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Norman,
OK. – Fred Contaoi didn’t grab many headlines during his sophomore season on the 2008 FLW Tour but the outgoing pro, who splits his time between homes in California and Tennessee, has a unique story reaching far beyond just his on-the-water performance.
Throughout his career, Contaoi has built an impressive resume of accomplishments and experiences in the outdoors chasing numerous species of fish and business opportunities.
He guided in Alaska for over a decade, co-authored a book on steelhead fishing, wet a line in 42 countries, and is currently sponsored by the custom motorcycle manufacturers, Orange County Choppers. As if that isn’t enough, he also is featured in recently released documentary highlighting professional bass fishing.
The documentary, titled “Cast,” was filmed on-location at the 2007 FLW Tour stop on Beaver Lake, and contains both on and off-the-water footage that the average fishing fan doesn’t get to see just by watching the weigh-in. “As we have shown it over the last number of months, I’ll get calls and e-mails from people who are like ‘Wow, I never realized what this whole bass fishing thing was and how it worked,’” said Contaoi.
The documentary film was the brainchild of Fred’s cousin, Chester Contaoi. “I have three cousins that all work in Hollywood and they used to come see me every year at a sports show in Southern California,” explained Contaoi. “They wanted to come out and film me wherever I was fishing.
“The documentary has been traveling the film festivals and we are taking the grassroots approach by going into the venues to see how it is received,” Contaoi told The BZ. “After winning some best documentaries it showed that there’s some interest. From here, we hope to gain some network television interest and expand on some additional possibilities.”
For more information on Contaoi’s documentary Cast, visit:
www.filmbaby.com/films/3194.
In addition to Contaoi’s award winning documentary, he possesses a unique non-endemic title sponsor in Orange County Choppers, a popular custom motorcycle company based in New York and featured on the TLC channel’s American Chopper reality TV show.
“My association with Orange County Choppers allows them to meet a pool of potential bike buyers which is the outdoorsman. If you think about bass fisherman and hunters, they purchase a $10,000 to $60,000 boat, a tow vehicle, and equipment and fishing tackle. That’s even before putting a lick of gas in the truck or boat,” explained Contaoi. “That’s a demographic in their eyes that goes out and buys a motorcycle. It’s a new way to reach a whole audience that they didn’t have in their back pockets.”
The sponsorship, which began in 2006, has allowed Contaoi to meet a plethora of fans and curious observers as he tows his O.C.C. wrapped Ranger across the country on the FLW Tour and FLW Series. “I get everybody from police officers to older people to people who have noticed me from my appearances on the American Chopper TV show,” said Contaoi. “These people just want to talk and tell me stories about the lives of the O.C.C. guys - they know more about them than you would imagine.”
Contaoi said that he communicates with the cast from American Chopper on a regular basis. “We’ve done a lot of filming together, especially last year,” explained
Contaoi. “Schedules have been really tight this year because of the simple fact that they just built a new headquarters and showroom for
O.C.C.”
For Contaoi, the unique sponsorship is a perfect fit. “They approached me to be a positive voice for what they were trying to do,” he explained. “The non-endemic sponsors have embraced fishing in a way we couldn’t have imagined 10 years ago. One of my big strengths as a fisherman is not necessarily just bass fishing. I’ve been a marlin fisherman; I’ve fished for tarpon, I’ve worked as a guide in Norway and fished in China and now I’ve been in 42 countries all over the world catching fish.”
Outside the professional bass fishing world, Contaoi’s past fishing endeavors include a wide gamut of experiences spanning multiple continents and species. “I have learned a lot about where I could go in life and how people are just from all my years of guiding whether it be on Clear Lake in California for bass or Alaska for salmon or in Norway.” |
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From the ages of 17 to 30, Contaoi’s summers were spent in the Bristol Bay area of Alaska guiding. “From falling out of airplanes, to turning the corner on a grizzly bear, to sinking boats – a lot of things happen when you are out in the bush,” he said. “It’s a different way of making a living than bass fishing. The bass fishing is about 30% fishing and 70% everything else.” As a result of his salmon guiding experiences up north, Contaoi co-authored the book, “Side Drifting for Steelhead” published in 2005.
During his 2008 FLW Tour campaign, Contaoi’s season highlight came courtesy of a 61st place finish on Lewis Smith Lake. Heading into the off season, he is looking forward to revamping his schedule and gearing up for the 2009 season whatever it may bring. “The plan from here forward is to retain the sponsors that I have because it’s requiring more and more money to go down the road,” explained Contaoi. “You have to be forward thinking and I’m going to wait and figure out what schedules work the best for me in trying to catch fish.”
In addition to Orange County Choppers, Contaoi is quick to point out the valued support of his other sponsors, particularly Airgas, along with Ranger Boats, Evinrude, Powell Rods, Humminbird, Minn Kota, Power-Pole, Basstrix, Berkley, Bladerunner Tackle, and Abu Garcia.
For more information about Fred Contaoi, visit his website at
www.bigfredfishing.com.
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