(Editor's note: This is part 2 of a 2-part Q&A with FLW Outdoors officials Trisha Blake and Kathy Fennel. To read part 1, click here.)

BassFan: You'd touched on anglers being able to make a living in the sport. Over the past decade there's been a heavy escalation in purse size, but especially recently, there's been a heavy escalation in entry fees. If we look at 2010 as a "survival year" – very difficult times – and then you look at next year's published FLW Tour payouts and entry fees, they're basically the same. That's despite the return of Walmart, the partnership of Pickens and the expected announcements of even more sponsors. Why was there no notable change in either Tour payouts or entry fees?



Fennel: I think we did some things and did enhance the FLW Tour payback some by paying the $4,000 down to 60th place as additional for those 10 events. We also then increased our Angler of the Year prize for the Tour. We also increased some opportunities for co-anglers on the Tour. But it's broader than that, because we brought back the AFS purses and no-entry-fee televised championship for those (AFS) anglers. And we actually have some opportunities that we're going to be able to enhance and offer back to our BFL anglers.

If you look at it overall, it's not just minimal for this one thing (the Tour). I think overall the message is yes, we do want to be able to offer more, but we also have to all realize that it's a process of building back.

Blake: With these announcements – T. Boone, Walmart and a lot of these sponsor announcements that are going to come out – I'm sure (people wonder) how that's going to be spread. Understand, there were a lot of decisions we had to make prior to knowing where we were going to be in 2011. So it goes back to balancing what we're doing, and like Kathy said, getting back to where we were. We've got to walk before we run here and we're trying to make sure we make the best decisions and create the best programs out there that are going to keep us healthy and strong and allow us to grow.

I'll personally tell you that we may have grown a little too quickly, and with what happened with the economy, we took a big step back and looked at everything and really tried to balance things out here for the good and the sake of everybody.

The rehire of Chris Jones – it seems well met among fans and grassroots participants. Can you talk about that and the reasoning behind it?

Fennel: Chris Jones is a great guy and has a tremendous fanbase. I guess we can go back to when you asked, "What are we going to be able to deliver to fans?" That's one more thing.

The news has been very well received and he's very well respected among the anglers. When we parted company with Chris, it was a different time. Chris was dealing with a lot of things, I think personally and professionally, and the decision was made during that time that a different profession might be best. Now we're excited for the opportunity that we had available, and we're going to bring Chris back in where he excels for this company, and that's on the stage and with the anglers. We're very excited to have him back onboard.

Which events will be broadcasted next year? Will Jason Harper be the primary host? Also, are there plans to launch some alternative programming, whether shorts or tip segments or human/sports interest?

Blake: We're going to be back to four quarters next year on Versus as well as our distribution overseas with Matchroom Sport. We have a reach overseas with 539 million households – way bigger than what we have here in the States.

Jason will play a main role both in the TV show and at our events. And we're looking at possibly bringing on another individual for some of the higher-profile events. We're just getting to the final stage of that right now, but it'll be different than it was in the past with Charlie not being the weighmaster. We're going to have a little different twist on things going into next year and we're looking forward to it.

Fennel: As Trisha said, we're still trying to finalize some of those plans and we're working with our production company even as we speak. What we want is to provide education and entertainment and an interesting program. When you talk about "Are we going to do things besides just tournament coverage?" that was part of our angler-panel discussion this year. We listened to them and said we want to come up with more opportunities to expose these guys.

So that's something we're definitely working on and planning for next year – not just event shows but shows that are focused more on the anglers from a personality standpoint.

Blake: I'd add digital to that too. There are a lot of things we're talking to our interactive group about. We have a lot of content, and how we spread that across television and the web – there are so many unique opportunities out there now digitally where you're able to provide immediate, fresh content to the fanbase. We're just trying to finalize how we bring the best product to the fanbase both from a television and web perspective.

The FLW Tour will obviously have dedicated TV. Will you be filming walleye? What about the All-American and other championships?

Fennel: The FLW Tour, yes. The AFS will have a televised championship. The BFL All-American. The TBF National Championship. Six college events – the five Regional Championships and the National Championship. Then all five of the walleye events – five qualifiers and the championship. In addition to that will be special programs or highlight programs that are more angler-oriented.

Blake: One thing I will add: We can't reveal it just yet, but the AFS is going to be taking on a new title-sponsor, which you'll be hearing about shortly. I wish I could give you the break right here today, but without the final signoff, all I can tell you is there will be a name change and a new title sponsor of the AFS.



BassFan
Photo: BassFan

According to operations-division president Kathy Fennel, when it comes to selecting anglers for FLW sponsor teams, there's a renewed focus on performance.

To touch on Fantasy Fishing, there was a 95% cut to the purse. Where does Fantasy Fishing fit into the future plans? Do you plan to boost it to anywhere near where it was before?

Blake: We're trying to get that into balance as well. I'm not going to kid you – we took some hits from some anglers who thought the prize money for the cumulative winner was way too high based upon what they (pros) were fishing for. I wouldn't say we necessarily disagreed with that. So we're going to be coming out with a release on all the details of the game.

The game as far as how it's played is going to be similar to years past. We'll have a new presenting sponsor taking over for the Fantasy Fishing game, but I don't want to give too many details until it's put out there. But yes, it's alive and well. We're just balancing that prize money out relative to where we think it should be to our other programs. And we're going to have lots of different ways of marketing it and promoting it, different from years past.

And we do feel that, by giving anglers better platforms to promote themselves, it's really going to help the Fantasy Fishing program as well. We've got to get these fans behind these anglers and get them excited to follow these guys.

Have you made contact with the new B.A.S.S. ownership? Would FLW Outdoors entertain discussions of a unifying championship for the sport?

