how do i become i pro angler
Posted on March 1st, 2009Hi Nick…
Thanks for your question.& ;Yes,, I have answered this one many,, many times.& ;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&’;m not sure which one you are asking me about,, but I will try and convey how I got to become a &“;professional fisherman&”;.
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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.
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After that prayer I continued to work for the MNR and shortly afterwords 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!
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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
