Become a pro

Im guessing that there is some mix of different reasons why more people do not approach the companies that they love so much with the offer of representing their product that they spend so much money on. Some may believe that they don't have much to offer in the professional forum, while others could only consider anglers on t.v. to be professional, lastly most may not know how to go about offering their services for some free product and not get laughed at.  Ahead are three steps to furthering your ambitions. 

The process is actually quite simple. The first step to getting some free stuff is to look at your fishing background and accomplishments as a resume of sorts. Put this information together in a resume type format and present it to companies. You are an agent of yourself and your job is to advertise yourself to offer representation of products that you use or want to use. 

The second step to obtaining a pro staff spot is committing yourself and your efforts fully to produce more sales. A lot of this is done by social networking, sharing photos and stories. Many companies ask for updates from you to show what you are doing for them in return for the free or discounted product that you have received. 

Third and finally, as an angler, a major part of successfully starting your pro staff career and furthering your charge into the paying professional part of sport fishing is understanding. Companies such as Berkley, Yamamoto Custom Baits, and many others at the top of the industry receive more inquiries than they could possibly use. With the high end professional anglers pushing their product on television, mega corporations are less eager to use pro staff like a smaller company on the rise would. This is not saying that they have not used pro staff, only that they are past this step in the development of their company. Going after the less known increases your chances of success. There are many companies that provide very successful baits for use, rivaling the well known power names of the industry. 

A personal sponsors of mine, such as El Grande, make a stick bait just as efficient as the Yamamoto Senko. The only thing that El Grande lacks on the stage is the large name, this comes with time, so as a pro staff for El Grande, my job is to help their reputation and company grow to heights that rival industry leaders. In the meantime I still catch huge fish and will achieve a reputation with a company on the rise. This is one of the best ways to become a guy on the inside looking out from a big company once they reach the top. 

I hope this gives you the insight to go after your dreams or at least lesson the blow on your bank account in trying times. 

Until next time.

Tight Lines,

Joshua " Yak Addict" Christensen