Posted on March 14th, 2016
Hi Noah,
Thank you for you email. There are many different ways to achieve a goal, and I’m sure if you asked different “fishing-pros”, most of them would have unique circumstances that lead up to their fishing carrier. To me, the term “professional fisherman” means that a person can make a living, entirely, or in part by sportfishing in some way. A professional fisherman can make a living by getting “endorsement-money” from sponsors and earning money fishing in tournaments, some professional fishermen become TV fishing show hosts, other professional fishermen operate a full-time or part-time fishing charter/guiding service. I will try and convey how I got to become a “professional fisherman”.
Here’s what I suggest. If you love to fish…I mean you have a real passion for it, you should follow a career at least in the outdoors, if not specifically in the “fishing-field”. I have a strong faith in God and I believe that if we know Him, God will give us the desire of our heart. In my case I went to Fleming College in Lindsay, ON (Canada’s School of Natural Resources). In my 20’s I had a passion for fishing, but I was not sure what I should do with that passion, so I studied all kinds of outdoor disciplines and graduated as a Fish & Wildlife Technician. During my schooling I learned everything about fish and wildlife. I learned important fish & wildlife management skills, and after graduating I worked for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. At that point in my life I had a talk with God and told Him that even though I love to fish, I am surrendering everything t Him, my life, my passion for fishing, everything, and that He could do with my life as he pleased.
After that prayer I continued to work for the MNR and shortly afterwards opened a small fishing tackle shop called The Angler in Oshawa, ON. At the same time I learned to do taxidermy and started a business called Professional Taxidermy. The whole time I fished as much as I could and started getting some recognition from fishing tackle companies who I would write to and tell them what I thought about their products. At the same time I also started entering fishing derbies and fishing contests, and eventually fishing tournaments (back in the 70’s there were few fishing tournaments). I also started writing fishing articles and some of the fishing tackle companies who got to know me asked me to promote their products and become part of their “pro-staff”. Eventually I started doing fishing seminars at sports clubs and “in-store” fishing clinics in tackle shops. By the mid-70’s I started getting asked to help people get video fishing footage. By the early 80’s I was a regular “fishing-tournament” trail competitor in Ontario, and I did very well winning some tournaments and placing in the top-10 of most of them. All this time I earned some money from fishing, but most of my income came from either the tackle store or from the taxidermy work. By 1986 I was encouraged to produce a pilot for the Canadian Sportfishing show. The pilot was accepted by TSN, and the rest as they say is history. I have to be honest with you and tell you I never had a specific goal as to what I wanted to achieve. All I knew growing up was that I loved to fish and I was hoping to do something that had to do with fish and the outdoors. I realized many years ago that God, in fact gave me the desires of my heart because I surrendered everything to Him!
In closing, fish as much as you can without compromising your other family/personal obligations. Get involved in promoting fishing and fishing conservation in your area. Help other people get involved in fishing. This can be as simple as being active in a fishing club, or as big as starting to write articles, coming up with “conservation-projects” in nearby waters (stream/shoreline clean-up, etc.), and contacting fishing tackle manufacturers and letting them know what you think about their products, just as I did. At the same time, you may want to try fishing some competitive fishing events. These can range from local fishing derbies to bigger one and two day fishing tournaments. As you become more active in the sportfishing field, people will take notice. At the same time, you may want to consider getting a degree in an “outdoor-related’ field. I believe having a college or university degree is important to reaching your goal, even though you may not be sure of what it is right now. Once you build credibility in the sportfishing field, you can approach fishing tackle companies to see if they would like you to represent their products and become part of their “pro-staff”. When you get enough knowledge of the fishing areas in your area, and you have some money to get started, you may even want to consider becoming a fishing guide. By the way, guiding at a fishing lodge is a great way to know if you have a real passion for fishing, and it’s a great way to earn money over the summer months. Most guides work long hours on the water and spend time each day to prepare and clean up after their guiding outings. Remember, anything is possible…God bless you, Italo
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Posted on July 27th, 2015
