Will Tournament Redfishing Survive?

I just attended my first ICAST show last week and it was quite a day. Lots of product to check out but it seemed to me that a lack of "excitement" was in the air - especially when it came to redfishing.

Perhaps I am wrong, since I am a rookie ICAST-er after all, but for the past few years all I have heard about was that the buzz around the show was growth of inshore saltwater. Obviously, times are tough in the recreational sports business and fishing has been hard hit so it doesn't surprise me that bass fishing seemed to steal the show since that is the bread and butter sales area.

Since then, I have spent some time reflecting on my favorite pastime of tournament redfishing and wonder what the future or our game is. For certain, sponsorship dollars are drying up and anglers are having a tougher time affording to fish tournaments. When the fields start dwindling, the payouts drop, and a bad downward spiral occurs.

Rather than being pessimistic about the situation, I choose to look at this down cycle as an opportunity. Life runs in cycles so if we are down right now, eventually we will return to a peak and I personally plan to be a part of the upswing. I feel like there are a few areas of focus that are important in these conditions.

First, it is going to be increasingly important to make sure the opportunity exists to get a decent return on the disposable income invested in a tournament entry fee. To me that means honest purses that pay back based on the turnout and are not front loaded as a "winner take all" scenario. Personally, I need to feel that if I have a good day on the water I will cover my expenses and perhaps make a little profit - I would much rather do that than feel that the only way to get paid is to win because winning is extremely hard to do and therefore isn't a good gamble with my money.

Next, it is going to be necessary for tournament anglers to become better promoters of the sport. If a tournament is coming to town, recruit 2 or 3 buddies to come out and fish. If everybody does that then the fields will grow, the payouts will go up, sponsor interest will increase, and the sport will grow again.

Finally, it is important to realize that marketing budgets for sponsors have been drastically cut - especially when it comes to the pro-staff positions that all tournament anglers aspire to get. There "ain't no free rides" any more so serious competitors should be prepared to work harder for their sponsors and should expect to receive less in return.

Now, for the upside. If we as tournament anglers become a part of rebuilding the sport we will reap the benefits on the upswing. Become valuable to your tournament promoters and they will end up promoting you. Recruit more new anglers to the sport and use your experience to win their money. Work hard for your sponsors now and be first in line when their budgets open back up.

Keep in mind that as easily as there can be a downward spiral, there can be an upward spiral. Hop on the elevator on the ground floor and the only way to go is up.