Entry 124-4

Mike Wurm - How to be a Pro Fisherman

How to Represent More Than One Sponsor at a Show

Editor's Note: Do you know who has struck out more times than any other baseball player in history—Babe Ruth. Did you know that Gone With The Wind was turned down by 32 publishers? Did you know that most great athletes, at some time during their career, usually have a streak of bad luck that either puts them out of the game or that they come back from it with a vengeance and reach even greater heights than they’ve achieved before the disaster? We all like the story of the “come-back kid” who overcomes adversity, picks himself up, and dusts himself off not only go back into battle but to charge. But how does the tournament fisherman who has done so well for many years recharge his batteries and come back from a devastating season to compete again against the best of the best? This is what Mike Wurm will teach us this week.

Question: At the FLW Championship, you were in the Evinrude booth the whole time, even though you are sponsored by other companies. How do you represent your other sponsors when you’re in another sponsor’s booth.

Wurm: I was in Evinrude’s booth because that company was the sponsor who brought me to the show and paid my expenses. Evinrude was the reason I was there. Therefore, they had a right to my time. However, when I’m in anybody’s booth at a show, I represent all of my sponsors. If someone coming through the Evinrude booth wants to know what spinner bait I fish and why, I’m going to tell them about Strike King’s spinner bait. If they want to know what kind of boat I’m running, I’ll tell them about Ranger Boats. Anytime anyone wants to know about any of my other sponsors, I’ll promote that sponsor’s product wherever I am. The good thing about sponsorship is that each sponsor knows that not only are you going to work for them when they bring you to a show or seminar, but you will also be working for your other sponsors as well. So, the next time I’m working a show for Strike King, and someone asks me what kind of motor I use and why, I’ll tell them about my Evinrude motor on my Ranger Boat. Every sponsor gets more benefit from a pro if he has more sponsors than just one. Anytime I’m out in the public, I’m representing all my sponsors, regardless of who brought me to the dance.

Question: Does sponsorship interfere with your ability to catch fish? By that, I mean, if you know that bass are biting another lure that Strike King doesn’t make, are you free to fish that other lure, or do you just have to fish Strike King lures even if the bass are not biting their lures on that day?

Wurm: One of the advantages of Strike King Lure Company is that it has such a wide range of products and so many professional fishermen trying to help them to develop new products, that rarely will I have to choose another company’s lure to catch the bass. However, if I’m in a tournament and I need to utilize another company’s product to catch bass, I am free to fish that other company’s product. Strike King and most of the other sponsors that I work with know that. Our job as professional fishermen is to try to win tournaments. They do everything they can to give us the lures and the products that we need to accomplish that goal. However, they also understand that on certain days on certain lakes, there may be a product out there that they don’t make that is more efficient in catching bass than one of their products and that the difference between winning or losing a tournament may be in the fisherman’s ability to use that other company’s product. Therefore, their policy is to use what you have to use to win. Use our products when you can and only promote our products.

Question: Why have you chosen Strike King as one of your sponsors, and why do you fish and promote their lures?

Wurm: If you’re going to become a professional fisherman and have a long career as a professional fisherman, the two most important things you need to look for in a company that sponsors you are quality products and quality people. You have to have quality in both areas to have a long-term relationship with a sponsor. If a company has good people, but poor products, it won’t be around very long. If a company has great products but the people running the company are not great people, then the company is not going to be around very long. When I chose Strike King as my sponsor, I knew that the quality of the lures they made was the best you could buy and that the quality of the people who ran the company were the best. When you find those two qualities coming together in one sponsor, you know you won’t have to make excuses for the product nor the people who run the company, and that the product the people and the company are going to be around for a long time. You can expect a long relationship and a long and rewarding sponsorship from this company.

Another thing that is important in looking for sponsors is how involved does the company want you, the fisherman, to be in the development of new products. Because the Strike King pros are totally involved in suggesting, building, testing and recommending products, I know that I’m an important part of that company, and I can promote those products because I have been a part of the decision-making process to bring those products to market. When Strike King introduces a new lure, you know that their professional fishermen have been involved in every step of the design, development and testing of that product before you see it on the sporting goods dealer’s shelf. This is the kind of sponsor that you can have a long-lasting relationship with because you are a part of the company—an employee of the company.




 

© 1996-2008 Strike King Lure Company