La Crosse Wi — In a tournament that saw four leaders on four different days, Ish Monroe’s story of victory was as improbable as one could get.
On the first day of fishing on the Mississippi River, Ish got stuck on a sandbar and couldn’t move.
“That was as stuck as I’ve ever been in a bass boat,” he said, “And it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.”
After freeing his boat, Ish noticed some grass and duckweed and went to work. “I ended up catching a solid limit of bass before I ever got to my original destination,” he said. The frustrating start ended up revealing a winning strategy.
Every single fish Monroe toted to the scales came on his signature Phat Mat Daddy Frog(aff) from River2Sea. With big bass deep in the slop, he was dredging with his signature series Daiwa Tatula frog rod(aff) with a Zillion SV baitcaster(aff) and 65 pound braid. That’s a heavy set up for heavy fish coming out of heavier cover.
It paid off with a 65 pound, 7 ounce four-day total, $100,000 spending money, and the all important ticket to the Bassmaster Classic.