Professional  Bass Angler

By Michael Di NataleI:

Gene "The Fishing Machine" Ellison is a man on a mission. The professional bass angler wants to spread his sport to a new generation of children, giving them the chance to discover the joys of fishing that he himself was unaware of until after he'd hit middle age.

A Lynnfield resident for the past 17 years, the angler intends to put a million fishing rods into the hands children. It's a lofty goal, but so far Ellison estimates he has reached 60,000 children with the help of his sponsors. Not bad for a man who's been a pro angler for only three years and fishing for eight.

"Getting kids into fishing is a huge goal for me. I grew up in Somerville and there was not a lot of access to water. To make a long story short, I've often thought to myself, 'I wish I'd gotten into fishing many years ago.' One of the ways I deal with having wanted to fish when I was younger is to make sure I'm very active in getting as many young kids into bass fishing as I possibly can," says Ellison.

"One of the goals that I've set for myself is to be the guy who puts the first rod and reel into the hands of a million kids."

The idea came to Ellison almost five years ago and word has only spread in that time. Ellison gets email from fishing clubs across the country requesting help. When he's able, he speaks to his sponsors who usually come through with equipment.

"I'll get one or two emails a day. I don't want to present myself as the Pied Piper, it's just as time goes on a lot of anglers around the country get asked, 'Hey, can you help us?' and they say 'You know there is an angler I know very well. Here's his email address.'"

In addition to charitable work getting equipment to kids who need it, Ellison has worked with the Massachusetts Wildlife and Fisheries Department on the organization's family fishing festivals which are held regularly from early spring to late fall.

At these events, the Mass WFD will set up shop and allow families that don't own rods or reels to receive instruction from certified anglers and have a hands-on chance to try fishing.

When his tournament schedule doesn't conflict, Ellison enjoys attending these events as an instructor, introducing others to his passion for the first time. So far this year he has attended seven such events.

The work is reminiscent of Ellison's prior experiences coaching children in hockey, soccer and baseball.

"The nicest part about bass fishing is to take good friends along. Family, a buddy, you're spending quality time outdoors enjoying the relationships," says Ellison. "Having coached [youth sports] for 27 years, I have been looking for ways for kids to get outdoors more and kids and parents to spend more quality time together, that's what I'm striving for."

With his desire to help children guiding him forward, Ellison intends to bring his own brand of the fishing gospel to kids in a new, exciting way this fall.

While top bass fishermen don't have the same profile as professional athletes in our major sports, more people will start to recognize this man from Spearfields Lane later this fall when he joins the cast of Camo Country, a fishing and hunting show broadcast on the Comcast Sports Network.

Ellison will co-host the program with Tim LaJoie by overseeing a fishing component of the program which is new to its upcoming eighth season. The program is lesson-oriented and aimed at kids.

The pair hooked up after Ellison was contacted by LaJoie through his website thefishingmachine.net. Ursus Media Group produces this show and wanted to add a fishing component to this 7 year old program. After they heard about Ellison through word of mouth, the two parties met and quickly found their ideas were in sync.

"I'm not enamored with the TV stuff. The motivation behind this effort is to get kids into the outdoors. If that doesn't happen I won't be doing this very long." said Ellison.

The show will be broken down into a hunting segment and a fishing segment, followed by a demonstration in the field with a child. Episodes will be filmed on location in various New England areas. Ellison says that 12 of the 26 episodes have been shot so far.

The program will also be broadcast on several network affiliates in New England.

Ellison's move into competitive bass fishing was a striking one given the humble ambitions that began his hobby, but it could not have been unexpected given his competitive nature.

"My wife had suggested that I do something non-competitive - that should be in quotes- 'non-competitive' with my son Phillip," explains Ellison. "She mentioned that Phillip enjoyed fishing and that perhaps I should consider doing that with him."

Ellison wasted no time wading into the hobby. He and his son attended a tradeshow in Worcester. There the Ellison's met Shaw Grigsby who was the event's featured professional bass fisherman.

"Shaw is a fantastic ambassador for fishing ! On that day he was making a presentation by casting into a huge tank and showing anglers how to fish. He needed a volunteer from the audience and Phillip
raised his hand. So Phillip got a chance to fish with Shaw and I got the chance to meet Shaw. Today we have remained good friends," explains Ellison. "Before we left that evening we bought, with Shaw’s help, rods, reels and a bass boat."

The boat, according to Ellison, was just a little tin boat, a 17 foot Tracker equipped with a 40 horsepower Mercury engine, and perfect for the situation. Neither he nor his son knew much
about boating and with an aluminum hull boat the pair didn't have to be afraid of running it into the ground.

