Intimidating, to say the least.
Historic, too. In fact, Cochran has that ad framed and it hangs from a wall in his house.
Which is why it's such a shock that the final three of those legendary pros were recently let go from Team Daiwa – Brauer, Yelas and Cochran.
$6.3 million in career winnings
Dating back to the early '80s, then through the '90s and up until a few weeks ago, the legends were largely the face of Team Daiwa – especially that power trio.
With their release though, the national Daiwa team is left with just five members: Mike Iaconelli, Ish Monroe, Takahiro Omori, Mike Folkestad, and Dustin Wilks.
Some might speculate that the release was a movement toward youth – Ike, Ish, Monroe and Wilks are relatively young. But Folkestad's a salty veteran who now fishes the West only (except for championships).
Others might speculate the release was for budgetary issues – the three are certainly big-ticket pros.
A Daiwa official declined to comment on why the three were let go, but both Brauer and Yelas noted they believe it was a marketing decision.
Yelas Moves To Fenwick, Abu Garcia
"I've been with Daiwa since day 1 of my pro career," Yelas said. "I signed on with them in 1989, so for 19 years I've been with Daiwa. Every bass I've ever caught as a professional has been with Daiwa rods and reels."
About the reason for his release, Yelas said: "Their current marketing department was just not using the pros like they have in the past. It's been several years since they've used us for research and development – for product input and stuff. They're just going in a different direction."
And so is Yelas, or in an "anticipated" direction you could say. He's long been an important face for Berkley line and bait. But Berkley's parent company, Pure Fishing, also owns Fenwick rods and Abu Garcia reels. So in his case, he simply expanded his current relationship with a sponsor to plug the rod-and-reel gap in his portfolio.
The wholesale move to Pure Fishing, he said, was "inevitable," and he looks forward to an entrenched role there, especially given his diminishing role through the years in Daiwa R&D.
"There's just a lot more opportunity with Pure Fishing to have signature rods and (help) design reels," he said. "I knew this day would come. I've been with Pure Fishing for lines, and all my baits – jigs, plastics, hardbaits, everything – and now I'm just 100% Pure Fishing.
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Photo: FLW Outdoors/Gary Mortenson Jay Yelas has caught every bass of his professional career on a Daiwa rod and reel – now Fenwick and Abu Garcia will help winch those fish to the boat.
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"And that really lines up with what Pure Fishing's goal is," he added. "They want to give you everything you need for the outdoor fishing experience. Now everything that's in my boat is a Pure Fishing product, and I look forward to winning another major title with that in my boat."
Brauer Not So Lucky
Although Yelas had an immediate answer in Pure Fishing, Brauer has yet to even really begin looking for a replacement. He's been focused almost solely on rehabilitating a new knee he received late last year.
He's no longer in the Texas rehab center – he's back home, and even fishing some – but the long, uphill climb of rehab continues.
About hearing the news that he'd been cut from Team Daiwa, Brauer said: "It hit me below the belt. I'd been with that company since the early '80s, and I know how much good I did them. That's what's so disappointing. If you felt you were out there not doing a company much good, you probably wouldn't feel as bad.
"So it wasn't as much the money, but man, they're missing the boat on this. We were selling them a lot of product in seminars, and we got them a lot of ink. You hate to see something like that come to a halt."
In terms of a possible replacement, he hasn't "pursued it in a real hard way yet." Again, because he's "just so focused on the knee."
"I've been so happy with Daiwa products over the years that it's hard to make a change, but I will make a change," he added. "Hopefully I'll be able to find a company out there that'll realize what I can do for them, put together a rod-and-reel sponsor, and move forward in future years."
Cochran Won't Shop
Until his recent release, Cochran had been with Daiwa for 27 years.
"I have no complaints," he said of being cut. "They paid me a lot of money for those 27 years. I wish I'd saved every penny of it – I'd be a lot happier. But that (the money) is the only thing I'll miss.
"You know there must be trouble when they let the three of us go," he added. "But I wish them all the best. I have no hard feelings toward them at all. They paid me well."
Unlike Brauer, though, he wasn't surprised by being cut. Again, he recognized that without much company contact and pro-based R&D the past few years, the writing was somewhat on the wall. "For the last 3 years they never asked me to do a thing, and usually that's a good sign something's not right."
And about whether he'll look for a new rod and/or reel sponsor, the answer's no. He's toward the end of his career. If someone approached him he'd of course be "interested," but he'll otherwise just take things in stride and go to his secondary equipment source.
"I'll just bum stuff off Larry Nixon."
