Entry 247-1
Austin Banks – Fishing His Way to the Big Show
Editor’s Note: Austin Banks of Madison, Mississippi, a regional Strike King Pro, fishes numbers of state and regional tournaments. Banks’ dream and goal is to make it to the BASS Elite Series and possibly to the Bassmaster Classic. He attended the 2008 Bassmaster Classic and worked the outdoor show in the Strike King booth. Banks has learned the secret to finding and working with a sponsor, and he’s working hard to work his way up through the ranks of tournament fishermen. Banks also is learning to fish new lures and techniques. This week, Banks will tell us how and where he fishes, and what he’ll have to do to be a participant instead of a spectator at the Bassmaster Classic.
Part 1: Starting Out
Question: Austin, why did you start fishing Strike King lures?
Banks: Strike King makes the lures that catch bass, and every year, Strike King produces more new and better products than anyone else on the market.
Question: What tournaments do you fish, Austin?
Banks: I fish the BASS Open Division, the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League and the Cabela’s King Kat Trail in Mississippi.
Question: How did you become a regional pro with Strike King?
Banks: I was a member of the Bass Cat Boats fishing team and was recommended by Bass Cat to Strike King.
Question: What does a fisherman have to do to obtain sponsorship from a major fishing-tackle manufacturing company like Strike King?
Banks: It takes a lot of hard work. You have to be able to work with a sponsor and be willing to work in-store seminars, promotions, consumer shows and any type of show in which they’re involved. You have to understand that having a sponsor isn’t all about your ability to fish and catch fish. 
It’s more about how you can help the company in their everyday operations.
For instance, I went to the 2008 Bassmaster Classic, manned the booth, showed fishermen Strike King’s new products and taught them how to rig the new lures and how to fish them. I also told anglers about my experiences with the lures, why I liked them, and how and where I fished them. Sure, doing well in tournaments helps. But helping a company when there’s not a tournament is a major part of getting and keeping a sponsor.
Most fishermen have it backwards. They often think a company is lucky to have them represent its products. Actually, you’re lucky if a company wants you to help sell their products. Not everyone who fishes and wins tournaments has sponsors, and not all the fishermen who have sponsors win tournaments. 
But they’re good representatives, and they do all they can to work with and promote that company’s product.
To do this, you must understand the product, know how to fish it, and more importantly, know how to teach other people how to fish it. Catching bass and winning a tournament may help you get some attention from a major fishing-tackle company. But I’ve found that being able to work for and with that company in various ways is required to gain sponsorship from that company.
Next: The Rage Tail Shad
Contents:
- Part 1: Starting Out
- Part 2: The Rage Tail Shad
- Part 3: The Red Eye Shad
- Part 4: Crankbaits for Any Situation
- Part 5: Jig Fishing, Too
