One reason is so your non boater on day two cannot take you to the fish that his boater on day one was on. Pros are expected to find their own fish. It is part of being a pro.

The rule is actually in effect for a long period before the tournament begins. This prevents the pro from seeking out local guides or local pros and getting information about what the fish are doing anytime near the tournament time from them. It levels the playing field.

Thanks for the answer, Jess.

The fancy sponsors that I had on my shirt were paying my way. Unfortunately I was laid off just like thousands of other Americans this year. I now have to pay my own way until times get better. I think there is a gross misconception about the amount of cash money that anglers receive from sponsors. There are very few anglers who have paying sponsors. I was very fortunate to have an FLW Team sponsorship. Most sponsorships are for product, and many times not much of it. All those wrapped boats you see out there belong to the fisherman. They have bank notes on them just like anyone else. There are maybe 10 Pro's that I know out of hundreds who are given a boat. Having your way paid is more of an exception than a rule. I know allot of big time BASS and FLW Pro's. I have a friend who fishes the BASS Elites; he absolutely tore it up the first year he fished and won like 200k. He was running a wrapped boat and doing exceptionally well. He wasn't getting paid a cent by his sponsor. He's a prominent figure in fishing and I'm sure everyone on this site has heard of him. Yes, there is money out there to be had from sponsors, but it's very difficult to find and even harder to get. If it were as simple as getting a better public relations agent, there would be a whole lot more Professional Anglers.

I haven't had the Gain wrap on my boat since December of 2007. As soon as I changed sponsors, the Gain logos were removed from my boat. There are however many people running wraps for no pay at all. I went to a company with a proposal for running a wrapped boat for them; I was asking for the company to pay my entry fees and travel expenses for a particular trail. They offered to pay to wrap my boat and that was what they were willing to do. I didn't take it because it paid me nothing. Another angler took the deal, running a wrapped boat just to run a wrapped boat. I've even heard of people paying to have their boats wrapped just to be able to run a wrap and feel like they're part of something. If you hear someone talking about their sponsors paying for everything and them getting everything for free, you should take it with a grain of salt. First of all it's not that common, and secondly it's in violation of their contract to be talking about what their sponsors are doing for them. I try and give as much information as I can about my sponsors and fishing on a whole. I myself am under contract not to talk about what I receive from my sponsors, but you can be assured that what I am able to tell you is the truth. I write these posts so people who are interested in possibly doing this as more than a hobby have an idea of how everything works.

Like you said, only a few of the elite have good paid deals. Ike told Rivernut, that some of his sponsors give him gas or preapid Visa cards