Entry 256-5
Facing the Ups and the Downs of Tournament Fishing with James Niggemeyer
Editor’s Note: Strike King believes in their fishermen and considers them all winners, regardless of how they fish in tournaments. Forgetting that professional fishermen don’t always catch fish or win tournaments is easy. Fishing success often is based on luck as much as skill. Being a professional fisherman is a tough vocation, and this week, James Niggemeyer of Van, Texas, will tell us about the ups and the downs, the victories and the defeats that take place every year in an angler’s career.
Part 5: Looking Forward From Now to the Classic
Question: James, what will you have to do between now and the end of the season to qualify for the Classic?
Niggemeyer: I have to earn around 230 points in every tournament to qualify for the Classic. The top 36 on the Elite Series make the Classic, and I have five more tournaments to fish this year. It’s possible for me to make the Classic, and I have every intention of making the Classic. But I don’t think a season can be deemed a success or a failure based on making the Classic.
If you make the Classic, you’ve had a good season. If you can win a tournament, you’ve had a good season. But financially, the most-important thing for me is to earn a check in every one of these next five tournaments. The job of a professional fisherman is to make money fishing. If we go to a tournament and don’t make money, we’ve had a poor tournament. If I can earn a paycheck in the next five tournaments, financially, I’ll be able to continue with my fishing career and still be able to put food on the table at home.
Question: How much pressure do you feel about earning checks in the tournaments to put food on the table at home?
Niggemeyer: I know that’s something I need to do, but I can’t let that thought rule my actions on the water. Everybody wants to do well at their jobs, but if you spend too much time worrying whether or not you’re doing well, you can’t concentrate on the actions you need to take to improve at that moment. What you’re doing every minute counts. If I worry too much about my financial future, I can’t concentrate as much as I need to on the next bite that will determine my financial future. Therefore, when I’m in a tournament, I have to stay focused on every cast, every day and every chance I have to get a bite, hook a fish and put a fish into the boat. If I can concentrate solely on that, everything else will work out.
Question: How important is it to have sponsors like Strike King as well as other sponsors when you’re going through a tough period like now?
Niggemeyer: Having those faithful sponsors is the most-important factor in our business. It’s really important to me to have partnerships and friendships with companies and products I believe in and use. 
When you’re performing well in tournament fishing, you’re earning money, so you don’t have any financial worries. But when you’re not performing at your best, you realize how important your sponsors are to your future. I don’t think any professional fisherman takes his sponsors for granted. I’m really glad to be a part of Strike King, BassCat, Mercury Outdoors and my other sponsors. They’re great partners and sponsors.
Question: James, what do you do for your sponsors besides fish tournaments?
Niggemeyer: I do promotions and in-store promotions. I work with TV producers, outdoor writers and dealers, attend boat shows and help my sponsors anyway I can. I recently did a TV show for “Bass Edge” Television. We were fishing on a lake in Illinois, and I was catching fish on the new Strike King baits being introduced this year. I try and work with all the outdoor media to promote my sponsors’ products. In March, I did a 30-minute TV show with ESPN titled, “A Day on the Lake.” I caught all my fish on Strike King’s Diamond Shad and Red Eye Shad.
Question: Being a professional fisherman doesn’t just involve competing in tournaments and catching fish, right?
Niggemeyer: Absolutely. Once we get home, we have to work with outdoor writers and TV producers, perform in-store promotions and do whatever we can to support and help our sponsors. We have 11 tournaments for BASS, and I fish a total of 14 to 15 tournaments a year. Each tournament lasts for about a week, when you count the practice days, so there’s not a lot of time left. I probably put in at least 7 to 8 weeks worth of work for my sponsors. So, a professional fisherman’s life is pretty busy, and you really have to love it to keep doing it. I enjoy working with my sponsors and the media and fishing for bass. That’s the reason I continue to be a professional fisherman.
Contents:
- Part 1: Fishing is a Fickle Business
- Part 2: Lessons Learned This Year
- Part 3: Still Learning about the Shadalicious
- Part 4: Excited about the Wake Shad
- Part 5: Looking Forward From Now to the Classic
