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This article made possible by:
By:
Paul Strege
The
Last Boat was the Best Boat
For Fuji Film Pro Scott Bonnema of
Zimmerman
,
Minnesota
, the very beginning to his professional bass angling career was an
improbable one. The foundation for catching fish was established early
on the banks of the Minnesota River in
Granite
Falls
while in pursuit of panfish, catfish and bullheads with his dad and
grandfather. But it was not until his move to
California
that his panache for locating and catching bass would be unveiled.
After
meeting a bass fishing enthusiast shortly after settling-in the
Eureka
State
in 1983, Scott joined a local club, where in his first year, he earned
Angler of the Year honors. That accomplishment not only turned the
heads of club veterans, but it also came with the prize of a
tournament sponsorship. With that opportunity, Scott entered a popular
Red Man tournament on
Clear
Lake
.
“I
can remember it like it was yesterday. There were 191 boats entered in
the event. And the reason I can remember that number is because I was
drawn with nobody. I was the very last guy standing. I was all by
myself and didn’t know that many people.”
That
unlikely boat draw, however, gave him the opportunity to fish solo,
without the distraction of a partner. Scott chunked a spinnerbait that
day to a third place finish and a $3500 check. The prize was just the
right amount of financial and mental capital needed to launch his
career. Although consecutive strings of podium finishes did not
immediately follow, he invested time on the water, further refined
techniques, and made valuable contacts within the industry. A few
years later, those contacts materialized into a Skeeter State Team
membership.
A
Return to
Minnesota
In 1989, Scott returned to
Minnesota
and started the company he serves as President for today, North Star
Imaging. Through the move he remained with Skeeter and started work
with the local dealer, Frankies Marine in
Chisago
City
. An opportunity to fish with Ranger arose around the same time
Skeeter was purchased by Yamaha. Hesitant to sacrifice the
long-trusted Mercury outboard brand, and intrigued by Ranger’s
quality reputation, he decided to make a switch while remaining with
Frankies Marine. That decision would prove to be a fortuitous one. A
few years later, FLW Outdoors began assembling corporate angling teams
in conjunction with Ranger Boats. While fishing a Silverado tournament
on
Lake
Minnetonka
with a regional representative, Scott was offered a team position with
either Coca Cola or Fuji Film. His North Star Imaging business had
ties with the Fuji Film product line, so the decision was simple. He
would become a Fuji Film Pro!
The
Adjustments
Becoming acquainted with
Minnesota
’s waters did not yield immediate success for Scott, but some skills
developed in
California
proved beneficial in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
“The
only real natural lake out there was
Clear
Lake
in northern
California
. Every other lake was either a tidal delta or big reservoir. And most
reservoirs have very little if any vegetation in them due to the water
level fluctuations over the course of a year. You could find a spot in
the springtime and by late summer it might be 80 feet out of water. So
every time out on the water, I’d try to figure out new structure and
how it may change. Learning how to use electronics out there was
essential.”
Dragging
jigs (football heads) and split shot rigs were very successful out
west, and Scott was able to apply that experience in combination with
sonar reading to the glacial lakes of
Minnesota
. His early
Minnesota
tournament success was derived from locating fish off traffic-laden
weedline edges. Scott would target the first structural or contour
change off of those edges, and he largely had those areas to himself.
With the advent of western tournament anglers on the national tour,
their techniques have long since been exposed to the rest of the
country. Other anglers have now caught on.
“The
Tournament” and Other Favorite Waters
Although Scott has qualified for several BASS Federation Divisional
Teams, the Federation National Championship, and has stepped high atop
other stages such as the Minnesota Pro/Am Bass Tour, his most
impressive accomplishment is arguably the 1999 Minnesota Bass
Federation State Championship on
Lake
Pokegama
. Everything fell in-line for Scott from his pre-tournament research
to the official practice to the tournament itself. When asked of his
chances of success by a good friend on the eve of the event, Scott
replied that he just knew he was going to win the tournament. And that
confidence materialized into 37 hefty pounds of Largemouth crossing
the scales over two days. Flipping a jig into milfoil pockets
assembled a quick and easy 21 pound limit on the first day.
Ironically, flipping a jig was what he gained the most experience in
while exploring unfamiliar
Minnesota
waters. On Day 2, however, the wind picked up and the pressure mounted
for a wire-to-wire victory. With unrelenting effort, he managed to
boat another 16 pounds and secure the victory. His second day resolve
is what is most memorable for Scott.
