I have had a lot of people lately asking me about my recent success within the industry? There are a ton a variables that go into to becoming successful within the fishing industry and also everyone measures success at different levels. As far as what I consider to be my own personal success is always progressing within the industry and learning from every decision I make.

Being able to lock down Angler of the Year in the Future Pro Tour in 2014 and coming back with a solid follow up year in 2015 really got me excited to see what I could do moving forward. What finally sealed the deal for me and made me feel ready to pursue more was my win in the Coors Light Open and taking home a 2015 Dodge Ram! I really feel my tournament success came from keeping my eyes and ears open and always being willing to learn from people that have been around the industry longer than me. The thing that drives me most is learning how to master a specific technique that has beat me in a tournament setting, that’s what I mean by being willing to learn.

Now, my recent success as far as sponsors go may be what gives me the best feeling of accomplishment. I have dedicated a lot of time and hard work to learn what it is that makes us as anglers attractive to even the largest companies. I wont go into crazy detail because I could go on and on when it comes to this category. So in short I feel that first you have to be willing to support a brand you believe in without expecting anything in return, if you show support on your own time it never goes unnoticed. I know its said all the time that it doesn’t matter how good of a fisherman you are or how many big fish pictures you can provide and that being said its 100% accurate. All you need to focus on is always holding yourself to the highest standard even when know one is looking, be well spoken, always let them know what you bring to the table and why that quality will help you represent their product well and ultimately why it will help move product. A professionally put together resume and possibly a good media kit is very helpful also for the possible sponsor to get a good feel for your presence in the industry. And after you have all that in line, the most important piece of advice I can give you is don’t be afraid to ask! Their is no point in all your hard work if your not willing to ask. You would be surprised at how much of my success came from simply asking.

I hope this helps someone out there accomplish their personal goals within the industry and I want to say thank you to all my sponsors for 2016 you are what makes this sport so fun for me; Bass Pro Shops, Nitro Boats, Undercover Sportsman, St. Croix, River2Sea, Maxima Line, Wiley X Sunglasses, California Reservoir Lures, Stage Stop Gun Shop, Fatty’s Worms, BK Grassburners, Rah Fish, and Bison Coolers.

Thanks for the read,

Matt Frazier