Hmm... It Ain't Just Me After All

That's what I was thinking after reading an item in the latest issue of Jay Kumar's BassBlaster. In this particular item, 54-year-old bass pro Randy Blaukat (seen playing a fish at right) from Joplin, MO, was calling out expensive bassin'.

To start with, anytime I see a Midwestern town I'm familiar with mentioned in any kind of news, I sit up and take notice. And I'm more than a little familiar with Joplin, which is only about a 47-minute drive from my hometown--Oswego, KS. Used to keep that road between Oswego and Joplin plenty warm when I was a kid with my first couple of old cars, especially on Saturday nights. You see, at the time, I was dating a young gal from my hometown who had decided to attend nursing school over there.

Getting back to the point, though, Randy was taking today's high cost of bass fishing to task. Here's a digest of his comments (see them all by clicking on this link: https://www.facebook.com/randy.blaukat/posts/744419812357811).

"I don't think the current explosion in technology is a good idea for the future of our sport. I say this because technology--and the need to keep up with it to compete, even on a weekend level--is turning bass fishing, especially tournament fishing, into an 'elitist' sport.

"I think it is a huge injustice to our sport for tournament directors to allow an unlimited amount of electronics on a boat... . For some anglers to be able to afford $15,000 in electronics, while some anglers can barely afford two very simple basic units, creates an uneven playing field.

"Same with rods/reels and tackle. Professional golfers are limited to how many clubs they can carry. The same should apply to tournament fishing--again in an effort to level the playing field for those less financially fortunate.

"We live in a world of fishing, where an $80,000 boat, a $50,000 truck, $70,000 in entry fees and expenses, and another $15,000 in tackle each year is the norm. This is insanity."

What was Kumar's response to these comments? "Randy abso-frickin'-lutely has a point. Was recently talkin' to a high-school basser and his parents, going over how much this whole deal costs.

"Larry Nixon was a fishing guide. George Cochran worked in a train yard. Denny Brauer laid bricks. Can such folks be pro bassers anymore? Sure hope so, but it's lookin' pretty tough," concluded Kumar.

Here's how some weekend warriors have chimed in on this same topic of discussion:

     * "I cannot fathom telling the wife I need a $50,000 boat and a $50,000 SUV/truck to pull it with. If I got that far in the conversation with her, I don't think I'd mention the extra $5,000-plus for all the tackle, electronics, and accessories that I would want to go with this outfit. I want to live a little longer."

     * "We are pricing ourselves out of fishing by paying for all of the new and better stuff. Can't blame the companies for making money."

     * "It's a hobby and only worth what you are willing to spend on it. Fishing peaks my interest to no end and is my one and only hobby. I make sure my family is taken care of first, and everything else goes in the fishing fund."

     * "If you can afford an $80,000 boat, God Bless you. I can't and don't know I would, even if I could."

     * "It's not the boat that catches the fish. Granted, the fishfinder electronics help locate where the fish are. However, you can be on top of the fish and not catch 'em all day if you don't know what you're doing or have what they want."

I also was reading the story a newspaper reporter wrote, based on some interviews he had conducted with boat dealers. They, of course, had been telling him about all the bells, whistles and geewhizits available on today's modern bass boats.

In a final analysis of his article, though, the reporter asked this rhetorical question, "Does all this mean you have to spend your life savings on fishing equipment to catch a bass? Not really. It's called marketing, and the industry knows how to market to the most gullible of all people--fishermen. As one famous fisherman once told me, 'The bass don't care if you're in a $70,000 bass boat or a $300 wooden rowboat."

When I see comments like these, especially some of which are from a pro basser, I don't have any misgivings whatever about my own convictions that bass fishing has evolved into a high-priced sport. As a friend and I were discussing just the other day, even places like Bass Pro Shops have lost some of their "curb appeal" since they joined the ranks of companies jacking up their everyday prices.

My friend and I both give a lot of our business to Tackle Warehouse for that very reason. TW consistently beats the prices offered by many competitors, including BPS, and given their free shipping on orders of $50 and over, what can you say but that it's a good deal.

The bottom line here is simple: Comparative shopping is the only way to go. I also would add this caution: Remember what year we're living in.