Career Change

By Michael Kinney
THE NORMAN TRANSCRIPT (NORMAN, Okla.)

NORMAN, Okla. August 21, 2007 03:33 pm

— Mike Todd knew when he was eight years old what he wanted to do. While others kids had visions of becoming a fireman, policeman, astronaut or baseball player, the Norman resident’s dreams steered him in another direction.
Todd wanted to fish. While he would do it throughout his life, it wasn’t until 28 years later that his passion became his profession when he turned pro at the age of 36.
“When someone asks me what I do I tell them I’m a professional fisherman,” Todd said. “Or pro angler, which is the politically correct term. But I still like to say professional fisherman for myself. That is what I have always called it.”
This was Todd’s first year on the FLW Tour and he said he broke even in terms of money. While that may not sound like a great accomplishment, for the 1989 Norman High graduate it was a strong opening statement to a career.
“For a rookie year, it went well,” Todd said. “Not as well as I had hoped. But when you look at it as a realist, most rookies acquire some debt in that first year. I was able to break even. There are some rookies that will come out and do extremely well. But not often.”
Even though Todd knew he always wanted to fish, it was not an easy decision turning pro. He owned his own business, Mike Todd’s Pool Service and has three daughters (Hannah, Sydney and Megan) to support.
While his side of the family knew his life was heading toward that goal, it was his wife Lisa and her family he felt would take some convincing.
So when he got his first sponsorship offer from Lowrance, Todd didn’t accept right away.
“When I talked to Lowrance, I told them I had to talk to my wife first,” Todd said. “Because if she was not behind me, I couldn’t do it. It takes a special person to be a pro fisherman’s wife. She has a large load to carry. “
The toughest one to convince was his mother-in-law.
“The funny part was my wife’s mom,” Todd said. “Emma Lou was skeptical. She was not as thrilled about it. But now they see how it is working, so I guess she is more comfortable. That was interesting.”
The life of a pro fisherman isn’t lazy days along side a river bank passing the day away in the sun. There is the time away from families, waking up early in the morning to blistering winds and cold temperatures and knowing they still have to get out on the lake.
There is also the uncertainty of making any money that week. It helped that Todd was able to pull sponsors such as Yum, Booyah, Ranger Boats and Yamaha Motors before he turned pro.
However, Todd knows that he has to increase his five tournament wins if he wants to bring in bigger sponsors and make more money in a sport that offers prizes for as much as $1 million. Since 2001, Todd has earned $17,175. However, $10,000 of that came this year as a pro.
Todd’s best finish was 44th at the Fort Loudoun-Tellico. He is currently ranked No. 358 in the world, but has large expectations for his sophomore campaign.
“For next year I want to make without a doubt, more checks,” Todd said. “Also I want to make a top 10 placing. The third is I need one more big sponsor or get an even better deal with Lowrance.”
Todd is now doing what he has always dreamed of. He knows he is in the small percentile of people that are lucky enough to have made their passion their job.
“To me it means everything,” Todd said. “I get to do what I love to do. I did inside jobs and that drove me crazy. The competitive fishing is a huge part of it, also. You hear people say there is nothing like doing what you love for a living. They are right.”

Michael Kinney writes for the Norman (Okla.) Transcript.

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