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FLW Western Series by the Numbers
by Steve Reed
FLW Outdoors recently announced its intent to continue the FLW Western Series after a poor turnout during the 2009 season averaging only 94 boats per event. It was also decided that the entry fees would be reduced to $2,000 which in turn reduces the tournament purse to half of what it was last season. This move was made to offer more anglers the opportunity to fish the events at a more affordable price in the current poor economy.
There are two ways of looking at the changes; the first would be that this allows for fuller fields and deeper payouts. The second is that it makes it nearly impossible for an angler to fish professionally under the new pay scale. To look at this more closely LeftCoastBass has done some research on the earning potential in the old format and in the new format. Here are the results.
Highest Finish |
Final Standing |
Qualified
for FWC |
Earnings |
Entries |
Total |
Winnings @
$2000 Entry |
1 |
2 |
y |
$ 139,995.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 123,995.00 |
$ 61,997.50 |
1 |
15 |
y |
$ 116,833.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 100,833.00 |
$ 50,416.50 |
1 |
28 |
n |
$ 114,466.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 98,466.00 |
$ 49,233.00 |
1 |
26 |
n |
$ 106,749.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 90,749.00 |
$ 45,374.50 |
2 |
1 |
y |
$ 77,955.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 61,955.00 |
$ 30,977.50 |
2 |
11 |
y |
$ 62,294.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 46,294.00 |
$ 23,147.00 |
3 |
13 |
y |
$ 49,442.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 33,442.00 |
$ 16,721.00 |
2 |
41 |
n |
$ 40,874.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 24,874.00 |
$ 12,437.00 |
2 |
92 |
n |
$ 40,571.00 |
$ 4,000.00 |
$ 36,571.00 |
$ 18,285.50 |
5 |
3 |
y |
$ 36,835.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 20,835.00 |
$ 10,417.50 |
5 |
6 |
y |
$ 36,556.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 20,556.00 |
$ 10,278.00 |
6 |
7 |
y |
$ 36,251.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 20,251.00 |
$ 10,125.50 |
9 |
5 |
y |
$ 36,153.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 20,153.00 |
$ 10,076.50 |
4 |
14 |
y |
$ 35,961.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 19,961.00 |
$ 9,980.50 |
4 |
25 |
n |
$ 34,076.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 18,076.00 |
$ 9,038.00 |
3 |
18 |
y |
$ 32,699.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 16,699.00 |
$ 8,349.50 |
3 |
93 |
n |
$ 32,328.00 |
$ 4,000.00 |
$ 28,328.00 |
$ 14,164.00 |
3 |
74 |
n |
$ 32,230.00 |
$ 8,000.00 |
$ 24,230.00 |
$ 12,115.00 |
14 |
19 |
y |
$ 30,226.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 14,226.00 |
$ 7,113.00 |
5 |
12 |
y |
$ 30,089.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 14,089.00 |
$ 7,044.50 |
12 |
4 |
y |
$ 29,874.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 13,874.00 |
$ 6,937.00 |
16 |
17 |
y |
$ 29,643.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 13,643.00 |
$ 6,821.50 |
19 |
22 |
n |
$ 28,929.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 12,929.00 |
$ 6,464.50 |
5 |
50 |
n |
$ 27,285.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 11,285.00 |
$ 5,642.50 |
7 |
10 |
y |
$ 25,265.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 9,265.00 |
$ 4,632.50 |
4 |
79 |
n |
$ 24,525.00 |
$ 8,000.00 |
$ 16,525.00 |
$ 8,262.50 |
7 |
9 |
y |
$ 24,202.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 8,202.00 |
$ 4,101.00 |
4 |
84 |
n |
$ 24,173.00 |
$ 4,000.00 |
$ 20,173.00 |
$ 10,086.50 |
9 |
64 |
n |
$ 22,741.00 |
$ 8,000.00 |
$ 14,741.00 |
$ 7,370.50 |
10 |
51 |
n |
$ 22,305.00 |
$ 12,000.00 |
$ 10,305.00 |
$ 5,152.50 |
11 |
8 |
y |
$ 21,273.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 5,273.00 |
$ 2,636.50 |
12 |
39 |
n |
$ 20,436.00 |
$ 16,000.00 |
$ 4,436.00 |
$ 2,218.00 |
The spreadsheet shows each angler who made over $20,000 during the 2009 FLW Western Series. As you can see the anglers who won an event were the most profitable, however after that the numbers are not as easy to analyze. 19 of the 20 Forrest Wood Cup qualifiers were among the anglers who won over $20,000 however many of the top earners finished outside top 20 and several finished below 50 th place in the standings. The philosophy of this is somewhat paradoxical. Gambling and going for the win during the season can result in the most profit for anglers but can leave them unable to fish in the championship for $500,000. Playing it safe during the season can result in poor profitability, but allow the anglers one shot at a big pay day at the cup.
One angler to note is Kevin Hawk who finished 20 th in the standings and is headed to the Forrest Wood Cup however he came out nearly $6,000 down on entry fee expenses alone.
Although next season the tournament entry fees will be significantly lower the travel expenses, duration of events, and time commitment will remain the same. These are all factors that lead to the ROI factor and a win of $100,000 is quite a bit more significant for an angler than a win of $50,000. These numbers indicate far fewer actual professional anglers and many more anglers who will need to hold down full time jobs. Unlike the housing prices of the eastern and southern United States the west's median home price is much higher and $50,000 doesn't go nearly as far. Some examples include: Houston Texas $150,000, Knoxville Tennessee $156,000, and Shreveport Louisiana $135,000. Whereas California cities range from: Sacramento $212,000 to San Diego $345,000 to San Jose $500,000.
The future of bass fishing out west needs to be significantly altered or else it appears it will quickly die out.
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