But, when Ellison and his son began fishing he soon realized there was a lot more to the sport than he had originally considered. In March of 2000 Ellison attended a two-day presentation on bass fishing. The event featured some of the top anglers in the world who lectured and Ellison became a diligent student.

Following the course Ellison could be found most weekends out on the water trying out new techniques, working hard to become a better angler.

"Phillip and I started going out on Saturdays and Sundays and the poor kid, I made him stay in the boat for eight or 10 or 12 hours because I wanted to learn this sport," says Ellison.

His own over-enthusiasm may have cost his son his original passion for the sport. Looking at it now, Ellison realizes that he burned out his young son, who was 11 at the time, by bringing him out on the boat for such long periods of time. When he meets families now he advises that parents only taken their kids out for an hour or two at a time.

Ellison moved into tournament fishing not long after joining his first bass fishing club. He had joined a local club in Woburn on the recommendation of one of the pros who spoke at the previously attended two-day workshop. Within the club Ellison was able to develop friendships, share information and find people who would drive his competitive nature.

In tournament fishing you're on the clock. Most derbies begin between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., putting most anglers in the water before 5:30 a.m. From that point on you not only have to find fish, but the biggest fish. Ellison likens the sport to detective work, searching for clues as to where the fish are positioned and how best to lure them out.

In a tournament, you're allowed to keep five fish in live wells in the boats. These live wells are sort of like an aquarium. The fish are kept healthy during the day and released after the tournament.

"It's very, very competitive and to me, a fascinating sport," said Ellison.

Only a few short weeks after joining the club Ellison was enrolled in his first fishing tournament at Long Pond in Lakeville, MA in April of 2000.

"As I look back I did better than I gave myself credit for at the time," said Ellison who finished 15th out of 23 in his first event.

He caught five fish that weighed in at 8.5 lbs. For Ellison though, it's not so much that he didn't finish last as it is he didn't zero.

"I'm not embarrassed to tell you at all that there have been a lot of tournament days where I came in with no fish," says Ellison. "Zeroing, from an ego stand point, can be real tough. This is the most humbling activity I've ever been involved with in my life."

The move to professional fishing came five years later after entering his first pro tournament in 2005 at Lake Guntersville in Alabama.

"I caught fish every day. I finished in the bottom half of the tournament and the last day of the tournament I caught an 8 pound, 13 ounce fish while partnered with Alton Jones of Waco, Texas this year’s World Champion. It was the biggest of the day," says Ellison. "That was a thrill to fish with a great man like Alton Jones, and to catch a lunker of that size, wow."

Gene entered that event without any sponsors. However, he started calling potential sponsors and building relationships with them prior to the event. A fine salesman, Ellison was able to set up some meetings and left the event a sponsored pro-level bass fisherman.

The top purse at a pro event is usually around $100,000 though top, world championship events can present the winner with sums of $ 500,000 or $ 1 million.

Still, fishing in not Ellison's primary means of income. He has held down a lucrative day job running a successful investment firm for the past 25 years. Today Gene is affiliated with Commonwealth Financial Network and is one of their top producers.

As a pro, Ellison attends four to five pro-events a year, heading as far west as Texas and as far south as Florida for tournaments. He also participates in more than 20 additional smaller events in the northeast. A pro event usually runs for seven days; three days of practice and four of competitive fishing. The New England events usually run for one or two days over a weekend.

One day Ellison hopes to qualify for one of bass fishing's top events. Until then he'll continue to compete and improve while sharing his passion with anyone who will listen with open ears.

I had the honor to fish with Brent Calender of the USMC yesterday in the wounded warriors benefit tournament in Decatur Alabama. I want to take a minute to tell you a story that is fitting for this day. It is the story of Brent and the day he was injured in combat in Iraq. Brent and two other members of his unit were responding to a call of enemy fire in a suspected enemy area. Brent was manning the gun on top of the hummer that his unit was in. A Sniper shot Brent and the bullet pierced his bullet proof vest and hit a lung and his spine. As he laid over the gun unable to move the vehicle they were in ran over a bomb in the road, the explosion killed the other two members of the crew and threw him 15 feet from the vehicle. As he laid there unable to move his legs he was shot two more times. The enemy thought he was dead, and was the only reason they quit shooting. He said as he was struggling to remain alive when he went into cardiac arrest and blacked out. He awoke in a hospital to be told he would never walk again. Four months later he regained strength in his legs and can now walk with a cane.

