My thoughts on Bassmaster Unniversity
I recently attending the Bassmasters University in Bloomington, MN last weekend. All in all I thought I got good bang for my buck. I think anyone outside a touring pro can learn something from one of these courses. I think you probably get more out of the sessions as a good bass angler, because if all the info presented was knew to you, it would be overwhelming and you most likely would forget the majority before you could apply it on the water.
Sure you it can be a little infomercial like at times.... I will not be buying Woo's Shoes anytime soon. I did not agree with everything the pro's had to share, but most of it was really good and informational.
If you are a serious tournament angler, much of it will be review for you, but I think there are a few small things you will pick up from each presenter that will help you put a few more fish in the boat and that is what really counts. As long as there are different instructors next time they come to town, I will attend and you should do the same. Besides they usually have these in the winter, would you rather be home doing chores are hanging out with a bunch of people talking about fishing. Oh yeah, one more thing, bring a kid and let them learn as well.
Never Stop Learning,
Rich
www.richlindgren.com
basstournament.blogspot.com
Sure you it can be a little infomercial like at times.... I will not be buying Woo's Shoes anytime soon. I did not agree with everything the pro's had to share, but most of it was really good and informational.
If you are a serious tournament angler, much of it will be review for you, but I think there are a few small things you will pick up from each presenter that will help you put a few more fish in the boat and that is what really counts. As long as there are different instructors next time they come to town, I will attend and you should do the same. Besides they usually have these in the winter, would you rather be home doing chores are hanging out with a bunch of people talking about fishing. Oh yeah, one more thing, bring a kid and let them learn as well.
Never Stop Learning,
Rich
www.richlindgren.com
basstournament.blogspot.com
Rich,
I have to agree with you about the Bassmaster University - worth every dollar.
Having said that there is room for substantial improvement.
Consider:
The level of technology used in the presentations was very poor with the exception Kevin Vandam who used a DVD presentation. The rest, Mark Davis, Randy Howell, Shaw Grisby, Rich Tauber and Mike Iconelli, used an overhead projector. The transparencies were for the most part hand written and poorly focused. DVD presentations for the tying of knots would have been very easy for any of the sponsors to produce for the classes.
Sunday was supposed to start at 8 am but Kevin Vandam was invited to the Superbowl and the start time was pushed back to 6 am for autographs with his presentation to start at 7 am. When I arrived at 6:50 am Kevin had already started his presentation. For me no big deal but, apparently, there was no consideration for the attendees that might have had other plans on that Sunday morning such as attending church etc. Also, no handouts at all for the attendees. At the very least presented documents could have been e-mailed to the attendee list at no cost to the Bassmaster University operation. This is where the sponsors could have been involved as a service (producing DVD presentations [Vandam] for their Pro Staff members) and also to promote the sale of their products.
Again, informationally worth every dollar, but I have been involved with Fortune 500 presentations and corporate training and, if you are trying to get kids involved, the level of professionalism/marketing I saw reflected poorly on the industry. I don't fault the presenters, who were to a man entertaining and informative, but the sponsors and the Bassmaster University staff for seemingly getting by with apparent minimal effort.
If one of their stated goals is to bring young adults into the sport, you have to at the very least match the level of presentation technology that these kids see everyday in school.
Again, great information and very enjoyable.
Leawood Steve
P.S. Rich don't you think the Ranger Boat company pulling Ike's endorsement was a little extreme? After all, it was a Triton boat he abused.
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I would agree that the presentations are pretty low-tech at best. I do not have much problem with the transparencies, but they could be done to a much higher quality. Most inkjet printers will print transparencies these days. Powerpoint would be a good tool as well, but then these guys are professional fisherman, not computer geeks
On the other hand, Joe Thomas did use a DVD for his presentation on Lowrance Electronics, which was very well done. It would have been cool to get a summary CD or DVD at the end to take with.
I can see why Ranger yanked their deal with IKE. Sponsorship is can be a very delicate situation. Often times its not how well you fish, but how well you represent yourself and the company. I am sure Ranger wants their PROS to be ambassadors of their company and his behavior was not up to their standards. I think it was that there was an American Flag on that light pole that tipped the scales for Ranger.
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Rich,
Good point on the flag.
Bassmaster University - I agree they are not computer geeks but that is why the Bassmaster U staff is on site. Companies like Berkley, Ranger and Quantum should be supporting their pros with this presentation technology.
Good Luck this season.
Leawood Steve
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