Sunday, February 27, 2011

This Ain't Jersey Shore

There is no doubt I have cabin fever in a big time way. Here in Minnesota we have had record snow falls and with every additional inch of snow my fever increases ten fold.

So what is a guy to do? I've sorted my tackle three times over. I've cleaned my reels, checked my guides for nicks, reloaded on YUM dingers, money minnows and finesse worms. I've even hunted for that elusive KVD 1.5 chartruse/black square bill that will clearly win me every tournament this year (for those that don't know me, insert a liberal amount of sarcasm here). Actually who am I kidding, I will really buy that crankbait.

So what's left? I ask myself, what more could a weekend wannabe like myself need or want......and then it hits me like a plug to the back of the head. A fishing jersey. Yes how perfect an idea. I've got plenty of hockey jerseys of various teams. Why not a fishing jersey of my favorite Elite pro or two. And best of all is that I can pass it off as a garment to protect me from the sun. Because as I'm explaining to my wife why I've purchased this walking billboard to wear fishing, I inform her that it's 95% UV effective. Her response of course has to be something like, "oh honey, what a wonderful idea. You should probably get two just incase one gets dirty".

Ike expressing my excitment
Great, the decision is made and I'm willing to plunk down 40-80 bucks on this jersey idea.

So I begin my quest. First I need to determine my search criteria. I'm really looking for a replica Elite Series Anglers Jersey like Ike, KVD, E2, or Remitz. I hit up the anglers websites, main sponsor sites, bassmaster.com, tackle retailers, The google and The Amazon. I find a few generic tournament jerseys from Nitro, Ranger, Skeeter for example but nothing in the form of a Elite replica. Well at least nothing affordable anyway.  Ike and KVD do sell "game worn" and autographed jerseys for $299 and $499 respectively. Um.....Fail?! I was thinking something at a fraction of the cost. While I love those two anglers, I don't want to spend almost $500 so I can not only wear their shirt but also know what they smell like. Come on boys, what about the little people?


Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha' gunna do
This leads me to wonder, are the pro's missing a great opportunity here? You have replica jerseys for almost every other sport. Why not fishing? One initial thought is that perhaps sponsors don't want some jackwagon showing up on an episode of Cops wearing said replica jersey with their logo front and center. But really the same could be said for me wearing my replica Wild jersey. Yet they still sell them and reap millions. And other than our tour guide in Finland and a kid at Wendy's, I've never been mistaken for a professional hockey player.

Anyone have any idea where or who might carry replica jerseys? Am I the only rube that would be interested in this sort of thing? I love to hear any thoughts or leads you have.

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3 comments:

  1. BasspastorFebruary 28, 2011 at 4:10 AM

    Jersey's for St. Jude
    http://jerseysforstjude.blogspot.com/
    but unfortunately that is coming to an end after this week I think.

    My next suggestion would be to see if Gemini or other companies that do the jersey's for the pro's will sell you a replica. Gemini does KVD's jersey.
    http://g2gemini.com/fishing/
    My guess is they won't do it without authorization from the Pro who commissioned the jersey. But I don't know that getting an anglers permission would be that hard unless maybe your talking KVD and IKE who are already trying to pawn their jersey's for bigger bucks. I would think most pro's would be flattered and say OK. The FLW Team Pro Jersey's would probably require additional approval from FLW.

    I don't know who makes Derek Remitz Jersey. I suggest you contact him through his website. Can't hurt to ask.

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  2. BasspastorMarch 2, 2011 at 1:06 AM

    They just put up a Derrick Remitz Jersey in the Jersey for St. Judes auctions
    http://cgi.ebay.com/Jerseys-St-Jude-Derek-Remitz-BASS-fishing-Omega-/160553112430?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2561b6136e


    Also I just saw in a Cabela's add that if you go to the store and buy a Skeet Reese rod (and maybe the reel too) you get a free Skeet Reese replica jersey.

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  3. Jeremy ThorntonMarch 3, 2011 at 8:10 AM

    cool, thanks for the info BP. I plan on making a few calls into G2 to see what they have to say. On the website it does say that "some jerseys we are not able to replicate". So who knows. I still think this could be another avenue for our sport to grow.

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