I have had sponsors in years past who donated to tournaments I was fishing. However, even if they are your personal sponsor, you have to show them how it will benefit them to donate to the tournament trail you are fishing. In most cases, sponsors will not donate unless you can show them how they will benefit from giving away their product. ie: posting banners, sponsorship painted on trailer, news paper advertisment, weigh master talking about product on stage, etc. You need to target people/companies who are wanting to expand their market into this area. For example, I was fishing a tournament trail in Middle Georgia (Anglers Choice) several years ago. Castaway would mail me two to four rods to give away at each tournament due to the fact they were trying to grow their business in that geographical area. In return, their were castaway banners everywhere, it was in their publication, and the announcer acknowleged them. Hope this helps and Good luck.
