Guys like McClelland, Gary Roach, Gary Parsons, Ted Takasaki and Keith Kavajecz have done well for themselves because they have solid sponsorship arrangements. The majority of tournament regulars get some free equipment and a small stipend from industry sponsors, but it's hardly enough to qualify as a good living. There's more money on the bass circuits, but there's more competition, too. Guys like Denny Brauer have become millionaires through fishing tournaments. But whether it's bass or walleye, only a handful of very shrewd, hard-working individuals are raking in big bucks, most wonder where they'll scratch up the next entry fee.
Entrants usually spend a week on location doing their practice fishing.
If they have industry sponsors, they're expected to make a certain number of public appearances, conducting in-stores, seminars and sport show appearances all across the region. They must maintain meticulous records of their efforts in behalf of sponsors. They must renegotiate those contracts annually. Tournament anglers are professionals who are on the water even when it's raining buckets, the wind is kicking up six-foot waves and the temperature is hovering in the 30s. They keep pounding the water even when the fish aren't biting.