Fennel: I haven't talked to them recently, no. Obviously, we've got a past and a great relationship with Jerry McKinnis. We had the opportunity to work with him and recognize his passion for this sport. I don't personally know the other two owners, but I personally know Jerry. Back a few months ago, we were talking with Jerry about the possibility of an event – not necessarily a combined championship, but an event that would tie the two organizations together.

I think we're always open to what will help grow the sport, and I think that's their desire too. So I'd say we're always open to those types of discussions.

Blake: The one thing I'd add to Kathy's comments is that I think both organizations right now sort of have their heads to the ground. We're really focused on our own organizations right now. Those guys just legally took over ownership. They've got a lot of stuff they're figuring out as far as their offerings and what their programs are going to look like. And we're doing the same thing.

Timing's everything in life. Never say never with us doing something together – it's definitely been entertained, it's been discussed – but I just don't think in the immediate future either of us are in the position to really look at that until we've got ourselves established for 2011 and see what everything's going to look like.

Also, my father and I know Don Logan very well. We worked with him in the past and he's been a good friend and we really wish them well. We're excited to see what they're going to do with the B.A.S.S. property.

And Don, he's a very well-known individual with a very successful past in his different positions. We definitely had discussions with him in the past about his passion – he's had a house in Birmingham, he's been a part of this bass world so to speak – and I think his sons are probably going to be doing some work with him as well, from what he's told me. So we're excited to see what they're going to do. I think it's great that we've got some new energy in this sport and with the B.A.S.S. property. It'll be very interesting to see what happens on their end of things.

To talk about the logo policy for a moment, it's certainly looser than it's been, but it's still restrictive. Is there really no way to sign effective sponsor contracts at the level you need without granting display exclusivity?

Blake: Well, we're not granting exclusivity everywhere. But again, I keep going back to this balancing act. When you're in negotiation with these sponsors, the exposure and the profile they need, and they want – we need to try to come up with the formula that's going to provide them with what they need. And for those anglers who aren't necessarily on a sponsor's team, or who've got separate relations with sponsors, we try to create as much exposure as we can for the anglers to go back to their sponsors and their supporters – give them some tools they need to get themselves sold and up and going for the next season.

When we talk about the logo policy, we do feel it's a step in the right direction. It's probably not what everybody was hoping or expecting – that it was just going to be a free-for-all. We're just based on a different formula.

Fennel: I think it's important to point out that we've relaxed it, and then at the AFS level, we've removed it for those qualifying events, which gives more opportunity for a lot of anglers.

Blake: Another thing is, these sponsors that are coming on and supporting this sport and supporting the anglers and the organization – they should not be overlooked. Not that they are, but it's just important to realize that they need to be rewarded for supporting FLW, the anglers, and everything that goes along with it.

About the sponsor teams: There's confusion among fans and even pros about the selection of anglers for FLW sponsor teams. Who makes those decisions, and is there any effort toward making performance the driving force in such decisions?

Fennel: Yes, there's a renewed effort at making performance a very important piece of the evaluation. Then, how does (selection) actually happen? Obviously first, anglers express to us their desire to be considered for one of our teams. Then from the marketing side, when working with a sponsor, we get a sense from that sponsor as to the criteria they're looking for in an angler. And then we take those résumés that we have.

Fennel says anglers and fans need to realize that FLW Outdoors is in the process of building itself back and the 2011 purses and entry fees reflect that reality.

For example, if a sponsor says they're looking for a two-man team – and the sponsor always is the final decider in that process – we'll provide them with résumés for at least four anglers, and sometimes they may want more than that. But once we present those to them, then the sponsor evaluates them, and we're always ready to answer any questions, or take questions to the anglers if they prefer that level of an interview process. And then the decision's made, but the sponsor's always a big part of that final decision.

Blake: And I'd add that each sponsor has different criteria as to who they want to be their brand ambassadors. But like Kathy says, ultimately it's the decision of the sponsor, based upon a variety of things that they're looking for and how they're going to utilize them.

To finish with the big picture: What's the long-term vision or goal for the future of FLW Outdoors?

Blake: That's kind of a loaded question, because there's a lot of things here. We just want to keep growing ourselves and the sport.

One thing is, we've been covered across the board in different (media), whether it's Time, whether it's Wall Street, whether it's CNN. I really want to see us be on the forefront. This sport is, in my mind, underserved as far as how we're covered and perceived.

I think these anglers work very hard and I'd like to see a more consistent following among sports writers. It's one of those things: This should be a sport that's covered like any other sport out there. And we've had many discussions here on how we can continue to find ways to get our sport on the forefront. And we've got some things we're working on that we believe are going to do that. It's not just getting covers of the newspapers.

I'm not trying to be secretive here – I don't want to reveal too much – but we do have some things that are happening here that I think are going to tremendously change the perception and the image of the sport of fishing in general.

Fennel: In more of a general sense, what we're looking for is what we started out with in this discussion – that we want to grow the sport. And the way we see growing the sport is by creating more opportunities for more anglers and for more sponsors at every level – the Tour, the AFS, the BFLs, the TBF, College Fishing – to be able to grow all those segments of our company. Because if we grow those, then we're reaching more people and exposing more people to the sport and to fishing, and ultimately that's what it's about.

Blake: Hey, this sport's as old as time. It's not going anywhere. It's something we talked about earlier in this interview – the values and the traditions and everything this sport represents is something that we're very glad to be a part of. I hate to say it took something like what happened last year for people to take a step back and take a look at those things that are going to create bonding experiences and create those types of experiences that have meaning and purpose.

We keep using the words growing and evolving the sport, but at the end of the day, that's what both Kathy and I agree is our mission here: To get as many people as we can with a rod and reel in their hands, get them outdoors and spending time with family and friends. It sounds very simple, but that's what we're all trying to do here.