When did bass fishing become a "tough guy" sport?

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TritonGlenn

TritonGlenn

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Looking through some of my latest magazines and catalogs, I've seen more and more "tough guy" photos. Professional bass fishmen with their hands on their hips and a scowl on their face like they are trying to look mean or tough. I think it was Skeet Reese that was standing in front of a Champion boat, looking ticked off, in one of the magazines I was flipping though. Then today, flipping through the Bass Pro Shops catalog, I come across this picture of a young man on page 113 of the master catalog. It's for the Quantum AVS youth gear. He has this "don't tick me off" look on his face - lips tightly together, eyes squinted down, etc...



So, when did bass fishing become a "tough guy" sport?



I prefer the older ads, where the fishermen smiled, made you feel welcome, etc...



I know we can't all walk around with a smile on our face all the time (I know I don't either), but when you are doing ads, etc... for bass fishing, would it hurt to put on a smile for a little while?



I miss the way things used to be. OK... I'm off the soapbox.



All the best,

Glenn
 
Glenn, I would agree with you but then we would both be showing our age!!
 
Agreed.....this isn't WWF.
Click to expand...



Ah, but it can be!



Next up, Vince McMahon hosting a tournament.



TV ratings are very important. :wacko:
 
Rich hit this one the head...this helps sell more magazines......dad stuff is boring and passe
 
Hmmm... maybe that is why I don't watch TV anymore.



Luckily, my 4 year old doesn't consider "dad stuff" boring right now. He may in a few years, but right now, he wants to follow dads lead... in everything I do.



The day Vince McMahon hosts a BASS tournament is the day that I stop watching / reading TV and publications on the sport all-together.



Dang it! I got back on that soap-box. OK... I'm back down. :lol:



All the best,

Glenn



 
It's more about the $$ than the love of the sport anymore. I fish because I truly enjoy the sport. I guide because to see the look on a kids face when he or she catches their first bass or their biggest bass is priceless. The proudest I have ever felt, other than the Wounded Soldiers tournament, is when I took a 5 year old girl and her parents out for a day Crappie fishing. I was ready for her because her parents were not accustomed to being on the water. I had a spare coat for her (one of my daughters), a thermos of hot chocolate, a box of lures with no hooks and snacks. We got into the crappie and after about 20 in the boat, she turned to me, threwq out her chest and said "That's my dad catching all those fish!!". The father and I looked at each other and there was a "thanks" in his eyes that his mouth could never express. Then I made her poop in a bucket:lol::lol::lol::lol:



Yeah, it's a tough guy sport alright!!:lol:



TOXIC
 
I know we can't all walk around with a smile on our face all the time
Click to expand...



Well, I sure can and you darn well better agree with me Mr. tritonglenn:angry::p:cool::rolleyes:



I hadn't thought much about what you had to say Glenn but just in a short while thumbing through some past fishing magazines and looking through the Internet I have to agree with you. The look I see is like these guys are getting ready for a cage match! Maybe that's one reason there is a dearth of courtesy on the waterways nowadays?



Hey Carlos, I COULD be your Dad so cut it out!:p;)



Uncle Billy







 
I don't think it has a dam thing to do with "tough guy" attitude....

It's called being an a$$hole!:lol:

This crap all started the Crazy Ike and his antics:angry:

I don't think it promotes the sport very well and have been noticing a trend that some "older" gentelmen anglers are showings signs of it by being loud, slammin' rods and bosting their fish for all to see.

I agree Glenn...WTF happened to REAL sport fishing?
 
Ok It is about marketing and money. You guy's just getting on here and acknowledging that these overpaid boneheads are acting like idiots is just what they want.....you to notice! Some of these punks like Ike and Skeet get the opportunities they have by acting like that. If you want to see skill earned respect you have to look at the "POP's" crowd. Guy's like Denny, Shaw, Hank, KVD, Woo, Rick these are the guy's that are being put on the back burner of the sport for not embracing the I am a raving maniac fisherman mentality. Just like reality TV we should have reality fishing. There are a lot of guy's out here fishing for their lively hood that don't show their a$$e$ every day. Where does it stop? Eventually this is going to be like the NFL breaking news on espn BASS elite angler arrested for....... ESPN needs to get a grip and do it right or get out they are not going to be able to make fishing the next American Gladiators or will they?



Just one mans opinion!

The Dragon
 
And in a late-breaking development ... ESPN was on the grassy knoll.



 
They're going after the GenX crowd............how many punk-ass kids do you know that DON'T have a 'tude?!....(they don't have the $$ for a $50,000 boat either, but ESPN doesn't care about that,.......they want to be thought of as "COOL" )



Besides,....I don't care for it that much either, but from the eyes of an advertiser...status quo can get boring and ineffective after awhile. They HAVE to shake things up every now and then to keep it interesting!! IMHO anyway..
 
I think they could still keep it interesting without the "tudes"
 
That picture on the BPS catalog of the kid trying to look tough is absolutely stupid. I noticed that too the first time I browsed through. Seems all sports do that now, especially NASCAR drivers. I find it hilarious to see a knuckleheads like Kyle Busch or Denny Hamlin trying to look tough with their peach fuzz faces.
 