For 5 hours yesterday I heard the most unbelievable stories of courage and honor from one of this countries TRUE heroes. By the end of the day as I was telling Brent how much appreciation I had for all he had done for our country he said, "Tim, I was simply doing my job"

As I went to bed last night and thought about his statement " I was just doing my job", I thought about our freedoms to enjoy the outdoors and all we do in this country. Brent and I finished 2nd in the tournament. He could not quit talking about how great it was to be fishing, what a beautiful day it was, and how much he appreciated the opportunity. I even caught a double which he thought was the coolest thing.

Brent and all the other Veterans of this great country are the reason we have these opportunities, isn't it ironic that he was thanking me for the opportunity that all of the past and present men and women of our armed forces have given us.

Boston based Tournament Pro Gene Ellison is excited about the 2010 season. While most anglers in New England put their boats into storage right after labor day, Ellison can be found fishing the cold waters of New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont right up until the first big snow storms in December. "I would still be fishing right now if the boat ramps had been plowed out !" laughed Ellison. "I am more excited about fishing right now than at any time in my career. Honestly, the Fall and early winter produce some of the best fishing of the year here in New England. This year, my pro level finishes were significantly higher in the standings and I am fishing longer into the season in hopes of improving my finishes this coming year."

This is no small feat for a Boston native who never fished as a child and found himself a top New England amateur golfer as late as 2000. In the sport of fishing, if a child isn't introduced to fishing by the age of 12, it is unlikely they will ever get involved with America's Greatest Pastime. Ellison, know as "The Fishing Machine" began fishing just 10 years ago, in an attempt to spend some quality, non-competitive time with his son Phillip. At first, it was his son Phillip that caught all of the fish ! "Yes that is true" chuckled Ellison, "while we embarked into fishing for relaxation, I couldn't help turn it into a competition and for the first year, Phillip caught many more fish than I. He doesn't fish much right now, but he is a great angler."

Ellison is an individual who becomes a student of the things he loves, and he discovered quickly that learning how to catch fish consistently might be one of the most challenging tasks he would encounter in his life. "It is sometimes hard to explain to those who don't fish, just how difficult it can be to catch fish consistently and win tournaments. Hundreds of people have asked me, "Isn't there a lot of luck involved in fishing ? It would seem that you would simply cast a worm on a hook and then wait for a fish to swim by and eat it ? Well, catching fish consistently is much more than that," says Ellison, "and while a little luck does come into play, there is no mistaking that hard work and long hours of time spent on the water leads to success."

Over the past 5 years, Ellison has climbed from obscurity to become a well respected professional angler. He created and runs, "The Bass Academy" fishing seminar series. This year, world class anglers like Kevin VanDam, Denny Brauer, Timmy Horton and Danny Correia will be appearing alongside Ellison at events in Worcester, MA, Suffern, NY and Philadelphia, PA. Ellison will once again be competing on the Professional Anglers Association Trail in a Nitro Z-9, 21 foot bass boat. This top level pro tournament series will be sponsored by two of Ellison's major sponsors, Bass Pro Shops and Tracker Boats. In a time where the economy has slowed, and most amateur anglers do not have the amount of disposal income they have had in the past, many fishing industry companies have struggled. However, due to outstanding business management and very successful cost cutting efforts, these two companies have prospered. Ellison points out that this did not happen by accident. "I am very excited about being a part of the National Bass Pro Shops and Tracker fishing teams. Johnny Morris, the founder of these two great companies, has always maintained the philosophy that our customers needs come first. As a result, our awesome 2010 Nitro Z series bass boats will be priced considerably less than in the past, without removing a single feature, and at the same time upgrading the quality of each boat we have built ! You would have to go back to 1999 to find a comparably equipped Tracker boat, priced at a level lower than these ! Being able to purchase a higher quality boat, at a lower price, means that Nitro boats are a better values for all families and anglers. The result will be that more families will get back into fishing this year and they will be spending more time together in a healthy outdoor environment. Wow !"

Gene Ellison is big on getting kids and families into fishing and excited that he will once again be very involved in kids fishing events this year. The Fishing Machine is already scheduled to appear at over a dozen events which will introduce fishing to kids. Many of these events are open to the public and are free. You can learn more about these events and all of Gene's appearances by visiting his website and clicking on his schedule. The website address is www.thefishingmachine.net. When not traveling to pro tournaments, Gene can be found fishing most weekends at many of New England's great lakes. If you see his screaming yellow Toyota Tundra and matching Pro Tour Trailer on the highway, be sure to honk your horn and wave. Gene is a very friendly and approachable guy. If you see him on the water or parked at a boat ramp, stop and say hello. He would welcome any family or child who would like to stop and talk fishing or just say hello.