becomes clear that Ish Monroe’s successful
run in professional angling has been a product
of planning, preparation, a self-determined
education and, most of all, whole-heartedly
embracing the life of professional angler.
The grooming of “the Fishing Businessman”
Ishama Monroe began at age 8. His dad
took him to boat shows at that early,
impressionable age, and the youngster made
sure that nothing of value slipped past. “I
literally took note pads to the shows at that
time,” he recalled with pride. “Every fisherman
I met then was what I call a true professional
angler – guys like Jimmy Houston and Roland
Martin… I grew up talking to these guys, and they
took the time to talk to me.”
At one event, he learned that Jimmy Houston
had earned $10,000 for his appearance.
(“What would you think at 10 or 11 years old if they
told you they paid $10,000 for him to appear?” )
The young man pressed Houston for more.
The memory seems like yesterday.
“He starts talking to me about looking neat and
being clean…and soon sponsors are starting to
interact with me because I’m talking to Jimmy
Houston! They say, ‘We want someone who can
speak very well,’ and already I see that evolving
into an education.”
Ish steered every assignment he could into
some fishing framework and went on to
excel in high school, taking extra classes in
anything that hinted of serving his future
fishing career.
“By my senior year in high school, I only had to
take three classes,” he said. “I got out at noon
and immediately went to business classes. In
college, I studied marketing and business. Add
the principle of ‘hard work,’ which I got from
my parents, and it all evolves into what I have
now -- an understanding of what it takes to be
successful in this profession.”
Page 11 | Big bass monthly