Former Elite Series pro Marty Stone has been on hiatus from professional tournament fishing after a couple of down years in his fishing. In that time he's had a chance to reflect on his fishing and is now returning to fishing in a big way, announcing that he'll fish the FLW Tour and Major League Fishing in 2012. As a result he also announced his first new sponsors, Eco Pro Tungsten and Kumho Hooks.

We've spent quite a bit of time in the boat with Marty, and he's a heck of a good stick and a real innovator when it comes to tweaking his tackle and suggesting better ways to skin a cat.

"When I decided to come out of retirement to fish Major League Fishing and the FLW Tour, I wanted to do this stage of my career very differently," Stone said. "One of the most important things was working with manufacturers that valued my opinion, allowed me some freedom in the designing of products and most importantly made high quality products at a price point that everyone in today's economy can afford."

"I have done all this by working with Tim Norman at Eco Pro and Kumho. Tim is an icon in this industry. He understands how to get a great product from the manufacturer to the market place. He is also a friend who I always wanted to work with in this capacity for a long time. We have so many projects that we are discussing it is incredible. This is a company that I wanted to work for and have now been granted that privilege. To say I am excited about this opportunity is an understatement!"