Why did MLF Invitational Angler Derik Hudson quit before the season ended?
Lets talk about Derik decision and what he did wrong that might have helped him continue on his path of becoming a Bass Pro Tour angler. It’s not only about catching fish, but the BRAND that you portray to the fans and audience.
#bassfishing #invitationals #mlf
Derik Hudson Quitting Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFs8RRnm9IY
Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/geturfishon?sub_confirmation=1
Join this channel to get access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5M0Nw7NfoOH3NN2mVGT8fA/join
To have your lures/baits featured in a Closer Look video, please email me at ffrsteve@gmail.com
There are pros now that I won’t click on their videos because almost everything is a sales pitch. I know they need to do this but just not what you used to get when you would look at their videos. You would get more “how to” rather than “use this” information. It’s a business like anything else at the pro level.
For a working man its a fantasy now…..
I love your channel, keep up the good work and honesty! I just have issues with professional fishing as a whole.. And I really hate FFS, I’ve seen it destroy club leagues because how dominate it is.. Same for pros, bunch of rookies beating out good fisherman with one skill. I just fun fish now, and I don’t watch any broadcast fishing until they come up with some type of electronic regulations. I think there are less sponsors too with lure sales tanking with everyone use a minnow with FFS.. Money and Greed kills everything.
A couple of points I want to make. First of all sponsorship money is hard to get and keep. This I feel is largely due to the playing field being completely leveled. The top anglers are the ones that drop the foward facing sonar transducer on the right group of fish. This could be a rookie or a seasoned pro angler. Anyone can win. Companies have to find it hard to sponsor anglers the place 3rd one week and 80th the next. Im certainly not taking anything away from any angler but this has to be frustrating a well known and seasoned angler to lock onto a group of fish in practice and get whooped by a 19 year old that found better fish on a transducer just across the lake. Who gets the money when the best angler this week is 80th next week and 100th the week after that. The anglers are being taken advantage of fully. Companies are pushing them to have youtube channels as well as social medias, only to give Companies free advertising. The elites should not be paying entrie fees period. They earned their way there just as PGA pros, NLB pros etc…
Back off on the technology, smaller tournament participants. Cut the field down. Break up B.A.S.S and the MLF. Spread out tournaments into divisions. What happen to tournaments on California delta? Pro anglers stay in their divisions based on where they live. Things have to change. The pro anglers are severely taken advantage of by B.A.S.S , MLF, tech companies and lure,reel and rod manufacturers. Its a complete mess. Whose making all the money? Its not the anglers and its certainly not those of us on lower levels. We are just left with the bill.
You are going to see a lot more of this happening !
It’s the individual’s choice to chase there dream, it’s the individual on how hard he works it, it’s the individual’s choice to quit. Don’t understand where the drama comes from..
What’s the world coming to when we are telling our young anglers to spend more time on screens and spend more time on social media instead of time on the water 🤦🏼♂️
Pride will bankrupt many of these dudes before they could ever make a decision like he did! Ego is a hard thing for some dudes to check until you been humbled and even then….
You got me thinking. I went over to Bassmaster and pulled up the current “Top 50” Elite anglers. I reviewed this list. I am following on social platforms only 5 of these elite anglers.
It’s been coming for years now. I seen it and bitched about it to WON B.A.S.S. back in 2014. 1% club now. I just fish for fun now, fuck competitive fishing anymore, make more money playing video poker
Great great points buddy 👍 outstanding content as always! Spot on 💯
It can’t keep going the way it’s going now, the boats and electronics trucks and trailers are way to expensive and the boat manufacturers know the fishermen need these boats so they keep jacking up the price and the same with electronics companies. The lure companies are even getting in the jacking prices up game also, a bag of plastics that cost $8,9,10 and up for 6 or 7 baits are ridiculous same with the hard baits, $10 and $12 a lure crazy!
