The 2022 professional bass fishing season got underway last week with the Pro Circuit event on Sam Rayburn. Michael Neal picked up where he left off, bringing in a gigantic bag the final day to walk away with his first six-figure check of the year. I’m flabbergasted by this guy. Fans will recognize Neal’s meteoric rise to the top of bass fishing, winning the 2021 Pro Circuit AOY, and threatening to do the same on the BPT side. In the end, Neal pocketed nearly $300,000 in winnings last season.
So here we are, back for another campaign, Neal again taking center stage. “It’s all momentum," he claims. But is it?
My point is a familiar one. Always putting myself in the shoes of others, I contemplate: How does a young angler, hopeful in turning competitive fishing into a career, compete against these guys?
Looking further into the stats, realize this. On the Pro Circuit last year – you know, that feeder tour for the BPT – Bass Pro Tour anglers finished first, second and fourth in the Angler of the Year race. Yet, BPT anglers only represented about 10 percent of the field.
And here we are, again, with a BPT angler winning the first event of the season.
So where does that leave some kid, say, from New York, who just drove across the country to Texas and got his doors blown off? Does that kid really have a chance?
Now, to be clear, my point here is not to criticize the top touring pros for fishing the Pro Circuit. On the contrary, considering the large payouts, the intention of Major League Fishing was to offer any full-time anglers a way in. Some BPT pros are content on their schedule, while others want to grind as many events as possible. And they play for high stakes.
No, I say bring it on. It makes for competition I can get into, complete with the household names of bass fishing. I never feel bad watching the Skeet Reeses of the world drop the hammer.
But I get back to my initial point. What are the chances for the rookies and the part-timers? I mean, this is fishing, the sport that doesn’t discriminate. Everyone has an equal shot, right?
Heck no. The critics will insist that privilege plays a big role. The kid with the rich dad, who gets a bass boat as a teenager, complete with all the graphs, Power-Poles, the whole bit. The same critic will contend that the privileged one has no worries, entry fees paid, staying in nice hotels, pre-fishing for weeks. How could they fail?
I’d wager there’s a few of those guys on the Pro Circuit. But I don’t see their name at the top of the standings. I see Michael Neal’s.
Other justification comes from those who bet on the pros getting all the info. Boy, if I had a dollar for every time I heard that one. And, yes, in the past, it came as an advantage to be a recognized celebrity bass fisherman who liked to stand around at sport shows. The invention of waypoints just made dishonesty more efficient.
But try doing that today. First off, there’s rules against it. Rules enforced, frequently, by polygraph tests. And don’t forget the influence of social media, where everyone is either an expert, tattle-tale, or both.
More considerable is the schedules. Imagine prepping for the biggest tournament of your life. One featuring a life-changing amount of money, likely on the other side of the country. Now do it 20 times in a year.
There’s simply no time, or energy, for the input of others. It’s a fact. Without fail, when I interview the best anglers on tour – any professional fishing tour – they almost uniformly report working with one or two close friends on the same circuit, and not dialoguing with anyone else about fishing. Truthfully, many of the top performers don’t really like to talk fishing much at all. But, Good Lord, don’t bring up deer hunting.
Getting back to the point, I frequently have discussions with other fans as to why certain anglers are so successful. It’s been subject matter for decades. We’ve discussed it countless times here, and elsewhere.
I get questions from young anglers hopeful of making it big. They want to know the secret. What’s it take to be a Michael Neal?
Most of them immediately clue into the scene at the end of the movie. They talk about choosing a circuit based on sponsors, “once they make it.” Those same anglers forget that the vast majority of tournament bass anglers never do.
If the young charger fails, he often falls into the pit of the blamers. The critics. Unable to accept that he may have overlooked the most obvious component to becoming a successful pro.
Time on the water, learning to excel in your strengths, and the unwavering confidence that comes as a result. That’s the recipe.
How you get there is up to you.
Skeet Reese mentions getting his head together. I’m told Ott gets it from time with family. Seth Feider couldn’t care less about what you think of him. But it’s always there. Confidence in their ability, proven through experience.
It’s all momentum, according to Michael Neal. No question, that helps. But he got the ball rolling on his own.
(Joe Balog is the often-outspoken owner of Millennium Promotions, Inc., an agency operating in the fishing and hunting industries. A former Bassmaster Open and EverStart Championship winner, he's best known for his big-water innovations and hardcore fishing style. He's a popular seminar speaker, product designer and author, and is considered one of the most influential smallmouth fishermen of modern times.)
