The Economics of Bass Fishing

In retelling all my stories about bass fishing (See the new story about Lake Toho), it makes me want to quit the working life to retire to fishing. The economics of bass fishing keep me from making such a dumb move.

I know a central Florida fishing guide and pro who has won over 100 major fishing tournaments. Do you want to know the difference between him and all the other bass fishermen out there? He actually has his boat paid off, and he thinks he might be able to buy a nice home next year, now that real estate prices are down. He is what all bass fisherman can aspire to. He does not sleep in his truck, and his wife has not left him...yet--he still wins a few now and then. But he tells me the guiding business has been down as much as 50% over the past years compared to what it was before 2008. Tournaments are down in turnout numbers and payouts too. You're not going to make a million dollars bass fishing, especially not in one year--not even if you can catch the world-record bass. The world-record bass is not a million dollar fish, as has been previously claimed. Ask me. Ask Manabu Kurita. Ask George Perry. Let's be real, folks. (Read about the Greatest Bass Fishery Ever--no money is being made here...yet.)

The reality of bass fishing economics is that it costs a lot and does not have much return. For those who are considering making a run as a pro basser--don't kid yourself. In American BeheMouth, I mentioned the couple that Bassmaster featured who exuberantly admitted that they took all the equity out of their house so they could go on the tour. I also mentioned the fact that the follow-up interview never occured. The reason the interview never occured is because it would make Bassmaster look bad that they encouraged a young couple to sell off everything they owned at boom prices before the crash, and now, with no tournament wins, they are bankrupt.

There are only a few pros who make "decent" money in bass fishing and that is because they are good sales people. They can sell their sponsor's products, and they are both lucky and hard working on the water. Don't get me wrong--it takes a lot of skill and hard work. But bass fishing also takes a lot of luck. It's the right place and right time and the right angle of a hook set that win the tournament. No one can make all the right calls on a fishery. The best fishermen I know are not that lucky. There are too many variables.

My practical advice is to avoid bankruptcy and poverty and to keep your day jobs. Contribute to society where you can. Go fishing when you can and enjoy the sport, but don't think you are going to be the next Kevin Van Dam. The odds are about as good as being the next Michael Jordan.

American BeheMouth and Doping in Sports

People have asked me what American BeheMouth, a novel full of fishing stories, has to do with American sports and baseball. First of all, the novel is not just about fishing—it’s about America and what Americans have become. It’s also about what American sports heroes have become with a particular emphasis on baseball. I don’t spend any time talking about the game, but I do talk about sports history and baseball’s fallen heroes, all buried in a fishing tale.

Why fishing?

Other writers have used fishing as a metaphor before me, including Mehlville and Hemingway. The metaphor works as a great story telling vehicle without writing a lecture on the evils of performance-enhancing drugs. I show the subtle way the protagonist makes ethical slips that many of us can relate to.

America has become lazy, trying to find the easy way to success and fame, not by hard work, but by short cuts, be it our bankers, Wall Street investors, politicians, or sports heroes.

The protagonist’s moral lapse is reminiscent of sports heroes and politicians we all know. He uses his credit card to finance the dream, hand feeding his behemouth thousands of bait fish. He also sprays chemicals on the lake to increase the baitfish size. Those who take chemical means in order to set records cause a problem in all sports categories. Having a series of asterisks or various codes to indicate overturned records has become too commonplace.

Lance Armstrong and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency

Recently, with the accusations against Lance Armstrong and others by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, some have realized this issue is not dead. There are many ways to cheat in sports. It’s not just about steroids anymore. In some cases, the doping allegations involve a small medical staff who are working at providing blood transfusions, EPO, testosterone, masking agents, and other subtle ways to cheat the system.

I hope that the allegations against Lance are false, but it is already proven that this has been a recurring problem in cycling and baseball, among other popular American sports. It also goes to show that this problem is not going away any time soon. Let’s look at the core of the problem instead of the symptoms.

In American BeheMouth, I examine the core of the problem in my protagonist Jay. The core is ego and a desire to achieve greatness at any cost. It’s the American way. The problem is that we learned these lessons from the Greatest Generation who often worked for 50 years to make a great achievement. They struggled through the lean years and saved. However, they did not finance or leverage their way to success. There are no shortcuts to true success. The get rich schemes have a price. We need to look to real American heroes and not to those who would bankrupt our economy or sport in order to look good for a season.

“Certified world-record” bass versus a “world-record sized” bass

Largemouth bass can be world-record sized without being certified as world records by the I.G.F.A. I appreciate the huge bass caught by Mac Weakley, Paul Duclos, and others. I respect their catches and admire that they released the fish back unharmed. They are great sportsmen.

