Bass pros fish for a living. What could be better, right? Sit down with a professional angler at a  boat show, and it comes out that they do enjoy their gig, mainly because they genuinely love to fish. One perk of the job is that the tournament season doesn’t run all year long, so they do have a true offseason.
As tournament directors put together their schedules for 2026, I’m curious to see if any have the will to at least partially limit the use of forward-facing sonar (FFS).
Zoom Bait Company has announced the launch of two new additions to its lineup: the Thick Trick worm and the Midsize Z Craw.
By Louie Stout
Berrien Springs’ Ron Nelson
It was believed for years that any angler coming out of Michiana would be handicapped if he pursued a fulltime pro bass fishing career.
After all, our short fishing seasons and small natural lakes are drastically different than the massive southern impoundments where most pros live and the events are held.
But along came Kalamazoo’s Kevin VanDam who proved it could be done and went on to become the most successful pro bass angler in the history of the sport.
Berrien Springs’ Ron Nelson is no Kevin VanDam, but he’s proving that area waters are viable training grounds for someone with enough passion, desire and skills to claw their way to the top.
After winning the FLW Tour Rookie of Year last season, Nelson earned this year’s FLW Angler of Year title. His $94,500 earnings this year pushed his career earnings to $490,165 that includes his minor league earnings since he launched his FLW career in 2013.
And like VanDam, Nelson attributes his Michiana fishing experiences to his success while fishing around the country.
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