Flw In Trouble?

[Sore Thumbs]

Several major company's pulled the plug on sponsorships shortly after Bass Pro announced the purchase of Ranger. Is this a coincidence? Chevy,Straight Talk and other companies dropped out last minute and left anglers scrambling for sponsors. Anyone else have insight on the matter? Like to hear from someone who really knows what's going on.

[willyfish]

I'm pretty sure Chevy dropped jimmy Houston, jay yelas, Larry Nixon and a couple others.

[Sore Thumbs]

Those are some big names. Brian Thrift too. He is a stud.

[fishinwrench]

Could it be that the "Professional Angler" boom has finally reached it's threshold ?

I mean for crying out loud, it has darn near gotten to the point that there are more "sponsored pros" and wannabe's out on the lake at any given time than there are regular guys that just like to fish alot.

It's just a bit rediculis, is it not ?

Every county in every state has it's own Pro Bass Fishermen. I perceive a drastic imbalance there. Surely a few guys need to be left out there to pay retail.

[Champ188]

Could it be that the "Professional Angler" boom has finally reached it's threshold ?

I mean for crying out loud, it has darn near gotten to the point that there are more "sponsored pros" and wannabe's out on the lake at any given time than there are regular guys that just like to fish alot.

It's just a bit rediculis, is it not ?

Every county in every state has it's own Pro Bass Fishermen. I perceive a drastic imbalance there. Surely a few guys need to be left out there to pay retail.

Wrench, I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but don't believe for one second that all of those "pros" out there running around are truly sponsored by everyone they are bannering on their boats. The advent of "wrap" technology has resulted in a bunch of wealthy wannabes plastering their boats with all sorts of crap, suggesting they are "sponsored" by companies who have never friggin' heard of them..

This is the "jersey" crowd. They show up at derbies and just for a weekend outing sporting these ridiculous "jerseys" --- again plastered with logos of companies who aren't paying them a dime, have never given them so much as a lure, and don't know them from Adam. Some even go so far as to scroll their last name across the shoulders in 3-inch block letters like the Elite Series or FLW pros.

[rainbow]

If all of the sponsors pull out of FLW Johnny Morris will take it over and call it the BassPro FLW Tour as the sole sponsor and clean up. You can't keep that guy down even if you want to. The are the Budweiser of outdoor sports marketing.

[Sore Thumbs]

People are thinking that Walmart will be out soon and BPS will take control from there.

[MOsmallies]

LOZ local pro Dion Hibdon was also dropped by Chevy

[kjackson]

I can't speculate as to causes, but I do know that this is the time of year when contracts tend to end. For instance, PRADCO/lurenet lost Dudley, almost dumped Bill Dance (he only promotes Rebel now) and lost both of the Lee brothers. Strike King added Cody Meyer and the Lees. Clent Davis signed with Mister Twister.

It's a rare day when I don't hear about one or more pros signing with different companies. Will Morris pull Ranger out of FLW when the agreement ends? Maybe he knows, but I don't.

[J-Doc]

FLW has been on the decline for the last 3 years. This has little to do with the BPS Ranger deal. I as a fan/FLW member have noticed little things over last few years. They simply do not have the money. They even let go of the host on the show. They are about to go bankrupt any day I think.