"It Was a Business Decision."

 Story by Pete Robbins 

Dayton, Tn. – The news that Tennessee pro Andy Morgan signed a deal with Bass Cat might not have pushed the excitement meter needle too far to the right for many fans of pro fishing. 

After all, anglers change sponsors every year and Bass Cat in particular has made a huge push in recent years to expand the scope of their pro staff. But upon further consideration, the news raised more questions than it answers. After all, Morgan is a stalwart of the FLW Tour, the "circuit that Ranger built." 

"I've probably won more FLW events than anyone else out there," he said. "I've been fishing them since the Operation Bass days of Mike Whitaker. Charlie Evans, Bill Taylor, all of them are like family to me."

His most recent victory was the 2007 FLW Tour event on Beaver Lake, which earned him over $200,000 plus Ranger Cup money. He's qualified for 10 of the past 11 FLW Tour Championships and 3 Stren Championships, with two Stren victories and a BFL victory in the past 5 seasons to go along with the trophy from Beaver. 

Why wouldn't his track record lead him to the conclusion that he'd be leaving thousands of dollars in incentive money on the table?

Prior to 2007, he was offered a chance to run a Duracell-wrapped boat, which required a switch to Ranger, a move that was facilitated by FLW Outdoors. While they made the switch easy, Morgan's hands were somewhat tied. "I didn't have the option to negotiate a boat deal. I had to run a Ranger."

But at the end of the year, his Duracell deal was not re-upped. "I got a call in September that they were not going to resign me," he said. "At that point, I'm not even sure if Procter and Gamble was resigned, but I do know for sure that my contract was not renewed."

Thus, like athletes in many of the professional sports, he was granted his "free agency," and he intended to make the most of it.

Good Business
"I was a free agent at that point. I had been investigating my own (title sponsor) deal and not 20 minutes after I got the call from FLW (about Duracell), I got the call from my sponsor for 2008 that it was a done deal."

"I had no tie anymore to Ranger boats. I wasn't tied down to any boat deal so I had to go ahead and treat this as a business and go down every other avenue. It all comes down to making a living." 

“As a result of my FLW/Ranger deal, I learned a great deal about the business end of the sport. The people there have business savvy that’s second to none and it was a great experience. It’s a good boat and they’re good folks, but it just wasn’t a good fit.”

He also added that despite his tremendous track record on the water, that doesn't necessarily lend itself to a monster deal with any boat company. "I'm not a George Cochran or a Peter T. In order to get one of those big deals at Ranger you'd better have won a Classic or be some sort of big historical icon. I'm not there, and I can't wait for one of those spots to open up."

New Cat On the Block
With his free agency firmly established, he put his feelers out with the various boat companies. 

"Bass Cat was the first one that came to mind. I have a friend in Dalton, Georgia who has run one for a while and he really liked it. I would see him around and I was really impressed with the boat. He also told me how impressed he was with Rick Pierce and the Pierce family and had been telling me that if I ever wanted a boat deal I should call Rick."

He contacted Pierce and there was an instant connection. "Rick is very personable and very straightforward. He gets right to the point. That's the kind of family I was raised in and that kind of communication makes relationships go better and business go better."

For Morgan, the immediate rapport with Pierce reminded him of the family atmosphere that he felt had been lost in Genmar's highly efficient corporate culture.

"It was like old home to me," he said. "When I first started out with Stratos, it was a small, close-knit bunch and it was very hands on. I really missed that. Rick is just good people. All the people at Ranger are good people too, but I feel like I'll get a little more attention over here."

He believes that he and West Virginia's Bill Chapman will be the only full-time Cat owners on the FLW Tour this year. While he doesn't know if that will distinguish him positively in any way, he expressed satisfaction with being a "bigger duck in the puddle than I was at Ranger."

While he's changed boat companies, he'll continue to run an Evinrude 225HO. "That was one of the first questions Rick asked, my motor preference," Morgan said. "I told him I've always run Evinrude and they've been super-good to me."

"Rick said that they're in the boat business, not the motor business, and he was fine with me running whatever I preferred." 

With Genmar service crews at every FLW Tour event, does he worry that he won't be able to get problems resolved as quickly as his peers?

"To tell you the truth," I don't ever remember having any troubles with a boat itself. I've never punched a hole in one. Changing a livewell pump is the same in any boat. The service crews for Genmar are nice, but it's a chance you take. I'm not worried about it."

The Six-Figure Question
Scott Suggs became the first single-event million dollar man when he won this past summer's FLWTC on Lake Ouachita, largely because he uses the "right" products.

Now that Morgan no longer runs the "house brand" boat, will he regret the move to Bass Cat if he finds himself fishing the final day of the 2008 Championship?

"The bonuses are a strong selling point, not a bad deal at all, but I think a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush. I made my decision and I'll live and die by my decision. If I win $500,000 I'll be happy as a lark."

Miscellaneous
• He declined to specify who his 2008 title sponsor will be, citing the fact that not all paperwork has been completed.  He will be letting the BZ Viewers know in the coming weeks who his new title sponsor will be this year.
• Another new sponsor in Morgan's stable is Gamma Technologies.
• He's earned $813,199 in FLW Outdoors winnings.
• He had one of the greatest seasons in BFL (then Red Man) history when he earned 298 points out of a possible 300 in the 1992 Choo Choo Division points race. That included 4 victories and 2 second place finishes. He also won the points race in 1994 as well as a Regional that same year.