Yelas Talks About Leaving BASS

(Editor's note: This is part 1 of a 2-parter on Jay Yelas. The interview for this article was conducted before FLW Outdoors' announcement about its new FLW Series.)

Jay Yelas' recent comments have gotten a lot of digital ink here on BassFan.com. So why is he getting more? Because of where those comments led him: He said separately here on BassFan that he isn't going to fish BASS next year.

That's huge. If someone said even a year or two ago that Yelas was going to quit fishing the Bassmaster Tour, would you have believed it?

That's like Kevin VanDam or Takahiro Omori or even Denny Brauer doing it. It just doesn't seem possible.

To put this in perspective, toss out the politics and whatever other junk is flying around right now. Yelas, like virtually all of the top pros, organized his entire life around fishing BASS.

Early on he slept in his van in a seemingly permanent road trip, on a quest to become a professional bass fisherman. A professional "BASS" fisherman – because back then that was the only game in town.

He spent every waking moment and every penny he had (and then some) to try to qualify for what would become the Bassmaster Tour. He dreamed of making the Bassmaster Classic, of winning it. The whole deal.

And he did win the Classic just 3 short years ago (and FLW Angler of the Year the same year), in amazing fashion: He led all 3 days and had big bass all 3 days. Then he followed that up with a Bassmaster Angler of the Year (AOY) win the next year. No one else has won three major titles in consecutive years like that. Not even VanDam.

Yelas has a 15-year streak of qualifying for the Classic – in fact, he's tied with VanDam for the longest current streak of consecutive Classic appearances. (Their shared Classic streak is actually 16 years, as both are qualified for the February 2006 Classic.) He's a self-styled Phil Mickelson to VanDam's Tiger Woods.

Yelas was also one of the first big guns to come out of the West, and is fifth on the BASS all-time money list, with $1,346,707 in winnings.

In short, he's been fishing BASS for 18 years and is one of the best fishermen BASS has ever had walk across its weigh-in stage.

And performance aside, he's also someone you'd think any pro league in any sport would want to keep. He's a nice, intelligent, articulate family man who has a good group of fans and who stands up for what he believes in. Remember: This is a guy who, because of his convictions, chose not to pocket $100,000 in Busch money for winning the 2003 Bassmaster AOY race.

So how is one of the best BASS careers in the history of the sport simply stopping? How did this happen? Here's what he said.

Long Time Coming

"It was a long time coming," Yelas said. "It didn't happen overnight, as you can imagine. That piece I wrote on BassFan, that kind of outlined a lot of what's been taking place (for him).

"It's been a process, over the last couple of years. Things have changed. The atmosphere at BASS has changed. The culture over there has changed. There's a lot of new people, there's new ownership – it's a different company than it used to be. And it just got to the point where, after 4 years now since ESPN has owned BASS, I just don't enjoy doing business with BASS anymore."

That's where his head is now. What about before that?

"It really was a difficult decision," he said. "As a kid and teenager who dreamed of being a pro bass fisherman – the Bassmaster Tour, that's how careers have always been defined in the sport: how you've competed on the Bassmaster Tour, how many Classics you've won, how many (Bassmaster) AOYs you've won, where you are on the BASS all-time money list. Those things without exception defined where you were in the sport of bass fishing.

"I made 16 consecutive Classic appearances. It's hard to walk away from that. It's really hard to walk away from that. That's probably an accomplishment less than five guys have made in the sport (he and VanDam are tied for the fourth-longest streak –Ed.), and my run is still going. That's one of the hardest things to walk away from.

"That's why it wasn't an overnight decision. It's been a process of watching change go on in the industry, change with BASS and ESPN.

"People might understand it this way: You have an employer, and for 15 years you've had a great relationship, a stellar career, one of the top careers in the industry. Everything's going well. You like your employer, the people and atmosphere at work. You're humming along, and then the company gets sold and you have new owners that slowly usher in a new business model. There's a cultural change in the workplace, and slowly but surely going to work isn't as fun as it used to be.

"And after a couple-three years, you dread getting up in the morning and going to work each day. When that happens, you have three options: go to work for someone else; leave and start your own business, which is kind of what the PAA is trying to do; or bite the bullet, grin and bear it, and work a career you don't enjoy for the rest of your life."

Faced with what he felt were those options, Yelas chose basically to resign from his BASS career.

BASS No Longer the Leader?

"It's gotten to the point where I don't enjoy going to (BASS) tournaments anymore – but a lot of people don't enjoy their work, so that's not the only reason" for leaving, he said. "It's also from a business perspective.

"My relationship with (BASS) has always been good for my own personal career and business. It's been a win-win deal over the years – BASS has done a lot for me and I've done a lot for BASS – and it's been a pleasure to do business with them. I've enjoyed going to tournaments and participating, but everything's changed."

Those changes basically boil down to four things for Yelas:
1) He doesn't like doing business with BASS anymore
2) He feels BASS has lost leadership of the industry
3) He's not getting the exposure he used to
4) He doesn't like BASS's new sponsor/logo rules

The first of those reasons has already been covered. He reiterated: "(BASS is) hard to do business with – it's a personality thing. Cultural differences. I personally don't enjoy doing business with them."

To his second point, he said: "BASS has always been the industry leader in pro bass fishing. But right now, today, BASS is no longer the clear leader in the industry. I think FLW has caught up with BASS, and now it's debatable who is the leader with pro bass fishing tournament circuits in the country."

On his current lack of exposure, he said: "(ESPN and BASS) have the stars that they want to promote, and I don't feel I get the exposure fishing BASS that I used to get. It's not just me – a lot of guys feel the same way."

He feels BASS is also starting to restrict or control sponsor signage along the lines of what FLW does, which bothers him. BASS is "taking away certain sections of the shirt now. You can still wear your own jersey, but you're gradually losing space on your jersey.

"That's always been one of the big reasons I've supported BASS compared to FLW: I could always wear my jersey and promote all my sponsors. Now you can still can wear it, but you're starting to have to give up some key spots on it."

The bottom line is business. He said: "My relationship with (BASS) is no longer as good as it used to be for me."

- End of part 1 (of 2) -