Sponsored and Sponsoring Anglers

[joffmiester]

Working with Sensas in the media side has really opened up my eye's to the subject of sponsoring anglers and sponsored anglers . believe it or not there is a massive difference in the two. The first one being a 100% sponsored angler you can count on one hand and all these anglers are at the top of the Profession and are always in the media . Whether this is enough to make a good living out of the sport they have dedicated there life to is another matter. They certainly don't live like professional football players or racing car drivers nevertheless these anglers deserve there sponsorship they get throughout the year .

The second part is sponsoring WHETHER its individual angler or Team how do you judge a good team or Individual . Over my time at Sensas i must have twenty messages a month on how do i get sponsorship with your company or would your company like to sponsor me . fair-play to these anglers most have put a list of matches they have won or been placed in what methods they are good at but also probably expect everything for free . Then Reading deeper into it you find out its on one venue that has probably three to four matches a week with around 20 anglers on them . The angler then doesn't fish in all weathers or might even be a fine weather fisherman who just goes in the summer . This is simply not the way you get sponsored i've just read Tom Scholey's [POLE FISHING] Blog entitled Taking off his rose tinted glasses which i will print underneath this topic it really brings it home
I'm lucky i have no outstanding results week in week out i can't fish Saturdays very often yet i'd like to think my sponsorship is because of the work i put in behind the scene's for sensas they have looked after me for many years . I'm not a big name but i work hard to do my best and when ever i get the chance i will always try and fish in Europe Holland, France and Ireland perhaps now i'm a little older i will get the time to fish more .
My view on on sponsorship stands out when it comes to match results with Sensas media i closely follow top anglers .I also organize big competition where a number of the top sponsored anglers fish most of these competitions are 60 plus pegs . After the match you always hear the Chinese whispers "HE'S DRAWN WELL AGAIN OR HE'S DRAWN ANOTHER END PEG " with top anglers this is simple not true yes odd pegs during the season and after studding nearly a whole season of results with the likes of Sean Ashby, Darran Bickerton , Steve Hemingrey Danny Ashington just to name a few for this topic . These lads are picking up results week in week out whether its winning the match, framing or just a section there is normally a brown envelope with there names on . They are not Drawing all good pegs every match or end pegs they are simply working things out quicker and making decisions at the right times . The odd time they haven't picked up they have normally beaten both sides [ mind-you they are all human and still can have a bad days] The first thing these lads do is to find out where there section starts and finishes the next is to sum up the anglers in there sections OR IS IT A 10 PEG SECTION OR 5 to fallback on if there draw isn't a good one .Most anglers go off to the match length not knowing where the section starts and finishes . These are little things I've picked up on there bait is tip top [that's down to each one of them to do at home]Groundbait choice is spot on for the venue they are fishing . I'm loving being a part of this and have improved my fishing massively. Traveling! these lads travel all around the country never shying away from a 200 mile or 300 mile round trip Saturday or Sunday and quite easily both days . So there's just a few pointers about what it takes to get sponsorship and the best advice i can give is to concentrate on your own angling and let the sponsors come to you. Pick big matches so your results show up in the media if you have a talent for angling beating the best will have you noticed much quicker than asking for it

[joffmiester]

TOM'S BLOG

Tom Scholey takes off his rose-tinted glasses.
Conversations after a few pints of beer can often get interesting. I was down at White Acres a few weeks ago, and a load of us began discussing the all too contentious issue of sponsorship.

I can very much understand why people get heated about it. There are plenty of anglers out there who are awesome, catch loads of fish and win loads of matches who aren't sponsored – and other anglers who win nothing, and generally catch very little who are sponsored.

But to my mind, it is here that the most common misconception about sponsorship lies. It isn't just about how good you are, there is so much more to it than that.

I am in a very fortunate position in that I have seen the issue of sponsorship from three different persepectives in my life. In the last 10 years I was first an aspirant teenager, who would have given his left arm to be sponsored, then a fully sponsored angler, and then latterly an angling journalist who isn't allowed to be sponsored.

