Entry 284-5
How to Make Your Living as a Professional Fisherman with Mark Rose
Editor’s Note: Mark Rose of Marion, Arkansas, tournament fisherman and Strike King pro, has paid his dues to become a national bass-fishing pro. Andy Andrews, author of “The Seven Keys to Success,” explains that one of the most-important keys to succeed in any endeavor is to endure without ceasing. “If you can’t do something, and you keep trying, you’ll find a way to be successful that most people who quit before you never find,” Andrews explains. Rose believed in his ability to become a tournament fisherman, and even when sponsors and tournament winnings were scarce, he didn’t quit. This week, Rose will tell us what’s required to go from a wannabe to a national touring pro.
Part 5: How to Hold Them
Question: Mark, once you get sponsors, how do you keep them, especially through those lean years?
Rose: To keep sponsors, you have to do well in tournaments. If you’re not performing well in tournaments, you have to work for those sponsors really hard. You have to work with the outdoor press, including TV show and radio hosts as well as outdoor writers. You have to stay in contact with the sponsors and ask them what you can do to help them. When a company like Strike King sponsors me, I have stock in that company. If that company does well, then I do well. If that company has a bad year, I’ll have a bad year. So, when I’m not doing well on the tournament circuit, I do everything I can for my sponsors as if I own a portion of their business.
Right now, I need to do all I can to make sure a Strike King Sexy Shad spinner bait, a Strike King Rodent and a Strike King Space Monkey sell well in 2009. Therefore, I have to get these lures in front of as many people as I can, teach those people how to fish these lures and prove to the general public that these lures will catch more and bigger bass than other lures.
When an outdoor writer wants to go fishing and learn about new Strike King lures, I have to be ready to take him. When he wants someone to hold up a bass with a lure in its mouth, I need to be the one who offers to hold up that bass and make sure the bass has one of the Strike King lures in its mouth. After a tournament, when everyone wants to go home, I have to be willing to stay and shoot photos with the press, give interviews, talk to dealers and spectators and present a good image to every one I meet.
Question: Do you work shows for sponsors?
Rose: Absolutely. I work dealer and consumer shows and perform the tasks requested by Strike King and my other sponsors. In every contract, the sponsor asks you to commit a certain number of days. As a pro, I have to make myself available on the days my sponsors need me. If a sponsor calls, and I’ve got a quiet dinner at home planned, or I planned to take my wife out to eat with a bunch of friends, I may need to cancel those plans and remember who pays my bills. My wife understands that she may have to take a rain check on a dinner date if I need to help a sponsor.
Question: Mark, why would you recommend to anyone who thought they might like to be a tournament fisherman that he or she pursue his dream?
Rose: I talk about working hard, working shows, traveling and being gone away from home a lot, but I have great co-workers and friends on the professional bass circuit. I’m participating in a clean, fun sport. I get to see a lot of beautiful sunrises and sunsets, and I get to earn a living on the water. I’m able to fish some of the greatest bodies of water in the United States. I don’t have to wear a coat and tie to work every day. I’m a simple guy, and I love the outdoors. Being a professional fisherman suits me better than any other job I know. If you have that same dream, you may want to go after it like I have.
Contents:
- Part 1: Getting Over the Hump
- Part 2: Preparing to Become a Pro Fisherman
- Part 3: Pick Your Mentor Carefully Because He Can Teach You Your Craft
- Part 4: How to Get Sponsors
- Part 5: How to Hold Them
