By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
James Biggs competed on the FLW Tour last year via the "Living the Dream" package he was awarded for winning the 2014 TBF National Championship. That was a 1-year deal, though, and since he was unable to garner any sponsorship support during the off-season, he's temporarily stepped aside from tour-level competition for the second time in his brief career.
The 35-year-old resident of Bedford, Texas, who finished 32nd in the 2015 Angler of the Year race and qualified for his second Forrest Wood Cup, will return to the grassroots level this year while working his full-time job as a firefighter/paramedic. As sort of a consolation goal, he'll focus on trying to become the first angler to win both the TBF and B.A.S.S. Nation titles.
He's already suffering from a mild case of depression because he won't be among the field at next week's Tour opener at Lake Okeechobee. Nonetheless, he's content with his decision, as fishing the pro circuit this year would've put too much of a strain on his finances and his limited time away from work.
"What it came down to is if I'd have picked up any (significant) sponsorship at all, I would've fished," he said. "I just kept hitting dead end after dead end. I had a couple that were real promising, but then at the last minute they backed out.
"I love FLW and I love fishing the Tour, but it's a matter of making it work. Trying to fish and work full time, at the same time, is very hard."
Capitalizing on Strengths
Biggs has never had an inkling to give up his day job. A firefighter can retire with a solid pension after 20 years of service, and he's more than halfway to that mark right now.
"I'm 9 years away from having that (retirement income) for the rest of my life and I'm not going to throw that away at this point," he said. "Some anglers might be willing to do that, but I'm not. Plus, I love firefighting.
"I'll be 44 years old when that time comes, and then hopefully I can pursue fishing full-time after I retire. That would be the dream for me."
He's made the money cut in eight of his 12 tour-level starts to date (he also fished the 2013 campaign, but opted out for 2014 in order to rebuild his vacation time). He's accomplished that despite almost never having the opportunity to pre-fish any of the venues.
This year he'll fill most of his off days capitalizing on his proven ability to find and pattern fish quickly. He's offering his services to anyone who'd like to improve their skills in that area and has booked the majority of his available dates through March.
The program was originally geared toward high school anglers, as there are many in his home area (a suburb of Fort Worth) and a high percentage are from well-to-do families. Most of his business thus far, though, has come from club-level anglers wanting to step up to the triple-A ranks (Bassmaster Opens or FLW Costa Series).
"Doing these trips, I'll actually be on the water more than when I was fishing the Tour," he said. "Before I'd be gone for a week or more, then I'd rush back and work double shifts at the fire station trying to make up the time. Most of the time I wouldn't have the boat out again until the next Tour event.
"The nice part of this is that I'm getting back to enjoying just going fishing."
Enough on His Plate
Biggs initially figured he'd fish some Southwestern Costa Series events and/or the Bassmaster Central Opens if he didn't compete on the Tour, but he decided it'd be best to conserve vacation time this year with the hope of using it in 2017.
"At the end of the day, this is what makes sense for me," he said. "I'll be on the sidelines watching this year, but the biggest thing is, don't count me out for the future. Honestly, if I fished the Tour every other year (until his retirement from the fire department), I'd be okay with that."
One peripheral aspect of the pro fishing game he'll focus on during his time away is self-promotion. He thinks he needs some improvement in that area in light of his inability to entice potential sponsors over the past few months.
"I even told them I'd do this for them on social media or be at that show, but nothing seemed to work. I couldn't believe (the sponsorship pot) had dried up that much
"I'll spend some time learning even more about social media and anything else I can use to market myself better."
Notable
> For instructional outings, Biggs can be contacted via his Facebook page or through the Texas Fishing Forum.