Getting fishing related sponsors is getting tougher and tougher. To increase your chances of getting sponsors you have to be able to show them how you will give them exposure to the products they may sponsor you with. Writing for local newspapers & doing fishing magazine articles where their product is exposed/promoted is good. Working with local sports clubs to promote fishing, doing seminars, getting involved with programs that promote fishing with kids, and doing well in fishing competitions that get publicity for the top finishers all work well to help get sponsorships….God bless you, Italo
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Posted on October 16th, 2013
Hi Kimberly…Glad to hear you have such a passion for fishing and the outdoors. I am also a graduate from SSFC, Frost Campus Fish & Wildlife Technician. There are many opportunities to work in the outdoor that may or may not be involved with fishing. We have had co-op students work at Canadian Sportfishing, but it has been in the video production field. Your best bet is either to try and get a relationship with a major fishing lodge, like in British Columbia, the NWT (Plummer’s Lodges), or some of the larger lodges in Ontario/Manitoba, and working in some capacity that could include guiding, doing consumer shows through the winter months for them, or even working in their administration. Exotic locations like Belize, Costa Rica, etc. sound great, but I don’t know how easy it is to get, or if you even require work-visas if you are a non-resident. Hope you can make a carrier from your passion…God bless you, Ialo
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Posted on March 18th, 2013
Hi Nathan….
Thank you for you email. With my unpredictable schedule I cannot commit to meet with you, communicating throught our site is best. There are many different ways to achieve a goal, and I’m sure if you asked different “fishing-pros”, most of them would have unique circumstances that lead up to their fishing carrier. To me, the term “professional fisherman” means that a person can make a living, entirely, or in part by sportfishing in some way. A professional fisherman can make a living by getting “endorsement-money” from sponsors and earning money fishing in tournaments, some professional fishermen become TV fishing show hosts, other professional fishermen operate a full-time or part-time fishing charter/guiding service. I will try and convey how I got to become a “professional fisherman”.
Here’s what I suggest. If you love to fish…I mean you have a real passion for it, you should follow a career at least in the outdoors, if not specifically in the “fishing-field”. I have a strong faith in God and I believe that if we know Him, God will give us the desire of our heart. In my case I went to Fleming College in Lindsay, ON (Canada’s School of Natural Resources). In my 20’s I had a passion for fishing, but I was not sure what I should do with that passion, so I studied all kinds of outdoor disciplines and graduated as a Fish & Wildlife Technician. During my schooling I learned everything about fish and wildlife. I learned important fish & wildlife management skills, and after graduating I worked for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. At that point in my life I had a talk with God and told Him that even though I love to fish, I am surrendering everything t Him, my life, my passion for fishing, everything, and that He could do with my life as he pleased.
After that prayer I continued to work for the MNR and shortly afterwards opened a small fishing tackle shop called The Angler in Oshawa, ON. At the same time I learned to do taxidermy and started a business called Professional Taxidermy. The whole time I fished as much as I could and started getting some recognition from fishing tackle companies who I would write to and tell them what I thought about their products. At the same time I also started entering fishing derbies and fishing contests, and eventually fishing tournaments (back in the 70’s there were few fishing tournaments). I also started writing fishing articles and some of the fishing tackle companies who got to know me asked me to promote their products and become part of their “pro-staff”. Eventually I started doing fishing seminars at sports clubs and “in-store” fishing clinics in tackle shops. By the mid-70’s I started getting asked to help people get video fishing footage. By the early 80’s I was a regular “fishing-tournament” trail competitor in Ontario, and I did very well winning some tournaments and placing in the top-10 of most of them. All this time I earned some money from fishing, but most of my income came from either the tackle store or from the taxidermy work. By 1986 I was encouraged to produce a pilot for the Canadian Sportfishing show. The pilot was accepted by TSN, and the rest as they say is history. I have to be honest with you and tell you I never had a specific goal as to what I wanted to achieve. All I knew growing up was that I loved to fish and I was hoping to do something that had to do with fish and the outdoors. I realized many years ago that God, in fact gave me the desires of my heart because I surrendered everything to Him!
