Hobby becomes passion
It started as a hobby, something to do with friends after work, but fishing has grown into so much more than that for Russ Bailey.
“I’ve always liked fishing but me and my buddies used to go Lake Erie walleye fishing all the time,” he said. “When I moved to St. Marys, I was working as a police officer there and I remember one night a couple of guys said, ‘hey, we’re going crappie fishing after work, do you want to go?’ Of course I went but I was thinking about how I’m used to catching big walleye and those sorts of fish.”
Despite his initial skepticism and reservations, Bailey said he had “the time of his life.”
He was hooked on crappie and soon started fishing in tournaments, competing for national championships. Around this time, the angler was approached by companies wanting to sponsor him and encouraged him to start a crappie fishing TV show.
He recalled a sponsor talking with him about the many shows available for bass fishermen or deep-sea fishing but there were no crappie shows.
“So I was like, ‘yeah, absolutely,’ and I didn’t have a clue what I was getting into,” he laughed.
Bailey’s first show was titled Midwest Crappie and it ran for about eight years before the rigors of not only creating the content but also marketing and promoting it got to be too much for him. The cost of purchasing airtime on networks also became too steep for him to manage by himself.
Thinking he was out of the television game, Bailey was approached by one of his oldest sponsors, B&M Rods, about making instructional DVDs.
The three-DVD set was a hit. “At one time, they were the No. 1 seller in Bass Pro Shops,” he said.
Soon after, Bailey fielded another phone call that he wasn’t expecting.
“One day, out of the blue, I got a call from a guy — LJ Jellison — who said he was a representative of NKTelco and he said they were wanting to branch out and do some of their own shows,” he recalled. “He said they wanted to know if I’d be interested in hosting a fishing show. That meeting went really well and they said all I have to do is host the show, I don’t have to do any of the other stuff that I didn’t feel like I could do with the old show.”
After one more meeting with CEO Preston Meyer, BrushPile Fishing was born.
While Bailey is thrilled he gets to share his experience and love of fishing with the show’s viewers, he noted the premise of the show was a bit of a gamble for NKTelco to take on. He said the crew — himself and cameraman Joe Weaver — can drive 800 miles to record a show and despite their guest/guide having success all week, the day they record the episode, it’s possible the fish may not be there.
“We’re prepared for that,” Bailey said. “We try to make our show instructional because with crappie fishing, there are hundreds of different patterns, techniques and different ways to do it and through my years of tournament fishing I’ve made friends with some of the best tournament pros and guides across the country. So instead of seeing me do the same thing every time, I’ll have a different guest every week, we’ll be on a different lake at a different time of year. The way that I approach a show is for that half hour show, I’m just there to narrate; whoever my guest is, that’s their show. I want them to be able to tell their story on why they’re fishing the lake they are and why they’re doing it the way they are.”
Eight years and 100 episodes after starting BrushPile Fishing, things are continuing to go well for Bailey and he continues to do his part to share other people’s stories. But there are bonus perks he gets from some of his show’s guests.
A huge fan of Major League Baseball, Bailey has spent a day on the water with one of his heroes — none other than retired Cleveland Indians pitcher Lenny Barker.
“We had an absolute blast,” said Bailey, still grinning ear to ear.
He has also gotten to share a crappie boat with the Duck Commander himself, John Godwin. Despite being a TV personality himself, Bailey said he was nervous to meet Godwin.
After taping one episode in Louisiana, Bailey and Weaver were on their way to try and get a second show recorded on that same day — the episode with Godwin.
Having only had conversations through text and email, meeting in person was a different story.
“I was nervous as all get out and we hit the water and we started catching fish and within 10 minutes of taping with him, it’s like I knew him my whole life,” he said. “What you see on TV is what you get with him.
“The fishing friends that I have across the country have really made the show special because, like I tell people, the best part of doing it all is the friendships I’ve made with the guys I fish with so it’s been awesome.”
With 100 episodes under his belt, Bailey has made plenty of friendships, even with people he has yet to fish with. He said it’s not uncommon to be at a rest stop or gas station, traveling to shoot an episode or on his way home, to be stopped by people who recognize him or who see the BrushPile Fishing truck and want his autograph or to take a picture with him.
“I never turn anyone down because the fans are what keeps the show going,” he said. “Anytime I get a message on Facebook or a comment or someone texts me, I don’t take any of them for granted — I respond to every single one of them because I know it could all end tomorrow but I have no regrets.”
Excited about the future, Bailey noted that recording for the eighth season is underway and he alluded to some “cool things” coming down the pipe but no spoilers were given.
“I wish I could tell you some of the things we’ve got in store but I can’t yet but it’s looking good,” he grinned. “We’re going to increase the number of shows — I can tell you that part of it — but it’s just going to be really cool and I am looking forward to the future.
“It’s still wild to me that we’ve lasted this long and the guests have made the show, the fans have made it possible and the sponsors that we have are more than just sponsors, I’m friends with all those guys too. Like I said, if it ends tomorrow, it’s been a heck of a ride — it’s been an incredible team effort and I don’t regret any of it.”
BrushPile Fishing can be found online at BrushPileFishing.com, on YouTube at BrushPile Fishing and on podcasts on iHeart Radio.