Like all Bassmaster Elite Series pros, Louisiana’s Derek Hudnall has been sidelined as Covid-19 sweeps across the country. But that doesn’t mean he’s sitting at home twiddling his thumbs.
Instead, Hudnall announced on March 17 a new venture aimed primarily at teaching the next generation of anglers how to up their game during on-the-water sessions.
“The gist of the situation is you have to make lemons into lemonade,” he said. “That’s what I’m doing right now. These times are so uncertain; we don’t know how long we will be off the water. We, as professional bass fishermen, are self-employed. We fish for a living; we have to earn an income from it.
“Trying to find something we enjoy doing and that people on the other side enjoy to do is critical right now. Kids are out of school, a lot of people are not at work, so they are looking for something to fill their time with.”
He said one motivation is helping young anglers who want to make a career in the fishing industry. In fact, he is simply building off of the past few year’s work with high school fishing teams.
“I think our generation needs more ambassadors,” he said. “I feel like the Bill Dances of the world and the Jimmy Houstons, the Hank Parkers, are starting to come to an end. It’s is our job to ensure we are developing the next group of anglers that are coming up that are going to be in our shoes in 20 years. Trying to share that information is really important with the millennials coming up.”
Therefore, Hudnall said the new offerings, which he announced on his personal rather than business Facebook page, is primarily intended to attract business from young South Louisiana anglers who want to learn more about the tools of the trade.
And he’s had a lot of interest.
“I’ve already booked two trips this week, and I have interest in three more next week,” he said less than 24 hours after the announcement.
All lessons will take place on his boat, with topics ranging from electronics to fishing tactics for different situations. He’ll spend time really diving deep into the desired subject matter.
“The biggest thing a lot of people are (asking about is) electronics, but the first piece of information is you have to do is understand what electronics do: how a sonar works, how down-imaging works,” he said. “You have to understand how it works for you to know what you’re looking at.”
Focusing on his region offers young anglers to learn in a variety of situations.
“The great thing about South Louisiana is that we can be in a reservoir, we can be in a river, we can be in several different types of fishery, and I’m telling everybody we can pick and choose,” he said. “We can tailor the experience to what you’re trying to get out of it; what you’re trying to focus on.”
He said he will entertain some trips outside of his region, but that’s not his main focus.
“I’ve already had a guy who lives in Dallas and fished Lake Fork a lot ask how he can get me up there,” he said. “I told him we’ll be at Lake Fork later this year, so let’s touch base and see if we can do something the day after that event.”
But he said those types of sessions will be limited as he travels the country.
Another benefit of Hundall’s new side hustle is that it allows him to provide on-going visibility for the companies supporting his professional fishing career because his clients will see in detail how the pro uses their products to succeed on the water.
“I can get a lot of exposure for my partners, my sponsors,” he said. “I’ll be using a lot of their products, and it’s a good hands-on experience for the client.”
What he is not offering is a fishing guide service.
“I always told myself I would never be a guide,” he said. “I just could not see myself fishing five days a week, trying to run people around just to get a bite. But one thing I’ve always enjoyed doing is the educational piece of it.”
Hudnall said he’s encouraged by the response, since it could be critical in bridging the financial gap while he awaits the restart of the Bassmaster Elite Series tour.
“Everyone thinks we professional bass fishermen are just loaded with money, and that’s just not the case,” he explained. “I love the educational aspect of it, and that’s what I’m try to do. Hey, on this downtime, let’s try to make a business out of doing this, out of teaching on the water.”
Derek Hudnall can be contacted via Facebook for more information.
