Local man debuts fishing show

First Posted: 4/3/2015

NEW KNOXVILLE — Russ Bailey spent most of his life as a police officer in St. Marys.

He retired several years ago, and that gave him more time to spend on his passion for fishing. That passion has now produced a new outdoor sports series called “BrushPile Fishing,” which will be produced be NKTelco in New Knoxville.

The show airs for the first time at 11 a.m. today on Fox Sports Ohio. The show will also air on WOHL ABC Lima at 7 a.m. Sunday. The show will have two weekly replays each week and will also be available on the online streaming channel NKT.tv.

Bailey first tried a fishing show with “Midwest Crappie,” a show that was ultimately successful. However, Bailey produced the show himself and found time hard to come by.

“The thing that is best about it is the finished product,” Bailey said. “NKTelco has done so much better with it. The graphics and the video of the program are so much better.”

NKTelco, known for its coverage of local high school sports, decided to expand its coverage. Last summer, the NKTelco general manager approached Bailey about the fishing show. Bailey agreed and now has an entire media crew along for the ride. NKTelco media relations director Renee Lauth said the show would tape 13 episodes per season.

“They will travel to different parts of the country, including Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi,” Lauth said. “We wanted to bring more content to NKT.tv, and we are optimistic about this program.”

Bailey said the show will expose viewers to crappie fishing from the Midwest to the Deep South. The show will also expose viewers to seasonal fishing of other species including smallmouth bass, perch, blue gill and salmon.

Bailey said it is his hope that the show will be both fun and educational.

“First of all, we want it to be entertaining,” Bailey said. “We also want to educate people on where the fish are and when to catch them. We want to teach them patterns and techniques and explain why that technique is being used.”

Bailey is the sole host of the show but will team up with professionals on each episode as he travels across the country.