Former Sooner, Cowboy anglers making B.A.S.S. Elite Series debut

The Elite Series, the top level of the professional bass fishing trail, begins this week in Orange, Texas, on the Sabine River.

Among the rookies will be two Oklahomans – James Elam of Broken Arrow and Chip Porche of Bixby.

Elam started the bass club at Oklahoma State, and Porche did the same at Oklahoma.

They qualified for the Elite Series by finishing in the top five of the point standings in the Central Opens.

With the addition of Elam and Porche, a dozen of the 100 anglers now fishing the Elite Series are from Oklahoma. Like most anglers on the tour, Elam and Porche are chasing a dream.

“I have been wanting to fish professionally since I was 8 years old,” Porche said. “That's all I ever wanted to do.”

But, trying to earn a living as a pro bass angler is a gamble. The entry fees to the eight Elite Series events total $43,000. And then there is the cost of gas, food, lodging and equipment.

Porche, 25, estimates the costs of fishing the Elite Series for an angler anywhere from $60,000 to $75,000, or even more.

“It depends on where you stay and what you eat,” he said. “It depends on whether you want to eat a bologna sandwich or you want to eat a steak.”