ESPN brings wow factor to fishing

Flip the channel on your television to ESPN, and you will get a good look at the changing face of fishing.

Bass boats plastered with the designs of sponsors speed across lakes during Bassmaster events, creating a NASCAR-like scene on the water.

Helicopters carrying film crews hover overhead, cameramen ride along with contenders to get action footage, and reporters do color segments on fishermen.

See that guy with the tattoos, break-dancing on the weigh-in stage and getting in the face of the bass he catches? That’s Mike Iaconelli, one of the new wave of fishermen attracting a following.

Local fishermen follow their heroes when they head out in the morning, hoping to get a glimpse of the pros in action.

Now look at the crowd at the weigh-ins. A lot of people showed up in Birmingham, Ala., last weekend for the Bassmaster Classic, but the other Bassmaster events can turn smaller towns into big-league cities overnight.

Bass fishing, a spectator sport? Don’t laugh.

Ever since ESPN bought BASS, the nation’s largest bass-fishing organization, in 2001, it has been on a mission: to bring the sport to the big time. And by most accounts, it is finding success.

“A lot of people have always looked at fishing as a Bubba sport,” said Iaconelli, the colorful pro from Runnemede, N.J. “You know, laid-back, kinda boring, something the ‘good ol’ boys’ do.

“We’ve always known it was a lot more than that, but we weren’t getting that across. Now, ESPN is changing that.”

ESPN is adding more of everything – more money, more national tournaments, more hours of television coverage, more exposure for the fishermen.

Look at the payouts. When the first Bassmaster Classic was held in 1971, the top prize was $10,000. In the 2006 Classic held in February, that’s what the last-place finisher went home with. The champion, Luke Clausen of Spokane, earned $500,000.

The payback for the entire 2006 season? Almost $11 million. That compares with a total payback of just over $2 million 10 years ago.

“I can’t believe the way this sport has changed,” said Guy Eaker, 66, of Cherryville, N.C., who has been on the Bassmaster tour for 31 years. “When I first got into this, I really thought I was doing something if I got $3,000 to $4,000 for winning a tournament.

“Now I’m getting $25,000 apiece from sponsors to wrap my boat and my truck with their logos. I’m making $150,000 to $200,000 a year fishing – something I never thought I’d see.”

But the pro fishermen, Eaker included, concede that those riches haven’t come easy.

“You have to pay to play,” Eaker said. “The entry fees are higher than they ever have been, and a lot of fishermen don’t like that.”

The pros are paying $55,000 for a season’s entry fees before they even make their first cast of the year – $5,000 per Elite event. The entry fee 10 years ago was $1,500 for each Top 100 event and $2,000 for MegaBucks tournaments.