In today's tough economic climate, families around the U.S. scramble to make ends meet. Tradesmen and women pick up sidework on weekends. Other folks put old skills to work for a few extra bucks here and there. It seems like nowadays, everyone's hustling.

There's a lot of that happening in pro fishing, too. Faced with a dismal sponsor market, pros are launching

their own enterprises with growing regularity. Ish Monroe recently announced a new clothing company. Mike Iaconelli and Pete Gluszek started Bass University. Bill Lowen has lent his name to knives and duck calls. Another example is Joe Balog, who's actually owned a private-enterprise promotion company for a long time.

The noted Great Lakes smallmouth guru is the founder and owner of Millennium Promotions – a company he describes as "probably one of the most successful outdoor-promotion companies in the business." He also recently joined Tabu Tackle to head up its marketing efforts.

But things got a little stickier last month when he likely qualified for the 2011 Bassmaster Elite Series through the Bassmaster Northern Opens. ("Likely" because he finished 8th in the Northern points and thus isn't guaranteed in, but BASS routinely calls below 8th to fill the field.)

On the one hand, Balog wonders whether a tour-level career could help his promotion business. On the other is the thought that the time and financial investment in a tour could in fact hurt his private business.

"From my standpoint, I have a lot of things to consider," he told BassFan. "I'm busier now than I've ever been with Millennium Promotions, with clients like Ranger, Daiwa, Plano and Humminbird, and those (accounts) aren't based on my tournament fishing, but my work with the outdoor press, my own writing and other media work. So I have to consider that. I think a lot of guys would love to do what I do – make a living in the industry without fishing a full-time tour and just cherrypick a few events here and there."

So he wonders whether he should give up some of that promotion time and invest upwards of $100,000 to fish the Elite Series.

"I have to ask why I'd give that up, but on the other hand, there's the notion that you don't get the opportunity to do this all the time. It's not something that's easy to qualify for, and the rumor mill says it might be getting more difficult in the near future. So I do have to consider that I've been given an opportunity. And from the sponsor standpoint, the companies I've spoken with – I could probably figure something out.

"But the other thing is, and I don't want this to sound negative, but I don't buy into the belief that it's my lifelong dream to qualify for the Elites. That's kind of like saying it's my lifelong dream to play in the World Series of Poker. Maybe I've been in the industry longer than a lot of guys, but I realize opportunities still exist and will continue to exist. Tournament fishing isn't going away."

The Chops?

Balog doesn't doubt his ability to compete. His record includes 31 FLW Outdoors Top 10s. Most of them came on the Great Lakes, although he did win the EverStart Championship at Pickwick in 2001 and posted Top 10s at venues like Gaston, the Ohio River and the Mississippi. He also won an Erie Bassmaster Open in 2006 and actually considers himself a largemouth angler. He concentrates on smallmouth promotion because that's where the money's at up north.

"I love structure-fishing and cranking and I love largemouth fishing," he noted. "I definitely think I could hold my own with anybody in the country, because so many tournaments now are dominated by the offshore bite. I think I'd have the potential to do well."

He also likes the fact that next year's Elite schedule offers some new venues from previous years, which should help break the monopoly some pros have on the best spots. But at the same time, his promotion schedule is heaviest in fall, winter and early spring, which pretty much negates any chance to pre-practice the schedule.

"I think you have to be realistic," he said. "If you want to become a full-time touring guy, you have to go in with the concept that for a couple of years, you're just going and learning. You're not going to get much info, you have only a couple days to practice, so what are your chances of going to a Toledo Bend and doing well?

"I think for a guy whose whole goal in life is to fish the Elites, he'd say, 'Okay, I qualified. I'm going home for 4 days, then I'm going to practice every lake on the schedule starting right now.' I'm not going to do that."

And there's another thing he's not going to do: Become so obsessed with the tour lifestyle that he'll sit home on Christmas Eve "and pour jigs."

"One thing I don't think I've said a lot: Some of these guys, they're insane when it comes to their pursuit of the actual fishing aspect. They fish more than 300 days a year, and when they come home, they don't say, 'Okay, I'm home now, I'll cut the grass.' They just go back out fishing again. They're totally obsessed with the exact diameter of their line and different exact types of hooks and trying this and doing that. They're a very special breed and it's not something everybody's cut out for.

"I want to relax on Christmas Eve, not sit home and pour jigs. I like to do other things – fish for other species, hunt. I'm really into fishing and I love doing it like everybody else. But those guys are not only more talented, but they're more obsessed and it's their life. At this point in my life, I'm not sure that's the angle I want to take. If ever it got to the point where I couldn't support myself unless I fished a tour, I would. But I'm not leaning that way now.

"But I'm also not saying no just yet."

Notable

> BassFan previously published a fishing-tip article with Balog about how to attack Great Lakes smallmouths when they turn off. To read it, click here.