By Steve Weisman

Jim McDonnell, local fishing guide and outdoor expert, is one of 10 individuals being inducted into the 2020 Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame. Plans for the induction ceremony will be released later. Known as the Fishing Professor or Mac to his friends, McDonnell spent 35 years as an educator and coach and operated his fishing guide business on the Iowa Great Lakes for over 40 years. Unfortunately, he passed away unexpectedly in 2012 at the age of 74.

McDonnell was nominated by his youngest daughter Kelly Jo, an award-winning writer, producer and strategist reflected on her father’s memory. “He was a legendary teacher and coach. To me, he was a father and sounding board. Many will remember, my Father was a walking quote machine – instilling wisdom and positive reinforcement as needed. Usually followed up with his fabulous laugh! (I so miss it) But above all else, he was an outdoorsman. It was his passion from day one, not only fishing and guiding, his goal was to educate and introduce kids to the outdoors. As a teacher, he knew that was key. He headed up conservation efforts, organized kids fishing clinics, founded the Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club…all while teaching and coaching kids full-time.”

Then on a trip to the Fresh Water Hall of Fame a few years ago, Kelly Jo noticed all of her dad’s friends and colleagues up on the wall. “He needed to be up there, too. It was time to make that happen.”

McDonnell carried his hands-on classroom instruction to his boat and often said that teaching was the key to the sport of fishing, especially when it came to introducing kids to fishing and the outdoors in general. McDonnell truly believed a day in the outdoors was something special and worked to get others to have that same feeling.

As McDonnell’s name spread, the “Fishing Professor” became a much sought after clinician and headlined countless fishing seminars over the years. At the 1988 River City Anglers seminar in Sioux City, McDonnell spoke to nearly 1,200 people in attendance. In addition, McDonnell shared his fishing and hunting experiences with his own weekly radio program on KUOO radio in Spirit Lake, along with fishing columns in local, regional and national outdoor publications.

McDonnell was also a conservation leader in the state, founding the Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club in 1967, serving as its president until his death. At one time it was the largest fishing club in the United States, with more than 300 members. McDonnell produced the club’s newsletter as well as all the events, including kids fishing clinics, community outreach programs and fishing tournaments. The club still operates to this day and continues to build on the legacy of its founder and is very active in youth education and cleaning up the waters of the Iowa Great Lakes.

Terry Thomsen, the current President of the Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club, reflects on the impact McDonnell had on others and himself personally. “I will always remember the way Jim treated young people who he hoped would have an interest in the outdoors. He was especially patient and helpful to my kids – they enjoyed being around him. His passion for the outdoors was amazing and he was able to pass some of that passion along to my kids, and I will be forever grateful.”

Reflecting back on McDonnell’s untimely passing, Thomsen says, “A day after Jim’s passing, we received the club’s newsletter. In his president’s column, he spoke about how we should take nothing for granted – that we should reconnect with old friends and people important to us… how one never knows how much time we have left here on earth. It was a surreal article that left me wondering if he had some insight on where his earthly life was headed. Even after eight years, when my phone rings, I still long for that deep voice saying, ‘Mr. Thomsen, I think we should go fishing today.’ Not many people have touched my life like Jim did. It is wonderful to see his acceptance into the 2020 Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame.”

McDonnell, who believed in protecting our fisheries, was also instrumental in getting the current 25-panfish limit imposed on the Iowa Great Lakes. He firmly believed that the panfish limit was needed to protect our panfish populations.

Recommendations for “The Fishing Professor”

Three prominent leaders in the fishing and outdoor world stepped up to make their recommendations for “The Fishing Professor’s” induction into the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame.

Bob Jensen, host of the award-winning fishing show, “Fishing the Midwest” and a highly acclaimed outdoor communicator, was himself inducted into the Hall in 2017. He is in total agreement that “The Fishing Professor” belongs in the Hall. “I first met Jim McDonnell at a Lindy-Little Joe Team meeting in the Twin Cities sometime in the 1980s. I had heard of Mac, read his writings and knew of his reputation as a guide and outstanding angler in the Iowa Great Lakes Region. I remember the moment vividly…I said, ‘Hi Jim, I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s good to finally meet you’. That was the first and last time I ever referred to him as Jim. After that he was simply ‘Mac’. Mac made me feel comfortable immediately.” According to Jensen, Mac was a true professional outdoor educator and definitely deserves to take his place in the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame. “His tales of past outdoor experiences and his unique and contagious laugh continue to be wonderful memories. If you’ve ever spent much time with Mac, you can hear his laugh right now. My life, and many people’s lives, are better because we knew Mac. He was our friend.”

Ron Schara, a 2000 Hall inductee, is an outdoor communicator and radio/television host, who had “The Fishing Professor” on his shows many times. “When I think of Jim, I think of one word – passion. He had a passion for coaching and teaching. He had a passion for fishing and to improve the fishing in his home state of Iowa. And he had a passion for fishing gadgets. I will never forget being in his boat. You could hardly find a place to stand, there was fishing -something all over. Yet, he seemed to manage all of that. He loved fishing. That’s an important thing. And he just didn’t fish, he got involved in fish conservation, fish management, started the fishing club…so he did much more than just watch his bobber go down.”

Gary Roach, known throughout the fishing world as Mr. Walleye and enshrined to the Hall in 1988, remembers “The Fishing Professor” as being innovative from the very beginning, doing everything “before us and after us, too! Mac was a good friend, a good fisherman and a good guide. When Lindy Little Joe first started, we were fishing together on Spirit Lake and Okoboji. I just think he was a neat person, and he’s a guy we’ll remember for a long time.”

On a personal note

I’m proud to count “The Professor” as a colleague and friend. Being inducted into the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame is long overdue. I am proud to say we were both educators and coaches. His coaching accolades earned him a place in the Girls’ Iowa High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in March of 2012. As an outdoorsman, I admired Mac for the professional way in which he ran his guide service. It did not matter if the client was six years old, a seasoned veteran or a couple of gals, it was always an enjoyable experience for them. He was a great educator, not only in the classroom and in athletics but also in the great outdoors. To Mac, there was always a teachable moment at hand!

I was honored when both Mac and Bob Jensen accepted my invitation to publish columns in our northwest Iowa newspapers. Their expertise gave our readers great outdoor information.

Welcome into the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame, my friend. Your picture will now be on the wall along with all of the other fishing and outdoor legends. It is well deserved and long overdue!