Bassmaster Elite Series veteran Mark Tyler told BassFan today that he's taking a break from tour-level fishing to focus on a couple of non-fishing businesses he's started. Finances are the main reason – he lost his primary sponsorship deal with Travelodge this year and was unable to replace it.
"The last few years have been pretty mediocre for me," said the California native who relocated to Oklahoma several years ago, "and I don't think B.A.S.S. has changed enough (under new ownership) to justify $43,000 in entry fees when I'm playing on my own money. It's not the right business model for me right now.
"I made it work for 5 years with a good non-endemic sponsor, but that ran its course and now the economics don't make sense. I'm not doing much in the fishing industry right now except I still have my signature series rods with Denali, and I'll be helping to promote that. I'd love to get back out there at a later date when the economics make more sense."
He finished 74th on the points list last year and 65th in 2009, logging just one Top 20 finish over that span.
He won't be getting away from competitive fishing – he plans to enter at least 15 events in his home region, and he'll also fish the Bassmaster Central Opens and perhaps two of the FLW Western EverStarts (the California Delta and Clear Lake). He caught the largest bass ever weighed in B.A.S.S. competition (14-09) in an Open at the Delta in 1999.
"I would've liked to have done the whole (Western EverStart) circuit, but Shasta in January was just too much. It was too close to the holidays."
