Your Opinion! - Are the Glory Years of Walleye Tournament Fishing Past?

Steve i was there in the Quonset hut at Mille Lacs all those years ago when you pitched the united front idea to us. I'll say this you have stayed true to your beliefs. Nothing has changed in the industry but you have stayed true.
One question Steve, if we don't market walleye fishing tournaments to walleye fishermen who do we market them to? Who but fishermen will watch or follow?

[stevefellegy]

Originally Posted by Used to be one

Steve i was there in the Quonset hut at Mille Lacs all those years ago when you pitched the united front idea to us. I'll say this you have stayed true to your beliefs. Nothing has changed in the industry but you have stayed true.
One question Steve, if we don't market walleye fishing tournaments to walleye fishermen who do we market them to? Who but fishermen will watch or follow?

PEOPLE will follow--again--no different than any other sport! PEOPLE! If the same marketing philosophies were used to create a fan base for major league fishing that have been in place for about 3 decades in major sports in general--you'd have a much bigger audience and with that, more advertising bang for the buck by non-endemic sponsors. Of course, if the business model used doesn't include the anglers being paid from those dollars, it all means nothing in the end anyway.

Who in the major league sports fan world, cares about the kind of ball, glove, pads etc. the players use? The majority of fans? What percentage of NASCAR fans care what brand of spark plug or battery so and so's car used to win at Daytona? Simple answers, right?

BUT! Those sports have many fans. It took years --yes--but once the sports marketing world realized it wasn't about the x's and o's of the sport that creates more fans, but instead the "human interest" aspect of the game...they ran with it and created a marketable sport.

Instead, competitve fishing shys away from most every opportuunity they get to create a human interest press release. The good, the bad and ugly needs to all be on the table. That's reality in the major league sports marketing world.

LOL I will not respond here anymore. All I get for the past 25 years is a headache trying. I just wish I had all the money, of my own, I spent trying to learn how other sports succeed, on everyones behalf--only to get laughed at and left in the cold--and in the end, sit here watch all the efforts and investment the pioneer anglers made, fade away to nothing.

I would have to agree Steve is right about the X's and O's. Fisherman think a little too much that the general public gives a crap about technique or pound test or even lure selection. THis is to comparable to how many NFL fans could tell you on a running play whether the guard or tackle pulled. They just thought it was cool cause a guy scored or got hit ect.

There are probably 10-20 things that could be easily changed to make pro-fishing more marketable. Here are a quick 2 items that would directly affect fan following.

FOr gods sake have the derbys FRI-SUN. Yes I realize you would have to deal with weekend anglers. But weigh in participation would double if not triple making televised events more exciting and common.

And in my opinion a huge thing that would impact it would be to stop trying to present something and jsut package what you already have. In other words when the anglers attend weigh ins its often a butt kissing session about how so and so is doing great and that guy is a heck of a stick. People dont' care about friendships. People care about fueds. If soemone cut you off or barged in on your spot it should be announced. crashes and fights are some of the most exciting moments in sports. NOt sure when a circuit would allow this ( probably not) But the the televesion market has spoken reality sells

Originally Posted by stevefellegy

When the marketing focus is not on "fishermen" and "fishing", it has a chance to grow.

Are NASCAR fans race drivers or anything related?
Are NFL fans present/former athletes?
I don't golf but never miss a PGA event on TV--why??

Get fishermen out of the industry marketing depts. and it might have a chance! "Fishermen" is way too small of a potential fanbase.

The broken record keeps saying......LOL

How many NFL fans play football? How many NASCAR fans race cars?

How many tournament angling fans fish????????

See the difference?

Originally Posted by hopeful yet realistic

I would have to agree Steve is right about the X's and O's. Fisherman think a little too much that the general public gives a crap about technique or pound test or even lure selection. THis is to comparable to how many NFL fans could tell you on a running play whether the guard or tackle pulled. They just thought it was cool cause a guy scored or got hit ect.

There are probably 10-20 things that could be easily changed to make pro-fishing more marketable. Here are a quick 2 items that would directly affect fan following.

FOr gods sake have the derbys FRI-SUN. Yes I realize you would have to deal with weekend anglers. But weigh in participation would double if not triple making televised events more exciting and common.

And in my opinion a huge thing that would impact it would be to stop trying to present something and jsut package what you already have. In other words when the anglers attend weigh ins its often a butt kissing session about how so and so is doing great and that guy is a heck of a stick. People dont' care about friendships. People care about fueds. If soemone cut you off or barged in on your spot it should be announced. crashes and fights are some of the most exciting moments in sports. NOt sure when a circuit would allow this ( probably not) But the the televesion market has spoken reality sells

Uhhh... Weigh ins? Are they a thing of the past too?

[stevefellegy]

Originally Posted by Fish_on UL

How many NFL fans play football? How many NASCAR fans race cars?

