bama, that I could relate to what they were saying.
My wife and I filed for an extension on our 2014 tax year, and just this past October 15, we finally filed our taxes with the help of our accountant. While we were going through our expenses, we had to separate our move to Alabama from the rest of the expenses for a specific form the government required. It was funny to look at the list
of outlays from our cross country move,
and how it gave me a perspective on what
it must be like to travel the country as a
professional angler. Outside of the rental
truck and trailer costs, and the fuel that the
26-foot loaded down beast and the extra
trailer required, our expenses were quite
similar to a professional angler.
FUEL
While I drove the moving
truck and trailer, my wife drove
my Dodge pickup with the bass
boat in tow. For 2400 miles,
the AdvancedAngler.com rig
sped along Highway 20 at an
average of 70 miles per hour. The
fuel mileage on that setup was
alarmingly low. I will say this, after
making that trek, if I were to do it
more frequently, I would certainly
be purchasing a diesel powered
vehicle.
The rig averaged about 11 miles
to the gallon, and with a 26 gallon
fuel tank, the range was less than
300 miles towing the boat with
additional weight from tackle and
paraphernalia in the bed. We filled
that rig up nine times at an average of $2.79 a gallon in July of last year. We spent nearly $700 in fuel on just
WINTER 2016
that rig getting from Northern California to Northern Alabama.
LODGING
Then you add
hotel rooms at an
average of $65
each per night, and
food at another $40 per day for one person, and that totals an additional $565. So, if I were keeping score for one person, it would have cost me nearly $1300 to take my rig across the country one time.
I told a few of those professional angler friends of mine that I had a new perspective on what it takes for them to do their jobs. While it was only one trip across the country for me, they end up doing that the equivalent of 10 times per year on average. Add nearly $47,000 in entry fees for an Elite Series pro, and other expenses, and these guys spend more than most people ever make in a year – just to go to work.
FLW Tour pros only have things slightly
better. Their expenses will go up with the
addition of two extra fall tour events this
year as well.
This is where things get real.
INCOME
In order for an angler to cover all of his expenses each year on a tour level circuit, he or she needs to cash a check in more than 66-percent of their events. Given the fact that the base paycheck for a tour level earner is $10,000 per event, if they cashed six checks on the Elite Series, they would lose money. If they cashed four checks on the FLW Tour, they would just barely break even.
HERE IS THE CRUEL TRUTH
The average times an Elite Series pro cashes a check each season is
39