Sunil,
You make some good points regarding the local economy, although it is certainly arguable as to whether or not a national tournament actually increases or decreases the local fishing and enjoyment of public lakes.
My problem with "Pros" is much more a mental, attitude thing than it is an economic issue. The tournament mentality is not what I personally would like to see fishing become in the future.
You may call it progress to race all over a lake with 200 hp engines and every electronic device available to aid in catching every dink possible to make your weight higher. I don't. That is a personal choice. Competition in fishing should be between the fisher and the fish not among the fishers. Again, that's just my personal opinion.
Certainly, I'm not advocating restricting the freedoms of individuals to choose the manner in which they wish to fish. However, when those choices adversely affect others who pay their dues, then I think considerations should be made.
Tournament fishing isn't going to go away. If anything, it will probably grow with the huge $ being spent on marketing. If that's progress in your mind, so be it.
I wonder why we haven't seen the advent of "tournament hunting"? Maybe that also will be part of our future.
