also understand if I was in your shoes I would only be giving back 50% because TD don’t make enough to put up with all the grief. Yes I have fished a few of your events as a backseat along with AC and FLW.

[TXRIGGED]

Billy hit on the main things here. The payout structure for the AAA's is not the same as for the Pro's. And that's to be expected. Let's be real here and admit, these events are more about the Pro's, and rightfully so. As a AAA at WON and Co on the FLW circuit I understand that and accept that. And I'm all about the organization making some money to run these events. So, if the event is more about fishing as a Pro, then it makes sense to draw more money from the entries of the AAA's to fund WON Bass' efforts. And this is reflected in the purse structure for the WON Bass Pro/Ams.

I'm not fishing as a AAA to make money. I make over a million a year, I have a hot wife, and I'm hung way low. ...... Actually, I only have a hot wife. For me, it's about learning, gaining experience, making some friends, and competing for some hardware.

And, to echo what Billy stated also, they're giving a boat away to the AAA for the Classic winner, and offering up separate Options set aside for the AAA's. That's a bonus!

[tunaman]

Bill, it's great that you are bringing the level of visibility to the payouts... that always seems to be a closely-guarded secret for most.

I myself have never had an issue with the WON AAA payouts. It is understood that they are not going to be as lucrative as the Pro side, and rightly so. As stated, the price of admission is way below the rate of return, for the experience and quality of the events.

I love WON, and believe there is no better starting point for someone looking to get into the Pro/Am format. I've observed many great improvements over the past couple of years, and Billy and his team are responsible for a great many of them and are doing a magnificent job, from my observations.

I will be fishing some of the WON events in the near future, as it is a great tournament trail with some awesome Pro and Am competitors and is one of the best learning and entertainment values in bass fishing.

All IMHO of course.

Roger

[philip garcia]

I fished a couple of the won events mabye three or four years ago and didn't like it very much. I am going to give it another try this year. I think that they have made good changes and I like that there is a TOC to shoot for.So i'll see you guys at Shasta in January.

[Terry Smith]

So AAA side $250 a person say with A 100 boat field is $25000. If I read this right 70% payback $17,500 to AAA 10% reserve $2,500 TOC and 20% to WONBASS $5,000. Is this correct if A 100 boats show up???
So 6 tournaments at $5,000 is $30,000 Not A bad year for running tournaments.



Terry

[WON BASSIN]

Terry,

Again.... There are a lot of what if's in your assumption. Yes if we had 100 boats at every event those numbers would be correct. Let's remember one thing here! Won Bass only has one full time employee that solely works on Won Bass events, and that is me. That what if, does not even begin to cover my salary, let alone all the expenses involved with running tournaments. When we get to consistent 100 boat fields we can begin to entertain possible options for the payouts. The point of this thread was to expose the mystical payback percentages, and have full disclosure, so that the anglers have all the information necessary to make a decision on what circuit they prefer to fish. Won Bass has the best sponsors in the business. Those sponsors have been with us for years and will continue to support our circuit, as will all the new sponsors we get each year. We now have the best team in the business running our events. The important thing to focus on is that Won Bass has great payouts. We deliver promptly on our certificates and do not make anyone who rightfully won a certificate WAIT to receive their rightful prize. We payout all the reserve funds, plus the options at 100%. There is no buy-in to create a payout, our TOC's and Western Classics are free to those that rightfully qualify. Won Bass has reserved thousands of dollars of sponsors products for the year end events. We have great relationships with our host facilities, and work on Won Bass discounts for those that choose to say at those facilities. Won Bass is made up of fisherman that support fisherman... Who else would be best to understand what anglers are interested in. We deserve to make money doing what we do..... doesn't everyone? The choice is easy... Just make it!

[Kevin Stewart]

Terry,
It was just a matter of time before someone had something bad to say, just did not expect it to be you, maybe you should keep filling the pocket that you have filling for the last couple of years lol.....
I asked WON to be more forthcoming with the paybacks in the hopes we could increase the participation numbers.
Why don't you give it a try next year, if you don't like the aaa paybacks step up to the front and bring that game you have!!!!

[Kevin Stewart]

Phil, really hope to see you next year.
Roger, anytime you around is a good time.
Ernie, well said brother!

[tunaman]

Glad to see you on the trail Gumby! Hope to draw you some time in the future, as you're class defined my friend!

Terry - WON is not solely in the business of running bass fishing tournaments, as most of the other circuits, so their take has always been perceived to be 'high'.

It is very refreshing to see the top dog putting the numbers out for the anglers to see and consider when making their trail decisions - kudos to Billy for being transparent.

I can tell you that many of the other trails are making good money running their circuits - if not it wouldn't be a good business model.

You should really give WON a fair try Terry - I'm sure you'd be glad. The level of competition is stiff, and from a AAA perspective you can draw some of the best sticks in bass fishing to learn from, all in a cooperative environment due to the shared weight format.

Roger

[tunaman]

Speaking of which, I was going to go all in a few years ago, which is the last WON Pro/Am I fished (Shasta). I pulled out because of the decisions made to change up the schedule, as I didn't agree with them and decided I didn't want to "pay to play".

I just took a look at the 2012 schedule, and it looks awesome... so much so that I may have to come out of retirement to play the full schedule!

I've fished Shasta twice in January, and the first time I didn't have good gloves but had my 100MPH suit and UnderArmour, so I was pretty comfortable... the fishing was awesome and I had a blast, moreso than I ever thought I would.

I LOVE Mead and Havasu, and the timing looks great for those events. I live on the Delta - 'nuff said. And Clear Lake is an incredible fishery. ALL of the events look to be timed right, so this should be a great schedule!

For me, I've never fished Roosie, but have watched the results from the sidelines and it looks like a lot of fun also. Not sure if I'd be adding it to my planning or not, but perhaps.

This sure looks like a whole lot of fun with a bunch of great folks and a competent tournament staff, so I'll be looking hard into whether this might fit in my planning for 2012.

C'mon out Terry - you'll be amazed at the difference in the experience and learning!

Roger

[Terry Smith]

OK now I was not badmouthing WON BASS at all. Bill I simple put the % into cash$$$$$$. I had fished WON BASS a few years ago and loved it. In fact in the FLW post I was supporting people fishing WON BASS. I had no bad intentions I just simply put % into $$$$$$. Kevin you should know that's not how I roll and must have posted your replies BEFORE we talked last night . OHH and you know if I had the money $$$$to come out and play I would be there in A heart beat and would either be DONATING more to your pocket But I bet I would take some of your money $$$$ TOO!!!!! Roger I would love to come and take your money$$$$$ but with the series I fish now and $$$$ I can only do one series.

Hope this clears up things. My phone number is always in my signature so if anyone had A concern with my post please feel free to call. I know it's hard to know what people mean behind A keyboard.

HAVE A GREAT DAY, Terry Smith