Question on the Elite Series.........

afterbass · Post by **afterbass** » Tue Mar 08, 2011 5:18 am

How do anglers actually qualify to fish the Elite Series? There are some who fish year after year and never are competitive. They may be nice guys or good sticks locally, but if you finish in the bottom 10% every year, shouldn't you have to re-qualify?

Imavol · Post by **Imavol** » Tue Mar 08, 2011 8:57 am

Some of the anglers that finish towards the bottom get invited back due to there being on the all time money winners list. They have had a hard time getting guys that have qualified that can afford to fish the tour. I know that if you are ranked in the all time money winners list you can qualify to fish if other guys do not take your place. It is very expensive to fish the BASS tours. It is something like 50K in entry fees plus all of the travel expenses so you are talking about realistically 60k or more a year in expenses. If you are a young angler as tight as sponsorship dollars are with this economy, you might qualify to fish and not be able to because of the expense. Alot of the guys that get invited back are the bigger name guys like, Denny Brauer, Zell Rowland etc. and in my opinion deserve to be there on the Elite series as long as they want to fish. Plus some of the older guys have done really well recently Tommy Biffle was on fire last year, Paul Elias had that huge string of fish to win at Falcon a few years ago, and Gary Klein is one of the best fisherman ever and just seems to get better with age.

afterbass · Post by **afterbass** » Tue Mar 08, 2011 10:23 am

I agree with you Imavol. All the names you mentioned have won or are winning. I was tryimg not to name names, but a guy like David Smith comes to mind.

Imavol · Post by **Imavol** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 2:12 pm

afterbass wrote:I agree with you Imavol. All the names you mentioned have won or are winning. I was tryimg not to name names, but a guy like David Smith comes to mind.

David can afford to fish the tournaments plus his company supplies the trophy's for tournaments. It all comes down to money. There is a guy here in Cookeville that is one of the best fisherman I have ever seen. He won what used to be the Red Man All American (not sure of the name now) last year and qualified to fish the FLW tour. He finished in the top ten in the first tournament last year on Table Rock and in the middle of the pack the rest of the year. I think every tournament but one he finished in the money. But that is not enough to pay the bills, he was invited back but could not afford to go. It is a shame but it is all about who has the funds.

afterbass · Post by **afterbass** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 3:05 am

Hi Imavol........Yes, that's what I was thinking as well. I am a huge B.A.S.S. fan/geek but not so much of a fan of guys just being able to pay to play. I think they should have some kind of bottom 10% rule. If you finish in the bottom for two or three years you have to qualify again.

NJ Jigman · Post by **NJ Jigman** » Fri Mar 11, 2011 11:40 pm

agreed, just look at who's winning in florida this week shaw you old dog is not only hanging in there but he's leading going into the 3rd day. and all the older guys could have a tourney like this at any time due to their skill level, they should have the right to fish because they helped bass get to where it is today.

Imavol · Post by **Imavol** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 3:05 pm

I love it when the old guys do good too. Go Shaw.

Post by **Nitroman77** » Fri Mar 18, 2011 3:33 am

Take for example Mark Tucker...Won a TON of money, but is not fishing the Elites this year as its $$$$..
He just took first at the Central open down in TX and qualified for the classic next year..
Alot has to do with sponsors and if they are willing to give a big chunk of change for these guys to fish..
Its NOT cheap as I'm friends with a couple guys on the Elites and they work their ass off on the off season with sponsors to get things done..
Its tough, but if you can finish in the top 50 every tourny your getting a check..

BASSLAYER · Post by **BASSLAYER** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 2:47 pm

sheeet i remember when Dennis Green ex coach of the Viking tried to fish competitively, where is he now?

bhyatt6 · Post by **bhyatt6** » Fri Apr 22, 2011 11:15 am

how much does it cost to compete on the FLW tour? how do you qualify? i get that magazine and follow that trail much closer than the elite series.

Post by **Nitroman77** » Sun Apr 24, 2011 8:16 am

Complete $24,000
Deposit $6,000

Professional - Opens

Complete $4,000 (per event)
Deposit $1,000 (per event)
Co-angler - Majors and Opens
Qualifying events
Complete $700 (per event)
Deposit $200 (per event)

steve1206 · Post by **steve1206** » Thu May 12, 2011 3:45 am

1. Jerry McKinnis is hinting that the fields may be shrunk even more and the guys should not take for granted the re-qualifying process in the future,jusat b/c they have money.

2. I won't mention names, but there is also a handful of "pay-to-play" guys on the FLW Tour...Zero qualifications.

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