Summer 2025
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think the sport owes a living. Of course, not everyone falls into those two camps, but more do than you’d expect.
COME TOGETHER
Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I’m 64?
There’s no need for every pro to love or like their fellow anglers. It is, after all, a competitive endeavor, and in any sporting venue some of the best competition comes out of grudges and rivalries. We are, however, at an inflection point for the sport.
Even putting FFS aside for the moment, we’ve got a number of factors in play. First is that there are now three established professional circuits. If you don’t like something in the one you’re fishing, you can make a move to join another. But even if that’s not a simple fix, it’s created barriers and divisions among the fans, arguing that one is “better” or “fairer” or “more competitive” than the others.
Add into that the financial pressures that exist. Nothing has gotten cheaper over the past few years – not boats, not baits, not rods and reels. While you may be paying more for those “necessities” your mortgage likely hasn’t gone down a penny. As I write this, tariffs have just gone into effect and the industry seems to believe that they’ll continue to increase the cost of everything. That remains to be seen, but it won’t help matters.
Tournament checks would become more precious, sponsor dollars will likely be reduced, and that starts the cycle all over again. When someone else is doing well, or seemingly making a good living (better than yours?) despite not “paying their dues,” it breeds resentment, and it’s easier
to couch it as a generational divide. Social media, which clearly has some benefits, also gives legs to this divide.
Nevertheless, while it may sound trite, we can all hang together or we can all hang separately. There are too many self-proclaimed merchants of truth who are doing more to bring the sport down than to help it survive. In fact, some are openly rooting for one or more leagues to fail – their intent might be to ensure purity, but they’ll do more harm than good, as it’s harder to build or rebuild an institution once you tear it down.
When I look at veterans who go about their business and work to make the sport better, I think of KVD, who stepped away and yet somehow got busier and more devoted to the industry.
I think of Brandon Palaniuk, who could have grown bitter about missing the 2025 Classic, and yet seemed to be everywhere, giving of his time despite being an intense competitor with two toddlers (it didn’t hurt that he won the Okeechobee event just before the Classic in the most jovially-BP-type manner possible).
I also think of Carl Jocumsen, who has found a way to highlight and reward good actors through his sportsmanship awards. Controversies will happen, rivalries may at times grow bitter, but if the sport suffers from our collective action or inaction, it won’t matter whether you’re a Baby Boomer or a Millennial. We’ll all go down with the ship.
Based on my experiences, I have faith that with the occasional dose of constructive criticism, there’s a group of young anglers (scopers or otherwise) who can help us to get where we need to go. •
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Photos: Lowrance