Brett Cannon is taking a remarkably different path in his quest to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic, his lifelong dream and sole goal. What sets the Texan apart from everyone else is catching enough bass to do it is secondary toward getting to the big stage.
Early on, Cannon recognized that prioritizing marketing, and specifically content creation for digital and social platforms, would initially gain more attention from fishing sponsors than his ability to catch bass.
“I figured early on that if I could get their attention through creating amazing content, that the fishing would take care of itself,” Cannon said.
“I’ve observed others with the same goal who based getting there just on the necessary fishing skills, only to reach the top and not be prepared to make it truly successful on the business side.”
So far so good. Brett Cannon Productions is fulfilling a mission of showcasing its owner’s entrepreneurial spirit and marketing talents, while his bass fishing skills are getting noticed at the Opens EQ level of the St. Croix Bassmaster Opens.
After Day 1, Cannon was 8th in the Opens angler of the year standings, after dropping from 3rd early in the season. But, ultimately Cannon finished up 16th in the event and moved himself into 6th place in the Opens angler of the year standings.
Cannon is on the right path given what resonates most with brand marketers and their audiences. Gone are the days when traditional advertising was key to selling product. Today’s marketers value selling the lifestyle benefits of their products to gain customer loyalty over a hard sell ad.
Cannon, a Texas transplant for business and bass fishing priorities, grew up in south Florida. He attended Florida Atlantic University, majoring in small business and entrepreneurship while playing on the baseball team. Competing in local bass tournaments eventually climbed to the top above academic and sports.
Cannon got recruited by the Los Angeles Angels, then released due to a recurring injury to his pitching arm. He later returned to south Florida, working for his father’s Interstate Battery distributorship. That move became the turning point for better things to come.
Successful entrepreneurs are restless, always seeking the next business opportunity, and Cannon found it while plodding through the daily work grind. On a multi-million offshore fishing boat, he worked a side job as a mate, the goal being to network with the equally as wealthy businessmen on board for the same reasons.
To gain more networking recognition, he and a buddy succeeded at achieving a rare feat in billfish angling, teaming up to break a world record for catching all nine species. They did so by catching all nine billfish species in 26 days of fishing, traversing the globe from Hawaii and Mexico, to the Caribbean, Central America and Australia, earning a Royal Grand Slam. Doing so turned heads and plugged him even more into a wealthy network of opportunities.
Cannon’s entrepreneurial mind grew restless. He needed a mental reset to restore his quest to merge fishing and business into the same career. He didn’t read motivational books or listen to podcasts to get there, instead training for a Half Ironman, covering a distance of 70.3 miles (for reference, a full marathon is 26 miles).
“I was mentally in a bad spot, working nine-to-five, on my content, and living the south Florida party scene,” Cannon said. “I knew the best way to get out of that rut and reset my mind was the Iron Man.”
Cannon trained up to five hours a day, for a year, to prepare for the race. He would recall the experience as the most mentally draining activity of his life, but the sacrifice was worth it.
Rejuvenated, Cannon moved to Texas and Brett Cannon Productions began to thrive, as he picked back up tournament fishing while guiding on O.H. Ivie, one of the state’s top trophy bass lakes. Cannon branched out into producing hunting shows, earning jobs (and sponsorships) with the likes of Realtree Outdoors and other top brands. He built social media campaigns and provided marketing content for fishing brands, earning sponsorships and relationships with the likes of Bass Mafia, Bubba Blade, Oakley, Garmin, Googan and more.
“I started doing the marketing, figuring that if I could sell product that way, then then my entrepreneurial mindset would benefit my fishing,” he said.
The goal of merging both is a work in progress, although the early results are positive. So is Cannon’s performance on the Opens EQ going into the fourth of nine events toward Elite Series qualification.
Back to the Classic quest, his ultimate goal in life, that came into full view in 2021. That February, Cannon caught a largemouth weighing 14.40 pounds on O.H. Ivie. The catch qualified it as a Toyota ShareLunker “Legacy Class” largemouth (weighing over 13 pounds), with the angler receiving a replica mount and special recognition in the Texas Parks and Wildlife selective breeding and conservation program.
Later that year, Cannon and other Legacy Class anglers were recognized on the Classic weigh-in stage in Fort Worth, Texas, where the world championship was played out on nearby Lake Ray Roberts.
“Being on that stage rekindled my goal going back to the very start,” Cannon said. “I know if I can get to the Elite level then I have a better shot at doing it.”
Entrepreneurs are risk takers, gamblers who are comfortable venturing outside their comfort zones to achieve the goal in mind. Cannon is gaining ground on his Classic goal, albeit through a different route that is paying dividends along the way.
