Good Morning Obots!
How many people actually stop to watch the fishing shows that come on early Saturday and Sunday mornings? If you did, you might have seen a few of the featured anglers we have this week. Even though a LOT of black folks fish, not many do so professionally. So this week, meet the ANGLERS.
Ishama “Ish” Monroe
As a child in Ann Arbor, Michigan fishing with his family, Ishama “Ish” Monroe, who now resides in Hughson, California, never imagined he would become a pro fisher. For more than a decade now, Monroe, the first African American to ever win a Bassmaster Elite Series event, has been on the circuit troubling the waters. A Bassmaster Elite Angler, Monroe, 35, who lists hip-hop as his favorite music, has even hosted his own show, Yo Ish, for ESPN for the past two years. So far, in his career, Monroe, who has several sponsors including Cocoons Eyewear and Yamaha, has made nearly a million dollars competing.
Ish Monroe fished his first bass tournament when he was 14 years old, and he still remembers finishing 11th. Today, 23 years later, the Yamaha Pro is still competing fulltime; in fact, he’s fishing more multi-day national events than any other pro in professional bass fishing.
“I just love to fish,” laughs Monroe, who’s become known as “Tournament Tough” around pro fishing circles. This year he plans to compete in as many as 25 national tournaments on the Bassmaster® Elite, FLW,® and PAA circuits. He’s also entered in several Bassmaster® Opens, and might enter some others if his schedule has any openings. Counting both official practice as well as the tournaments themselves, he will spend 150 or more days in competition.
Check out Ish’s website here! cool stuff!
Ish Monroe interviews with Fishing For Hip Hop owner Malik “Aquaman Mozam” Wilder after Practice before the Bassmaster Classic. Find out who has the best “Lines and Hooks” according to Ish Monroe.