Monroe Strives to Achieve; Qualifies for '07 Classic

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay area, CITGO Bassmaster Elite Series angler Ish Monroe’s only exposure to bass fishing was during the summers he spent in Michigan with his father.

Then, when he was 10 years old, a tournament-fishing show planted the seed of competitive bass fishing in him and Monroe never allowed anything to interrupt his new-made plans to become a pro. As a teen, he talked with sponsors and learned what they sought in a bass pro. He then went to summer school each year so he could graduate early from high school and attend Contra Costa College in San Pablo, Calif., where he majored in marketing.

All along the way, Monroe ignored the naysayers.

“Growing up, my friends were into everything else,” he recalled. “There were drugs, there was violence. They were into cars. While my friends were going out on dates, I was fishing.” Monroe actually skipped his high school prom to fish.

“Pretty much everybody laughed at me. All through my life, I've heard, ‘You can’t go fishing for a living.’ I always thought, ‘Why not? These other guys are doing it. Why can't I?’ They said, ‘You're young, you're African-American, and you're here in the Bay area.’”

That the 32-year-old pro – who this year became the first African-American to win a top-level BASS tournament – has fashioned a career in this sport is remarkable. Included are three previous appearances in the CITGO Bassmaster Classic and his just-decided qualification into the 2007 edition.

“Making the Classic, to me it meant everything. It was a lifelong dream. I think from an all-around standpoint, it brings a different demographic to the whole sport of bass fishing. So I think it will make kids in any ethnic group think, ‘I can do this, too.’ ”
 

From BASS