Is the person making $$ – do they get TV time? Not everybody does and its hard to justify sponsor $$ if you are not. Having a YouTube channel that has a lot of subs and fun content also helps spread your brand. Some guys are really not ready for the big leagues after having tried it. We'll have to see how this impacts the first round of cuts – guys who want to leave should say early enough so that bubble boys are in if they want to try the 2024 BPT
The #1 thing about a 'Luxury Sport' such as bass fishing , . . . it's entirely economy dependent.
But #2 is the 'industry' as a whole has completely cannibalized itself. Sadly they've 'legitimized' social media platforms by putting such a strong emphasis IE marketing / and sponsorship dollars there . . . dividing the pie to snack size bites where no one benefits.
Gone are the days where a touring angler can simply devote his or focus on the job of catching bass, show up for some seminars, and write a few articles over the course of the season.
Now they have to be a 'traveling circus act' and pretend to be some 'video star' making shorts that have already been made a thousand times over.
I know tournament bass fishing has always been a bit of a struggle . . . . but I've never seen it circling the drain as much as it is now.
Never forget that there are 20 other guys waiting to take his spot.
20K in earnings. 74th on the money list. Definitely not even breaking even. He's like guys trying to make it on the PGA tour and are currently mired way down in the standings on the Korn Ferry Tour. Or maybe young Americans wanting to make it in the NBA but are currently playing in Europe or China. You make a great point that in today's world, bass fishing is not at the same financial level of golf or basketball. They must supplement their income as they hone their trade.
My wife is part of the sponsorship world. The days of companies giving you money just because you’re a “professional” are long gone. Every single major sponsor requires a valuation to PROVE what there return is going to be investing in you.
The Toyota's have a better payout anyway. I think it is a good move for Derik at this point. His cost per tournament will go down and they have a great Contingency Program for the open's as well and they have a free championship at the end of the year. I think Derik will be better off fishing two divisions of the open's, that is just my two cents worth.
Why don't you just tell it like it is. You have to WIN before you can sell yourself. And the reason people are struggling financially is simple, they are not winning. Until they do, they are going to live in the minor leagues of the bass fishing world.
Sponsors shareholder returns market saturation eventually lead to cuts… Everything is sooooo expensive.
Making ends meet not so easy which may cost you a marriage if your not careful.
Is it worth the risk?
Seen the same thing happen in pro surfing pro snowboarding and pro skateboarding.
Consumers feed the industry, industry sponsors feed the pros, if the consumer base shrinks (economy oversaturation) then so does the money supply which means so does the money offered pro salaries.
Eventually it turns into a circus and consumer interest wane……
Good luck everyone.
Aloha from Michigan
There is plenty of money in BASS fishing. The problem is there are 2 professional tours and sub-tours. Are there 2 NFL, MLB, NHL pro leagues no. There isn't enough money to go around. Fishing knows the problems, but the fix for them is that the angler needs a social presence. Social media should be their side hustle, not the main source of income.
Most of those so called pros are close to being broke only a few make it 😩😩
In today's fishing tournament world, if you're not promoting your own brand via social media, you will get left behind when it comes to sponsorships.
Nobody cares about pro fishing anymore
How many people did Mercury laid off? How many boat buiders are only working three days a week. Didn't someone say "It's the economy stupid" I think we should be aware of our individual surroundings.
Still think Mr. White Rod is helping his anglers? FBD
Very well said and it is sad that this is what professional bass fishing has come to.
It's the fishing industry as a whole. They have made it completely unaffordable for the average angler. And there are a lot of great anglers that just can't afford it. It's sad……$5k graphs…..motors are $25k…..trolling motors are $5k. Give me a break. I used to love fishing local tournaments but the price of everything has pushed me away. I just fish for fun now.
There is a lot of spot-on advice in this post, which is pretty much par for the course for you, sir. Major kudos!! Even so, the MOST accurate thing you said is something to the effect that "there are a lot of assholes out there."
Too many “Pros” out there, BPT is trimming fat, Elites need to also
They are running out of money, Duh! Oh, you said he couldn't afford it because of family.