Brandon McMillan, the 2016 Bassmaster Southern Opens points champion and winner of the final event at Lake Seminole, told BassFan recently that he's declined his invitation to compete on the Bassmaster Elite Series next year. He'll fish the FLW Tour while retaining his job as a UPS driver.
"What it came down to was it was just such short notice to try to find the sponsors I needed," the Floridian said. "I just sold the certificate for the boat I won at Seminole and that leaves me $20,000 to $25,000 short of paying off my house, and I can officially retire in May (when he'll reach 10 years with UPS).
"All in all, the timing wasn't right. The Elite guys travel so much (for pre-practice) and I wasn't going to have time to do that this year, so I felt like I'd be behind the gun on that. FLW coming back to Okeechobee (where he won an FLW Tour Open in 2011) was a big selling point for me, and I think it's my best opportunity to make 30 or 40 grand and pay off my house by next year.
"If I can get all that lined up, then it'd be easier for me to make the jump into doing this for a living," he continued. "But right now, it's easier for me to pass."