Are these anglers who released the fish without proper documentation and certification inferior to those who certified their fish with the IGFA? No, not really. There is so much luck and circumstance in bass fishing. A fisherman really has to go out there prepared and with the intent to catch a record in order to be ready to certify it properly. If you are serious about certifying a world-record bass, join IGFA, get an IGFA-certified scale, and always bring a witness and various cameras. That way, you can certify a world-record catch.

Was the behemouth bass discussed in American BeheMouth a certified world record bass? No. If someone else caught this fish again, could they certify it with the IGFA and calim it as a certified world-record bass? Based on what I know about IGFA, I think the answer is "yes." Will I catch another world-record-sized bass from the "Lake of Dreams" and try to certify it with IGFA? No, I don't think so. That would be like Mark McGwire leaving coaching to come back to playing professional baseball in order to break the career home run record, building off of his past homeruns count when he was using performance-enhancing drugs.

"I loved American BeheMouth, but I hate the author."

A few people emailed me to say how much they loved the book, but that they hated me personally. “The book was a great and fun read, has some great themes, but I hated you in it.”

My response was “Great. That was what I was going for.” At least, that is, if you mean to say that you hated the protagonist in the book, Jay. Although the book is based on my life story, I fictionalized the characters.Therefore, although Jay has some resemblance to me in the story, I chose his actions based on my goals as a writer, not on actions I would choose myself. For example, some of Jay’s obsessive qualities are several degrees past where I am, although I too have been known to fall out of balance at times.

Let’s take a look at what readers should despise about Jay. On the other hand, let’s also look at his admirable traits.

What you should despise about Jay, the protagonist of "American BeheMouth":

1) He is a cheater and a thief. Nobody likes someone who would cheat or steal to get ahead. Society is full of people like this. Jay should be despised as should others who take this approach to work, sports, finance, industry, or other matters.

2) He is out of balance in life. Jay puts his obsession ahead of all else. He is the antithesis of the model of how to be balanced in life.

3) Jay puts himself and his personal ambitions above his wife and his children. We admire people who put others above themselves.

4) He blows his family’s wealth and goes into obscene debt to finance a vain pursuit, namely fishing, without any tangible benefit. It’s not any different than gambling. It is horrible to see someone spend beyond their means and risk losing everything. Readers should cringe.

5) He in effect “shoots up.” Everyone hates cheaters, but a cheater who also uses chemical means to “win” should be despised. Jay sprays his lake with chemicals to increase the growth of his baitfish; the practice is not much different than sports heroes using performance-enhancing drugs to be more competitive. We all hate drugs and drug addiction.

6) In the end, when the lake’s levy fails, Jay should quit and cut his losses while he still can. Instead, he “doubles up,”just like a poker player. He resembles Ben Bernanke at the printing presses (Jay’s circulating tanks) producing fish like there is no tomorrow, growing the biggest fish. It becomes clear this book is a sad allegory about the state of our country, the economy, and the Fed.

7) Jay is cold and calculating. No one likes someone with this kind of personality. We gravitate toward those who are warm, thoughtful, and kind.

8) Jay is a terrible husband. He does not have any compassion or understanding for his wise and prudent wife, who is the voice of reason and sensibility. Jay does not demonstrate marriage fidelity; he turns to his bass, Elise, as to another woman. The feelings Lauren has about this are the same as if Jay were having an affair. He is in fact having an emotional affair with a fish. Sick, I know.

9) Jay is a bad father. He doesn’t care about his children. He just cares about his lake.

10) I am sure there are other reasons to despise Jay. If you find some, then I believe I am successful with this character. Just for the record, although I have been accused of having an affair with a female bass, the accusations are unsubstantiated.

Purchase the new book, American BeheMouth, in paperback.

Preview 50% of the book on Google Play.

Why we might initially admire Jay:

1) Jay is a creator, producer, and achiever, a true American spirit and innovator. We all admire and appreciate those who innovate and achieve great things. It requires someone who is a risk taker and a hardworker. We can think of people like Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, among others. Jay is truly a great American in that respect. He just takes a few wrong turns in HOW he goes about innovating. The fisheries formula he develops works and is accurate. It is proven and can be duplicated. He does not need to steal fish or use chemicals to create the record. He just becomes impatient like so many wanting to find a shortcut to riches. Hard work is the only way to success and wealth—not some get-rich-quick scheme—or grow-big-bass-quick scheme.

2) Jay is an overachiever, which can be admirable in one sense, but it can also be despised.

3) Jay is tenacious, a great quality for a prize fighter, but maybe a bad quality for a fisheries scientist.

4) OK, I’ve been thinking a long time now and can’t think of any other great qualities in Jay. So, your point is proven; Jay is to be despised and is not a hero. The heroine in the story is a static character, but she is the heroine nonetheless--Lauren. She represents the voice of American financial independence and freedom.

