Top tournament performers have something in common
by National Professional Anglers Association 5 Apr 19:27 UTC
2024 Bassmaster Classic © B.A.S.S.
While the 2024 Bassmaster Classic is now history, it is still worth talking about. And not just how these esteemed anglers caught their springtime fish...
Turns out, five of the top 12 finishers in the event are National Professional Anglers Association (NPAA) members, an organization that helps tournament anglers, guides, charter captains, and fishing industry folks turn their "Passion into Profession."
The NPAA organization also provides resources, conferences, networking opportunities, and frequent member-only media content that helps members grow in their careers to exemplify NPAA's core tenets of determination, commitment, focus, and ethics. NPAA members also have access to discounts on key fishing/marine manufacturers' products.
"It's no coincidence that five of the top 12 Classic finishers are NPAA members," states NPAA President, Pat Neu. "A total of seven NPAA members qualified for and fished the Classic including last year's Classic Winner NPAA member, Jeff 'Gussy' Gustafson, and again, five of those anglers finished in the Top 12."
In terms of actual five NPAA finishers in the top 12, the recent Classic played out like this: 2nd Place, Adam Rasmussen;4th Place, Jay Przekurat; 6th Place, Cory Johnston; 7th Place, Kyle Patrick; and 12th Place, Cooper Gallant.
Neu continues: "I think this says a lot about our organization and our member-anglers who are reaching the top of their game because they've learned how to treat angling as a business."
"Just what are the odds that among 60- to 70,000 tournament anglers in this country who would have loved to fish the 2024 Bassmaster Classic, seven NPAA members qualified and four finished in the Top 10? It's not a coincidence..."
"This is just an example of how NPAA member anglers take tournament angling seriously; hence our continued efforts to grow the organization and its resources to benefit aspiring anglers who want to make a living fishing. These anglers are examples of individuals who are serious and professional and treat angling as their business," concludes Neu.
Adam Rasmussen
A fishing guide since high school, 2nd Place Classic finisher, Adam Rasmussen, knew early on he wanted to make a living in the fishing industry, working as both a guide and charter captain, and a tournament angler.
In 2020, Rasmussen said he felt like he was financially stable enough to go chase his dream of fishing the Elites and qualifying for a Bassmaster Classic. That is the year that Adam started fishing the Bassmaster Opens, now the EQ's.
"The NPAA has been there with its network of people who've helped me along the way. That's what it's there for—to help anglers. It's amazing that it happened to me in such a short period of time—qualifying to fish a Classic. I received a lot of good advice from some of the top anglers in the country through the NPAA and I gained access to a lot of great information. The NPAA can help any aspiring guide or angler, new or old. Now I will look to them to help me with social media and how to develop my brand now that people know me as a bass tournament angler."
Jay Przekurat
24-year-old 4th Place Classic finisher, Jay Przekurat, said his first couple of NPAA conferences "opened his mind" to learn from other anglers and helped teach him how to interact with companies and potential sponsors.
"I like the NPAA conferences because you get face-to-face interaction with those in the fishing business. It really broke the learning curve for me at a young age," Przekurat went on to say.
He added: "It's a very easy way to make new connections and do things you wouldn't be able to do over email or the phone."
Kyle Patrick
Kyle Patrick, an NPAA board member, and 2024 Bassmaster Classic 7th Finisher had this to say about the NPAA. "The NPAA has helped me merge my passion for fishing—which comes natural—with the business side of building partnerships with potential sponsors and with other anglers on the same track."
"The organization is always there to bounce ideas off of, whether that's as simple as figuring out how to make my dollars go farther as a tournament angler or how to approach a boat sponsor. You can't make a living at this by just being good at catching fishing. There's the business side—and the NPAA is a very easy way to catapult yourself into a higher level of making fishing your fulltime profession."
Cooper Gallant
12th Place 2024 Bassmaster Classic Finisher, Cooper Gallant, has been an NPAA member for about as long as he's been fishing professionally—unbelievably, only a little more than three years.
"For me, being so new to everything, the NPAA was a quick way to meet new people, develop relationships with sponsors, and learn the business side of the sport, which is ongoing, and I know NPAA will continue to help me with," concludes Gallant.