You’ll find more than just fishing celebrities in this list. One can make a significant impact
on the lives of many without ever being well known. It is important to honor all of
those who had a great influence on the great sport of fishing, whether famous or not.
Corporate advances tend to be much more visible to us. For it’s their products that
shape the evolution of the sport of fishing.

Steve Pennaz specializes in developing and building enthusiast media brands. His credits include the successful launch of more than a dozen national outdoor television series, and award-winning national magazine and several digital properties.

Pennaz started his career with North American Media group after graduating from University of Minnesota School of Journalism in 1986. He served as Executive Director of the North American Fishing Club, which eventually grew to more than 550,000 members. He also oversaw the development and launch of the NAFC’s award-winning North American Fisherman magazine, and served as the publication’s editor for more than 15 years. Pennaz would go on to also oversee the organization’s television and video division, which produced 39 original half hours of national programming and dozens of videos annually, including the organization’s flagship television programs: North American outdoors on ESPN and ESPN2, North American Fisherman and North American Hunter on ESPN2 and NBC Sports, and several series on Outdoor Channel, Fox Sports Net and Comcast.

Pennaz left NAMG in 2011 to launch Pennaz Multimedia. His company currently produces Lake Commandos, Man vs Lake vs Man, vignette series Garmin Stone Cold Fishing and Coastal Chaos, as well as hundreds of product videos for leading outdoor organizations. The quantity of his video productions has earned Pennaz numerous awards for programming excellence including Outdoor Channel’s prestigious Golden Moose Award, Sportsman’s Channel’s Fan Favorite Fishing Show, and the Professional Outdoor Media Association’s Pinnacle Award.

Pennaz freelance writing career includes credits in leading outdoor publications such as Outdoor Life, Bassmaster and InFisherman. Pennaz lives in Independence, Minnesota with his wife Karen, daughter Maddie and son Pierce.