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Rio, TX. – As first reported here on The
BASS ZONE, veteran pro Lee Bailey had to miss the first two Elite Series events of 2008 as he waited for financial matters to get settled. But his name was also absent from the list of competitors at last week's Lone Star Shootout.
Now he had made it official: he will not fish the Elite Series in 2008.
"It was a tough decision, but now that I've got the sadness and the crazy stuff out of the way, I realize that the Lord has his plan," Bailey explained.
It wasn't just the short term financial uncertainty that led to his decision. Indeed, by missing the first two out of eleven regular season events, he felt that even under the best circumstances it would be hard to dig himself out of that hole.
"I also got sick," he said. "I was down and out for ten days and I even ended up in the hospital." The combination of circumstances made it comparatively easy for him to make his decision, which he made final four days before the Falcon tournament began.
Fortunately, Bailey has other plans already in place. He'll fish the BASS Central Opens, the Toyota Texas Bass Classic, some FLW Series tournaments and possibly one or two FLW Tour events later in the season. Additionally, he has a successful web and graphic design business for anglers, to which he will now be able to devote additional time.
He was quick to thank his sponsors for sticking with him at this difficult time: "They've been one hundred per cent supportive. They haven't cut a contract or brought a contract down, all because of what I've accomplished."
His fellow anglers also expressed their unconditional support.
He's also planning to expand his multimedia efforts through a series of instructional video segments, which will be sold as one hour DVDs and cut down to 20 minute segments for his proanglers.com website. In that respect, the "break" from the BASS tour may provide a needed recharge for the veteran who described himself as having gone "full bore for the last 12 years."
By no means is this the end of the road for the successful pro, who moved from Connecticut to Alabama a few years back. Nor does he discourage others from taking risks to follow their passion.
"Chasing your dreams is what I'm all about," he said.
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