How many tournament angling fans fish????????

See the difference?

Sadly, you do not understand what I am saying.

You are right! Yes, as it stands, there is a BIG difference. Yes....only fishermen are fans of fishing tournaments. So, to get a bigger number of fans, do you keep doing and targeting the demographic focused on for the past 25 plus years? Or do you go after a different set of ways/mindsets to attract ALL people, not just serious fishermen?

Example: In '98, Bigfoot won the PWT championship in N.D. The whole marketing effort on him and the win was based on his Ranger, the Fuzzy Grub, the rod, the spot he fished and so on. So the target was fishermen. Serious fishermen.

I met with the producers of the PGA at the time, a few weeks after that event, to discuss how one would go about growing a fan base. To make a long story short---they would have focused on his personalty/history and--most importantly, the fact he went through a huge weight loss that year. The PGA people said in so many words--"ALL people would relate to the PWT champ if the story was about his weight issues and his character. Very few, relatively speaking, would relate to his on the water details in the process of winning."

They(the PGA maketing experts) said if, while I was winning, the marketing of the sport would have focused on my ugly divorce etc. instead of how I fished and where I fished, the fan base was endless. But instead, the old school way that is still in place today said--"we don't air our dirty laundry" (quote Sonny Reynolds) Thus--you have a small target audience and no way or reason for that to change.

[northshoreangler]

There were good old days. I was part of the good old days. The sport was fun and fishing was competitive. I remember when the ethics were completely different than now. The anglers found their own bites. The competitors policed the ethics. The leaders didn't have to fight off the tail-pipers as much as they do now.
Some of the anglers were actually loyal to their sponsors and didn't change brands for every little monetary gain. Teams were teams. The smallest problem didn't break up the friendships. The business is suffering from desperation. Too many guys have to make selfish, short sighted decisions to just keep the boat floating. Yeah, there were good old days. I have many great friends and terrific memories...I hope the good old days are coming back again.
Some old fashioned ethics and integrity would do the sport well.

[GiddyGills]

Originally Posted by northshoreangler

There were good old days. I was part of the good old days. The sport was fun and fishing was competitive. I remember when the ethics were completely different than now. The anglers found their own bites. The competitors policed the ethics. The leaders didn't have to fight off the tail-pipers as much as they do now.
Some of the anglers were actually loyal to their sponsors and didn't change brands for every little monetary gain. Teams were teams. The smallest problem didn't break up the friendships. The business is suffering from desperation. Too many guys have to make selfish, short sighted decisions to just keep the boat floating. Yeah, there were good old days. I have many great friends and terrific memories...I hope the good old days are coming back again.
Some old fashioned ethics and integrity would do the sport well.

You hit the nail right on the head...

[Waxy]

Originally Posted by Used to be one

Who cares? Just the guys who want to be fishing pros and earn a living fishing. Nobody else cares and that is the simple truth why the party is over.

EXACTLY. And that's why this -

When the marketing focus is not on "fishermen" and "fishing", it has a chance to grow.

Are NASCAR fans race drivers or anything related?
Are NFL fans present/former athletes?
I don't golf but never miss a PGA event on TV--why??

Get fishermen out of the industry marketing depts. and it might have a chance! "Fishermen" is way too small of a potential fanbase.

The broken record keeps saying......LOL

Is a pipe dream IMHO.

If not on fishing or fisherman, then what is there to focus on?

Does the NFL or NASCAR focus on the player's divorces or weight loss to market their sport? Of course not, they market the game and superstars for what the do ON the field.

There's something to market with NASCAR, NFL, even golf (which I'm sure has particpation numbers WAY bigger than fishing). For the vast majority of people fishing is NOT a sport, its a way to a meal on the table. It comes down to television revenue, and watching people fish just doesn't make for good TV.

I could never support turning tournament fishing into bad reality TV just so a few people can make some money at it.

Waxy

[Waxy]

Originally Posted by Fish_on UL

Here is another factor that has not been brought up. Back in the early days of walleye tournament fishing, the anglers were on the cutting edge of new stuff all the time. Wherever the PWT went in the early 1990's the locals were learning because the pros tried things and locations that had not been tried before. New techniques were being developed and refined, new locational factors were being discovered, new boat control methods.... and more. It was a real eye-opening time for walleye fishing and the magazines and anglers everywhere were soaking it up. By the early 2000's anything truly new and revolutionary was RARE. The glory days of tournament fishing may be largely behind us because the excitement of learning something truly new is behind us. True, there are some things that are not common knowledge, and there are probably a few things yet to be discovered, but only a tiny fraction of what there was 20 years ago.

Back then it was all about the fish, today it is all about the fishermen, and that is just not as exciting to the average angler. That's why the glory days are behind us.

Very interesting point. I think there's a lot of truth to that.

Waxy