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Del
Rio, Tx. – Just about every aspiring professional bass angler dreams of plying his trade on either the BASS Elite Series trail or the FLW Tour, but qualifying for either circuit is no easy task.
For Kurt Dove, a three-year veteran of the Elite Series, getting to the tour level wasn’t the problem. Indeed, as of a few weeks ago he had the option to fish either the 2009 Elite Series or the 2009 FLW Tour. Faced with that decision, the Virginia native who recently decamped to Del Rio, Texas chose an option that many other pros would have ignored: He will not fish either tour in 2009. Instead, he’ll fish all three divisions of the BASS Opens, along with the PAA’s slate of events.
How It All Happened
Dove’s 2008 Elite Series campaign ended with his lowest Angler of the Year finish in three attempts. He had finished 82nd in his rookie season in 2006, then 71st last year. Unlike those two efforts, this year’s 92nd place result did not guarantee him a return to the Elites in 2009. Despite the subpar finish, the season did have some high points, including his first top twelve appearance, an 11th at Amistad in a tournament that saw him in the lead after the first day and garnered the young pro his first major airtime on The Bassmasters television program.
With the gaps in his Elite Series schedule, Dove also decided to fish some FLW Outdoors Stren Series events in the northeast. He initially had no intention of fishing an entire division, but it ended up that way through a fortuitous series of events and quality performances.
“The first reason I signed up was because I wanted to fish the Thousand Islands,” he said. “We weren’t fishing Champlain on the Elite Series this year, and I really like it there, so I just signed up for those two.”
He finished 28th at Champlain and cashed a check for $970, then missed the money at the Thousand Islands, finishing 37th. “I was so fed up with myself at that point,” he recalled. “I had been in 5th place and dropped all the way down (to 37th). But when I got back home and looked at the standings, I saw that I was in 9th place. At that time, I started thinking about the FLW Tour. It seemed like it might be a good back up plan.”
Through his first three Elite Series seasons, Dove had been footing no less than three-quarters of his entry fees and expenses out of his own pocket. He assumed that even with a subpar Elite Series effort he would eventually be invited back (and that proved to be correct), but the FLW Tour, with fewer events and lower entry fees might be preferable from a financial perspective.
He finished 18th at his third Stren event, at Kerr Reservoir (also known as Buggs Island), thereby earning a $997 check. “I was in the top ten for the first two days, then I flopped on the third day,” he remembered. He may have been dissatisfied and the payback wasn’t much, but the tournament kept him well within the hunt for an FLW Tour berth. He closed out the season by finishing 24th at the Potomac River, and thereby ended up 6th in the points standings, which earned him a slot in the Stren Championship at Table Rock and a seat at the FLW Tour table, should he choose to accept it.
Decisions
Before he left for the Stren Championship, Dove knew that he had a space in the 2009 Elite Series as well as the FLW Tour. Through double-qualifications and drop outs, BASS had worked well down their list.
“I had everything I wanted,” he said. “I had to figure out what was the right decision for Kurt Dove. The Elite deposit date was coming up and I was really doing the numbers and trying to figure out what my sponsors wanted.”
“Right off the bat, I talked to some people at FLW and looked at the opportunities there,” he added. “They said some great things, some things that I really liked.”
Ultimately, he decided that FLW was not the right choice for him at this time: “I saw it as a forty thousand dollar investment,” he said. “But it would not have pushed me forward in developing myself as a new business brand. It would have been moving into a new genre and I didn’t see it as a good investment in my future.”
At the same time, the deposit deadline to enter the Elites was approaching quickly. He had decided that he wasn’t going to foot the majority of the bill again this year. “I was hoping, crossing my fingers, my legs and my toes, that a deal would come through,” he said. “I had people working it for me. If I could get my entry fees paid for or get it close, it would have made the decision easy, but it didn’t work out.”
Comfort Zone
With the decision made to forego both of the marquee tours in 2009, Dove will still have a full dance card. He recently moved from his native Virginia to Del Rio, Texas, and plans to begin guiding as soon as his new Triton is built. Additionally, he will fish all three BASS Open divisions (three divisions, three tournaments each), plus the new PAA trail.
“I’ll still be fishing a national schedule with a minimum of 12 events,” he said. “And on a dollar-for-dollar basis, the Opens are a really good way to go. For entry fees of only $9,000, you can win a maximum of $450,000. The major difference is that you have to create more publicity for yourself and my three years on the Elites have really helped me to get to know the people I need to talk to.”
He said that all of his existing sponsors are signed on at the 2008 levels for the 2009 season. “Companies like Triton have really bent over backwards to help me out,” he said. “Along with Mercury and Boat US Angler, and I’m still talking to others. And I can’t forget Bass Edge. They have really helped me out over the past three years. I appreciate everything Aaron Martin has done.”
Asked whether it would be hard for him to watch his Elite Series friends on tour, particularly when they visit his new home lake of Amistad, he answered by saying that his mental state is the best it has been in quite a while.
“My mood is one hundred percent positive,” he said. “So many great things are happening right now. We just moved to Del Rio. I’ll be guiding at Amistad, which will extend my fishing to a year-round basis and keep my competitive fire up for 12 months out of the year. Even though it’s a tough economic time, I have the support of my sponsors and I can take this time to continue getting better on the water. I’m also doing some things with the PAA, which will continue to get better, especially when we emerge from this economic downturn.”
“This will give me time to take a step back,” he continued. “I made a healthy decision, the right business choice. The Elite Series makes sense if your entry fees are paid. On the FLW side, it didn’t make sense for me. All of their major deals are FLW deals, not angler deals and I’m an independent contractor. I just haven’t had the right opportunity yet to sell what I have to offer.”
Dove has guide dates available in February and March. Anglers who wish to contact him to reserve a trip can email him at
dovekp@hotmail.com.
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