In closing, fish as much as you can without compromising your schooling and other family/personal obligations. Get involved in promoting fishing and fishing conservation in your area. Help other people get involved in fishing. This can be as simple as being active in a fishing club, or as big as starting to write articles, coming up with “conservation-projects” in nearby waters (stream/shoreline clean-up, etc.), and contacting fishing tackle manufacturers and letting them know what you think about their products, just as I did. At the same time, you may want to try fishing some competitive fishing events. These can range from local fishing derbies to bigger one and two day fishing tournaments. As you become more active in the sportfishing field, people will take notice. At the same time, you may want to consider getting a degree in an “outdoor-related’ field. I believe having a college or university degree is important to reaching your goal, even though you may not be sure of what it is right now. Once you build credibility in the sportfishing field, you can approach fishing tackle companies to see if they would like you to represent their products and become part of their “pro-staff”. When you get enough knowledge of the fishing areas in your area, and you have some money to get started, you may even want to consider becoming a fishing guide. By the way, guiding at a fishing lodge is a great way to know if you have a real passion for fishing, and it’s a great way to earn money over the summer months. Most guides work long hours on the water and spend time each day to prepare and clean up after their guiding outings. Remember, anything is possible…God bless you, Italo
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Posted on January 17th, 2013
Hi Ryan…There are so many different opportunities to work in the fishing area ranging from owning/operating a fishing service (could be a guiding/charter service, running a lodge, tackle store, etc.), to working in the fishing industry (fishing disctributers, fishing factory reps, etc.). In my case I had a real passion for fishing from the age of 12. After graduating from high school I became a Fish & Wildlife Technician graduating from Sir Sanford Fleming College, Frost Campus in Lindsay, ON. After graduating I worked fo the Ontario MInistry of Natural Resources for a few years, than opened a tackle & taxidermy business. Eventually the opportunity came up to start a fishing TV show back in the mid-80’s. At that time the only TV show that was on was the Red Fisher Show. Today there are so many fishing TV shows and anyone can really produce a show with all the hi-tech equipement available (iPhone, GoPro, etc.), but the competition is so large it’s tough to getting uand tougher to get sponsors, or networks that will air a TV show. I believe firmly that if you truly have a passion in an area, and you persue it, you can make your dreams come true….God bless you, Italo
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Posted on October 20th, 2012
Hi Nathan….I have answered this question many times. Please go to our search engine in Ask Italo View Questions & Answersand click on “becoming a pro-fisherman” and you will see all my responses…God bless you, Italo
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Posted on February 9th, 2012
Hi Dylan….Getting fishing related sponsors is getting tougher and tougher. To increase your chances of getting sponsors you have to be able to show them how you will give them exposure to the products they may sponsor you with. Writing for local newspapers & doing fishing magazine articles where their product is exposed/promoted is good. Working with local sports clubs to promote fishing, doing seminars, getting involved with programs that promote fishing with kids, and doing well in fishing competitions that get publicity for the top finishers all work well to help get sponsorships….God bless you, Italo
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Posted on August 17th, 2011
Hi Dylan…. In my case I went to Fleming College in Lindsay, ON (Canada’s School of Natural Resources). In my 20’s I had a passion for fishing, but I was not sure what I should do with that passion, so I studied all kinds of outdoor disciplines and graduated as a Fish & Wildlife Technician. During my schooling I learned everything about fish and wildlife. I learned important fish & wildlife management skills, and after graduating I worked for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. At that point in my life I had a talk with God and told Him that even though I love to fish, I am surrendering everything to Him, my life, my passion for fishing, everything, and that He could do with my life as he pleased.After that prayer I continued to work for the MNR and shortly afterwards opened a small fishing tackle shop called The Angler in Oshawa, ON. At the same time I learned to do taxidermy and started a business called Professional