I agree with Toxic that those anglers are the best of the best. They're professionals and should be. But, personally I really don't believe that their fishing all over the country in different venues and climatic conditions is that big a deal.
I doubt any of these guys are told, with little notice, that the next tourney they will be fishing is on Lake Titicaca day after tomorrow and they have never even heard of the place. They have a schedule that tells them where they will be fishing and they all know a myriad of anglers, including local guides, on these lakes who constantly feed them information and enjoy doing so usually as a matter of hero worship. That and the plethora of electronic information out there gives them a heck of a jump start. Don't get me wrong, what they do with info is what separates the men from the boys. That and the fact that they fish virtually every single day unless they are traveling.
They were very good amateur anglers and knew how to sell themselves to sponsors before they went on any type of Pro tour and that's what probably pushed them on to become the best of the best..
In my opinion, and only my opinion and not trying to start a fight or another thread, I believe that Roland Martin was the best angler out there, period. But he never won a Classic? Anyone ever try to figure out why? A few years ago, back in the rear of a restaurant while on vacation in the Outer Banks, Nancy nor anyone I was staying down there with knew who I was talking about when Ray Scott came in with a others to eat.
As a devout member of B.A.S.S. in those days I knew immediately who he was but didn't know the others with him. Later that evening I heard Ray Scott talking about some of the Pros and who he thought would win the classic. He said he didn't have a clue as he saw most of the anglers packing away all sorts of deep diving plugs when Currituck sound, on average, was 3 to 4 feet deep which brought out a lot of laughs.
He opined that maybe, because he invariably used rubber worms, etc., that in his top five list was Tom Mann. Just as I got up the nerve to say something to him, one of my friends who had heard me say a bunch of stuff stood up and asked why, while winning everything else, Roland Martin couldn't win the Classic?? Mr. Scott answered that he thought it may be because Roland never knew where the classic was going to be until he was in the air so he couldn't get any information and therefore a jump on where he was going. Roland won everything when he knew just what was going on and where he was going to fish.
I don't think I would pay anything just to ride around with an angler while taking pictures and recording size and weight of the fish caught. I'm with Mini, I don't think I could do that without casting once in a while or the Pro Angler Boater had prepared a nice lunch for me and also had a 1.75 bottle of Tuaca stored away
BUT, the above average angler, like Toxic, who may want to improve his own game, I have no trouble with.
Uncle Billy