I can well remember when I was at a wide-eyed youngster, who would drool at the thought of sponsorship. Looking back I was very misguided though. The biggest misconception that I had, and I think a lot of people have today, was that sponsorship is a status symbol, and that to be a sponsored angler would automatically make people respect me as an angler more. Now I realise that being a sponsored angler, and being a good and respected angler, don't necessarily go hand in hand.

Soon I found myself writing a piece for the local paper, and to be fair I was getting a few half-decent match results, albeit on a very local level. I decided to approach Mosella and see if they would back me. Fortunately, Vic Bush agreed, and I was soon kitted out in new clothing, with shiny new luggage, with some nice new tackle to boot. To give credit where its due, Vic really looked after me, giving me everything for free, none of the ‘cheap tackle' discount sponsorship that seems to be en vogue today.

But be in no doubt – I as given this deal because I wrote a two-page piece for the Angling Star every month, not because I was a ‘mover and a shaker' on the match scene, as I would have liked to believe at the time. To give an honest appraisal of my angling ability back then? I was still on a very steep learning curve.

When I joined DHP to work on Pole Fishing magazine, my sponsorship had to come to an end, as quite rightly, journalists are expected to be impartial. What I didn't realise though, is that I was effectively beginning the best sponsorship deal in the world – as working ‘in the trade' you can get tackle from pretty much any company, provided of course that you don't abuse the privilege.

All of a sudden, I started to get a different view on sponsorship though. I was now spending a lot of time talking to the very best anglers that the country has to offer, watching them fish, taking pictures of them and picking their brains. This made me realise two things. Firstly how terrible I was as an angler compared to the true stars of the sport – but secondly how poor some of the lesser sponsored anglers were, and sadly some of them were totally deluded about their own ability.

What I found even more laughable (and at times, frankly patronising) was just how brand obsessed some of these anglers were. They would go to great lengths to try and explain to me just how great their brands ‘wonder-bait' or product is. This kind of conversation is generally followed with a feature request, that went something like this:

Them: Can I do a feature then Tom?

Me: What on mate?

Them: I don't really know. Have you got any ideas?

Me: Shouldn't you be the one coming up with the ideas?

Them: Maybe something on pellet fishing up to an island?

Me: It will have to be more interesting than that, we have done lots of features on that before.

Them: What about something on fishing maggots on the bottom?

Me: But what are you doing with regard to that method that's different to everyone else?

Them: Nothing really.

Me: Well how is it going to be interesting to my readers then?

Them: I tell you what, I will have a think and get back to you…

And then you don't normally hear from them again on the matter.

[joffmiester]

Of course, some of these guys are lovely, and some of the quirky methods that they come up with really interesting. I have shot some brilliant features with virtually unknown anglers. But you cant help but think that many of them are simply glory hunting, and would be much better directing their energy into improving their fishing.

One perspective that I have never had to take is that of a media manager at a tackle company. I would imagine that the way you look at things has changed significantly with the invent of social media, and anyone who pushes themselves in the right way on social media is a real commodity.

If I was in the shoes of a media manager, I would love anglers who write blogs, do regular status updates, and post pictures of my companies products online. Why wouldn't you? The publicity these guys give you is worth its weight in gold.

Often, the sponsored anglers who haven't got quite as much angling ability make up for it by being very proactive on social media, and so earn their keep that way. This is also the reason why a sponsorship deal , in some guise or other is very easy to come by if you are proactive in this way.

But be assured, the deals these guys get from the respective companies can be very modest. Often bait at trade, or a bit less than trade price is all the companies that they work so hard to promote offer in return.

The benefit of hindsight is a wonderful thing, but if I was thrust back in time to being an earnest teenager with what I know now, I would definitely look at things very differently.

My honest advice to any up coming angler would be to concentrate on one thing and one thing alone – improving your angling ability and getting better at fishing.

Let the sponsors hunt you down, don't go looking for them, as ultimately you could end up diverting a lot of energy into looking for something that isn't worth that much to you.

THANK-YOU TOM SCHOLEY AND POLE FISHING

[TK]

Interesting topic Joffie