Taxidermy. The whole time I fished as much as I could and started getting some recognition from fishing tackle companies who I would write to and tell them what I thought about their products. At the same time I also started entering fishing derbies and fishing contests, and eventually fishing tournaments (back in the 70’s there were few fishing tournaments). I also started writing fishing articles and some of the fishing tackle companies who got to know me asked me to promote their products and become part of their “pro-staff”. Eventually I started doing fishing seminars at sports clubs and “in-store” fishing clinics in tackle shops. By the mid-70’s I started getting asked to help people get video fishing footage. By the early 80’s I was a regular “fishing-tournament” trail competitor in Ontario, and I did very well winning some tournaments and placing in the top-10 of most of them. All this time I earned some money from fishing, but most of my income came from either the tackle store or from the taxidermy work. By 1986 I was encouraged to produce a pilot for the Canadian Sportfishing show. The pilot was accepted by TSN, and the rest as they say is history. I have to be honest with you and tell you I never had a specific goal as to what I wanted to achieve. All I knew growing up was that I loved to fish and I was hoping to do something that had to do with fish and the outdoors. I realized many years ago that God, in fact gave me the desires of my heart because I surrendered everything to Hiim..…God bless you, Italo
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Posted on June 20th, 2010
Hi Cort…
Many anglers are looking to get “sponsored” by tackle companies, so it’s very competitive out there. People that are successful usually offer manufacturers many different opportunities where they will be able to promote their products. Manufacturers in the boating/fishing tackle field are always looking for individuals who participate in major events (fishing tournaments, sports clubs, community events, etc.), and who can also act as their spokesperson through print media (newspaper & magazine articles), act as their spokesperson thorough electronic media (possibly TV show exposure, radio exposure, internet, etc.), and provide support as “pro-staff”, at consumer shows. This does not mean that a person has to have their own TV show, it means that a person approaching a manufacturer should have a game-plan of how he is going to promote that companies product through the above venues. I guess what I’m saying is that they need to be creative. Fishing tournaments is really only one facet of how a person can promote a manufacturer. Hope this gives you some ideas. Have a great 2010…God bless you, Italo
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Posted on December 1st, 2009
Hi Dom….
As you probably know, timing is everything! In our case, back in 1986 there were few TV fishing shows on the air, and it was relatively easy to shoot a pilot for a fishing show and have a network want to broadcast it. Today, there are probably over 30 TV fishing shows in Canada when you consider the regional cable stations, the Network affiliates, like CTV, Global, CBC, and than there are the specialty channels, like OLN, TSN, etc., and the internet.
All I can do is pass on how we got the show on air. First, you have to make sure to are comfortable “on-camera”, and that you are happy with the way you look. Next, you need to shoot a pilot, or at least a “promo” for the show you have in mind. This could be a full ½ hr., or it could be about 5-10 minutes long. In either one, it should have all of the different features you are planning in the show; fishing action, tips, etc. At the same time that you do a promo-video, you write-up a “producer’s proposal” that includes; an overview of the series, background info. on the hosts, a sample script for one show, a location list for the series, and a list of the number of shows you are planning on doing (usually 13 or 26 episodes).
Once you have the above done you contact various TV stations/networks that you think may be interested in the show. If you find one or more that is interested, you ask them for a, “letter of intent”, that they want to air the show; when, and how many times per week.
In most cases the TV stations/networks will want you to get sponsors to pay for the commercial time on the show…now the real work begins…selling yourself!
Now you have to make a “sales proposal” that combines the information from the “producer’s proposal” with demographic information on the TV stations/networks, proposed viewership, etc. Next, you’ll need to specify advertising costs; :30 sec. commercials, opening/closing billboards, in-content features, etc. Now you are ready to approach potential sponsors. Once you have the sponsors in place you are ready to sign the deal with the TV stations/networks…God bless you, Italo
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