Yeah, what's with the three days growth of beard (if you can call it that). Do women really think it looks good? Either grow a beard (if you can) or shave! Women really don't like whisker burns. LOL
 
I love the one with KVD and the Toyota truck. He is about 6'1" and weighs 150 pounds wet!!!!!!! Great fisherman, poor tough guy!



Randy!
 
I love the one with KVD and the Toyota truck. He is about 6'1" and weighs 150 pounds wet!!!!!!! Great fisherman, poor tough guy!



Randy!
 
This actually started with the Rhino Rod by Zebco. Rhino Tough! Remember the one with two triggers?



Or the Ugly Stick with the behemouth man bending it in half....



It is not ESPN's idea. The idea of concentration while competing is as old as competition itself.



it is ESPN that now promotes it. Kinda like Goose Gossage staring down a hitter, you see the G-Man staring down a bass....lol



I think it is silly and long for the guys like Tim Horton with a smile as widw as Bama and two fish on the same crankbait! That made me wantto go fishing more than Ike curling a bass to his face and staring him down!



Mini
 
Mad Man Craws...remember the freak on the front of the package?:lol:

Agree Mini..Timmy Horton is what I would call someone that a kid could model themselves after:cool:

This "tough guy' crap is nonsense in any sport...well, maybe the octagon:D
 
"The G-Man".... :wacko::blink::rolleyes:



I know someone who knows the guy personally, and he told me that Gerald Swindle was nothing like he is now before the show / sport promo big-wigs got behind him and pushed him into that image. He said the transformation took place very quickly. One week he was one way, and the following week he was a totally different person.



I forget where it was that I read a story about professional tournament fishing. Maybe it was one of the pros I spoke to at a show somewhere. Anyway, they were saying that they always dreamed of being a professional bass fisherman, and one day, they finally made it to the big-time. The first morning, as they were waiting for the tournament to start, they were looking around at the "circus" that was going on. They said that there were pro's "primping" themselves, etc... They mentioned that "someone" was dancing on the front deck of his boat, etc, etc, etc.... I don't recall the exact words, but I do remember they were disappointed in the spectacle they saw, as it was not the sight they had seen years ago of the tournaments on Bassmaster.



All the best,

Glenn
 
Stay true to your own values ,They can never take that away from you.

Who knows they might be needed someday when they become completely lost by the new profit takers who now control the sport.



Was that to sixties...
 
Great "Tough Guy" point Glenn.I am a Pro Staff rep for Quantum and have spent alot of time with some of the guys that Dragon mentioned and he is right.Those are some great guys and great fishermen and you won't find the "Tough Guy"in any of them.I have worked shows with KVD on 3 ocations and he is one of the nices men you will ever meet.I don't like all the screaming and yelling some of them do.Fishing is a quiet and relaxing sport for me.
 
One of the nicest, down-to-earth people I've ever met on the tournament trail was Denny Brauer. I completely enjoyed talking to him, and he became my all-time favorite bass pro (still is too!). Dion Hibdon was a hoot to talk to in the SolarBat booth. Another really nice, polite man is Hank Parker. Shaw Grigby always seems to have a smile on his face every time I've seen him. Mark Davis was a tremendously nice individual, and I completely enjoyed meeting him.



There are several others that have made a lasting positive impression on me, and I am truly thankful for the chance to meet them.



Then there are the ones that I was disappointed to meet. There have been a few, and I'm not going to go naming anybody or telling any bad stories... but I was really disappointed when the chance finally came to meet them, and they acted like real jerks. It's disheartening to get it in your head that this is a person you want to meet, and your first impression of them when you finally do meet them is "what a jerk!". :(



I knew this post would draw some response, but it seems like we all have a opinion on this subject. Cool! :D



All the best,

Glenn
 
What's with that "some of you" stuff? You don't have to be a tough guy, but be a man and give me the name recognition I deserve!!
 
Speak about yourelf Tox...lol



I wil let you know how nice a guy Denny really is after I spend about 10 hours over a weekend driving around in a van to different bass pro shops...lol



Actually I have had many events with Denny. First class all the way. Just a down to earth guy.
 
Toxic - I think your comment should have been "some of US are jerks too!" LOL
 
I met the GMan in Charlotte several years ago, when the Classic was there. They were doing a promotion with him, Reese and a couple of others. It was a 'pitching' demo/contest.



Afterwards, I came up to him to talk about pitching and such. Really a very nice guy; calm; not all that 'stuff' that you see now. Showed me some tips and such.



Of course, this came 'before' the transformation. Quite a bit of it was the 'Mike I' influence and the press he was getting; the other was the Bass Tech series they had on for awhile. Both he and Reese turned up their 'tudes' for that show.



Tex
 
Wanna know who's impressed me lately.....Steve Kennedy. The guy acts like every fish is his first fish. You wouldn't know he was fishing for 125k without the shirt. Watching him turn those fish loose on Clear Lake with a smile on his face made that win all the better. If that was Ike, he probably would have jumped so hard that he would have busted through his deck. Kennedy is a class act.



All the tough image stuff is bull. I want my RODS tough, my REELS tough, my BAITS tough, my BOAT tough, my TRUCK tough, my UNDERWEAR tough....oh wait, that's another topic.....but I want the pro fishermen to be ambassadors of the sport.



TOXIC
 
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