Read some excerpts at http://behemouth.com/:

http://behemouth.com/sample-page/

New Book Portrays Problems in American Society via Fishing Metaphor

“American BeheMouth” tells the story of a fisheries hobbyist who raises and catches the world-record bigmouth bass in the "Area 51 of Bass Fishing," a secret 70-acre lake.

The protagonist's short cuts in fisheries science prevent him from certifying the record fish with the International Game Fish Association. He allows his obsession to endanger his relationships and put him in debt.

It soon becomes clear that the author, Jason Covington, is really talking about the pursuit of the American dream and turmoil in Washington, Wall Street, and Main Street. The protagonist’s moral lapse is reminiscent of sports heroes and politicians we all know. He uses his credit card to finance the dream, hand feeding his behemouth thousands of bait fish. He also sprays chemicals on the lake to increase the baitfish size. The reader can only think of the similarities to our bloated government and the Fed with its money printing, quantitative easing, and $15 trillion deficit.

Other themes in the book include achieving great accomplishments while staying balanced, marriage and the complexities of modern American families, along with many ethical dilemmas, including allusions to economic troubles in American society.

Purchase the book.

American BeheMouth: No Clear Line Between Truth and Fiction

The monofilament differentiation between truth and fiction, integrity and ethical lapse.

After hearing about the world record bass caught in American BeheMouth, some fishermen have asked where the lake is. Readers want to know how the story came together and which parts are fiction versus fact.

In Chapter 13, "Back to Reality," the protagonist discusses this:

"After a fishing trip like this, going back to work the following Monday was brutal. It made the fishing experience seem like a fantasy, a dream, and I wasn’t sure it truly happened. Did I really catch the world-record bass? I hooked it, right in the jaw, fair and square.

I knew I could not tell about it—not even Lauren should know about this. Some secrets were worth keeping. That’s how I felt about it. I had created what was like the “Area 51” of Bass Fishing. 

The slogan for my fishery could be 'THE WORLD-RECORD BASS IS OUT THERE.'"

I want readers to experience the protagonist’s journey, from beginning to end, and figure out this question for themselves. That is the beauty of fictionalizing the true content of the book. Yes, the formula is viable, and someone could reproduce what takes place in the book.

However, I want them to think over the ethical questions, issues, and debate first. If we just told them the world-record was caught and released and where the lake is, the mob would be there and ruin it, raising even more ugly ethical issues, like private lakes versus public domain, what records count, how much of a cheater you must be to be despised, etc. Also, if the book were entirely fiction, and the catch was dismissed immediately as folklore, some might miss the important messages raised here.

I want readers to return to a time in childhood when there was still some mystery in the world, when there was hope and wonder in nature, and promise of what man is capable of. Also, I want all of us who have grown up in the “real world” and been hardened by struggle to look at the men who have taken short cuts and ask ourselves, “Is it really worth it? Do we really need to get ahead that bad?” We need to examine our values and priorities. Why are we doing what we do? Why do we need a bigger [bass]? What is this sport really about? What has it become? These questions apply to our careers and personal lives as well.

In American BeheMouth, I have taken my own life story and put it out there--raw and bare--while fictionalizing some parts to protect the guilty and innocent and hold the broken pieces together. So much of life does not work like a novel, so we have fiction to hold the pieces together and make sense of it all.

People who know me understand that most of the novella is true. To those who ask where the lake is, I think have said more than I should in telling that it is in Kentucky. This answer raises more questions than the original question, like "Why not California?"

My response to all these other questions is "Read the book." You cannot understand the enigma and the discovery process unless you follow the protagonist's journey.

In the process of following the journey, you will learn that life is more profound than just fishing, although fishing makes an excellent metaphor for life."

"THE WORLD RECORD IS OUT THERE!"

 

Copyright 2012 Jason Covington

Quote borrowed from Norman Maclean's "A River Runs Through It":

"In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing."

A New World Record Largemouth Bass

A new world-record bass, raised and caught on a private lake, is chronicled in the new book, “American BeheMouth“!

“American BeheMouth” is now available in paperback.

Download the free Kindle app for your PC or other device. Then, purchase the Kindle edition.

What is contained in “American BeheMouth”?

1) “American BeheMouth” chronicles the raising and catching of a 27-pound largemouth bass, providing a scientific formula that can be duplicated. This raises many ethical questions about world records in American sports.

2) “American BeheMouth” shows the epic journey of one man who immerses himself in fisheries science to answer age-old freshwater mysteries while delving into universal existential questions.

3) ” American BeheMouth” shows conflicting values of Americans struggling to do it all while trying to stay balanced. How do we innovate and achieve great things without becoming despicable cheats or taking questionable short cuts in life?

4) The entire novella is a metaphor for the American economic system and American consumerism. The BeheMouth is the giant bigmouth bass swallowing trout whole, but figuratively, the BeheMouth represents America, becoming lazy and fat, waiting for another handout.