2010 Walleye Tour Decisions

This week I received countless emails asking what my thoughts were for next years walleye tours.  I have been quietly holding out hope that the professional level circuits would come out with a professional level circuits for 2010.  This week the FLW released their schedule for 2010 which is outlined below.

The FLW is going to an East/West format for next year and increasing the number over events to 6 with a championship.  I applaud the increase in events as that is a step in the right direction but unfortunately with the increase in events they are decreasing entry fees to $750 per event and severely decreasing the payouts offered.  In addition, the tournaments have been shortened by a day and are now three day tournaments.  I am sure over the next couple weeks there will be a lot more to come out in regards to the format but to say this is a little discouraging is an understatement.

I decided to take a closer look at the numbers to see just how these decreased payouts would effect me individually.  In 2009 my tournament winnings were $117,729 on the FLW tour.  I was fortunate enough to finish in the money in every event including winning the championship, it was a good year.

If I were to have the exact same finishes in 4 events in 2010 plus the championship my winnings would equal $22,600 for the year.  It is not hard to see there is a problem here.  The main problem lies in the fact that essentially lowering the entry fee does nothing to reduce the average touring pros expenses because they are not paying the entry fees.  My travel costs still remain the same as they are predicated on the number events I fish not the entry fee.

In 2008 my tournament winnings on the FLW tour were $109,651.  If I were to fish the same tournaments next year with the exact same finishes my winnings would be $26,700 under the current pay structure outlined for 2010 and that is assuming the fields would be full for next year, otherwise it would be significantly less.  Yes, there are not contigencies included in the 2010 payouts, but as of yet we have not heard that there will be any contingencies.  The bottom line is the cash, and it is significantly lower for 2010.

I understand that in these tough economic times we all have to do what we need to do to survive.  I am hoping the angler owned circuit, AIM (Anglers Insight Marketing) comes out with a true professional level circuit, as there are many of us who need a this type of platform to work on.  For now all I can do is sit back and wait to see how things unfold over the next month but right now things are not looking good for competitive walleye fishing for 2010.  AIM is having their owners meeting October 31st to decide on their direction for 2010.  I have completed my survey and given my input.