“The
second day was really miserable; the weather was bad and the fish did
not want to immediately cooperate. But, the thing that sticks out in
my mind is that I gutted it out and caught a decent bag of fish. I
really stuck with my original game plan rather than scrambling and
running around and not catching another fish. I think fishing is all
about decisions and timing. And, believing in what you are doing is a
big, big part of it.”
Although
a State Championship trophy might instantly make a favorite lake for
many an angler, Scott contends that some of his favorites are the most
diverse. As a successful past participant in the Fort Frances Canadian
Bass Championship, he believes that the
Rainy Lake
smallmouth presents a unique challenge every year. It is for this
reason that he especially enjoys exploring this boundary water.
Scott
theorizes, “The Rainy Lake smallmouth are very different than they
are in
Minnesota
or even out west. These are fish that feed on smelt which brings them
out from the shoreline. And depending upon the week or day that we are
up there, they may be in transition from their spawning areas and
warmer bays to bigger basin areas. When they are out in the open, we
have been able to refine techniques that target those particular fish.
In short, what success we’ve had is looking at the ‘out and
away’ smallmouth. They are hard to find, but once you find them,
that is where they live. Instead of traveling miles and miles, they
are going to hang within a certain area pretty well. Typically
you’ll find that there is not just two of them there, there is
two-hundred of them there, and that is the difference. If you go out
and catch 15 or 20 of those fish a day, you will do really well. And
those ‘out and away’ fish are usually the best fish in the
system.”
On
Sponsorship
Throughout his journey from
California
to
Minnesota
, Scott worked hard in developing the relationships that he has today
with his current sponsors. That effort has opened his eyes to the
habits and trends of both successful and unsuccessful anglers in the
arena of sponsorship.
“I’ve
met a lot of guys that are really good anglers, yet they struggle for
sponsorship. Some think that if they are a great angler, the world
will come to them. It just doesn’t work that way. Sponsors are
always asking ‘What can you do for me?’ And so many anglers think
the answer is, ‘I’m a great angler and I am going to catch a bunch
of fish and win a ton of events.’ Sponsors really don’t care about
that. Sure, they want to see consistency, but they are primarily
looking for people that can promote their product and carry themselves
professionally.”
On
the converse, he has noticed that some tournament anglers seek
sponsorship and sell themselves short. He notes that those anglers
often let the allure of flashy decals, free T-shirts and product
discounts cloud their minds. And, this may actually make their journey
in reaching the next level of tournament angling more difficult, as an
angler will start to believe that sponsorship opportunities are
limited in this capacity. He also contends that assembling a creative
business plan is the most effective way to gain a potential
sponsor’s immediate attention.
“If
you sit down and put a business plan together for a sponsor, and share
with them your plan to market their product. And say, ‘Look,
here’s what I am willing to do for your product, how I will be
getting your product into new markets, and my plan to gain publicity
for it,’ you will get a lot more out of that opportunity down the
road. Those companies will see that you are sincere. They will see
that you care. And, they will see that you are not in it just for
yourself.”
Fuji
Film was a pioneer in the fishing industry as one of the first
non-endemic companies to assemble a national angling team. Scott’s
participation on that team reinforces his belief that the future of
fishing sponsorship lies with companies not directly involved with
fishing. Banking, food, water, energy, and fuel companies are just a
few types that he believes are largely untapped by anglers seeking
financial sponsorship.
Beyond
the Bass
Off the water, Scott’s additional successes are evident in the form
of authored articles, educational seminars, and as an active member of
many community organizations. Scott is a past president of the
Minnesota Bass Federation, a regular contributor to the FLW Outdoors
“for kids” magazine inset, and a KFAN /
St.
Jude
Hospital
tournament committee member. He has been actively involved in each one
of those organization for several years. That participation, service
and leadership is well known – perhaps even more so than that
certain green and white Fuji Film Ranger racing across the water –
and possibly more impressive than any angling accomplishment he could
ever achieve on the water…
Current
Sponsors
Fuji
Film, Ranger Boats,
Mercury Outboards, Rapala, Frankies Marine, Friendly Chevrolet,
MinnKota, Humminbird, Northland Tackle, All-Terrain Tackle, Skirts
Plus.
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