“If it doesn’t make
dollars, it doesn’t
make sense.”
He has a business degree, a marketing degree,
training in public speaking – all part of the plan,
all serving him well in sponsorship, negotiations
and decision making, which he summarizes
with the maxim: “If it doesn’t make dollars, it
doesn’t make sense.”
Born To Fish
Fueling all that ambition has been, of course, a
passion to fish, the flames of which his father
fanned and kept on fanning right into adulthood.
His father worked different jobs for years, but
he always found time to take his son fishing.
When Ish turned 14, his dad joined the fire
department, opening more time for fishing.
Page 13 | Big bass monthly
“Dad worked nine days a month,” recalled Ish,
again relishing the math. “That left 21 days to
fish, and we used it! Dad took me fishing almost
whenever I wanted.”
The quality time spent fishing edged out time
for teen trouble, too.
“I was too busy fishing to do drugs or get girls
pregnant,” he explained. “Fishing saved my life.
I tell that to every parent I meet. Once my dad
got me involved in fishing, everything changed! I
read books and magazines. I did book reports on
fishing. When it came to fishing, my dad never
said ‘No.’”
He tries today to spread his gospel and get