A new year has dawned, the last of the decade, and all across the industry the buzzword's "survival." From boat and motor companies, to tackle firms, magazines, websites and TV shows, long-term goals have suddenly turned short-term and this year looms like one giant question mark.

It's the same all over, from what I hear. Whether you work in finance, manufacturing, journalism or any other sector, times are tough.

What does it mean for pro athletes? Probably not much if you're talking about football or baseball or any other high-profile ball sport. There, the ones left holding the proverbial ball are the networks, leagues and owners that bought into the sport on the promise of mega-dollar TV contracts, sponsor revenues and developments like those onerous personal seat licenses.

But what happens when both the athletes and the leagues survive largely on sponsor buy-ins? Sports like NASCAR and pro fishing? The bottom line is that both the leagues and the athletes take a beating. The smart move, in such times, is to recognize how dependent the two are upon each other.

NASCAR has its own plate of problems, which begins with the Big Three car companies that are spiraling right now. But in the case of pro fishing, which is comparatively smaller in scale, several changes should be made to ensure survival through 2009 and beyond. The first, I think, should be a nod to the athletes themselves.

The most glaring problem in the sport today is the qualification system. In a perfect world, pro fishing would be designed just like other pro sports. But since we live in an imperfect world, today's pro-fishing qualification system is simply too rigid. It's not organic enough to survive the sponsor drop-ins and dropouts that ebb and flow with the economy. Pros, in many cases, have less than a year to arrange contracts that in reality take several years or more to develop. And for new qualifiers, the task is nearly impossible. A few months is simply not enough time to court, negotiate and sign sponsors – even in a fat economy.



The quest by both BASS and FLW Outdoors to elevate pro fishing has resulted in these short operating windows for the pros. And neither league escapes blame. BASS wanted an "Elite" tour that forced pros to be nothing but pro fishermen in a single league, yet qualifies its new pros for the Elite Series as late as November. FLW Outdoors throws big wads of money at 1st-place Tour finishers, but often leaves its top pros hanging with a deal/no-deal dilemma as late as December, and doesn't allow them the tools to pursue non-league sponsors.

And while the leagues have pushed their pros to pursue stability, they themselves have wiggled and changed and shifted and canceled and revamped each year.

Both leagues need stability amongst their athletes in order to succeed. The leagues also need a steady flow of new blood through the feeder trails.

I think this aggressive push for elite status by both leagues was ill-timed. Television wasn't ready. Sponsors weren't ready. Pros weren't ready.

Once you accept that fact, then it's obvious that qualification status needs to be extended to 2 years. If someone qualifies for the Elite Series or FLW Tour, he or she should be able to forego the immediate season, begin to navigate the financial pathways, then opt in the following season.

And pros who fall out – whether for financial or performance reasons – should either have 1 year of immunity ("the second-chance rule") or should sit for 1 year with the option to rejoin a year later.

Field size should remain flexible by 10 or so boats, as it is now, to accommodate those who wait.

Some day, pro fishing will be ready for rigid qualifications, but that won't come until at least half of the 250 pros at the tour level can survive on appearance fees and purses alone. And that time certainly isn't coming in the next few years. Maybe it'll come sometime in the next decade?