Bill McElroy

Bill McElroy, of Waterford, MI. is the creator and artist of the very popular "Scales and Tales" fishing cartoons that will now appear regularly on our "Wired2Fish" website. Bill is an avid weekend tournament angler who started fishing as a child when his grandparents would take him camping and fishing for a week every summer.

Growing up in Tecumseh, MI. near the Raisin River, fishing was always a source of entertainment and excitement for Bill and his neighborhood friends. Whether he was canoeing down the lazy river or sitting by the bank, he rarely ventured out without a fishing pole and a few lures. During college, he had aspirations of becoming a cartoonist, but opted for a steadier income and chose Business and Technical Illustration as a career path.

In his 25th year with General Motors, it has proven to be a wise choice, but the desire to play with designer markers and make people laugh never faded. Bill and his wife eventually moved to Oakland County which is loaded with lakes, where he joined a Bass Club, and began fishing competitively. He was hooked for life now, and the constant need for the latest and greatest equipment, baits, boats and tow vehicles was creating a fiscal shortfall.

Time for plan B: Bill needed a way to supplement his income and help pay for his fishing habit. Reading everything about fishing he could get his hands on, he noticed there was a shortage of funny, fishing related cartoons.....what was out there was the usual 2 guys in a boat type stuff and rarely did he see anything humorous from the fish's point of view! BINGO,..Here was his opportunity to scratch that cartooning itch, create something NEW from a fish's point of view,...and quite possibly supplement his income to pay for that highly addictive fishing habit. "Scales and Tales" was born, and the underwater world of Lucky, Rosie, Rocky, Topo, Clay and Lenny came to life in 1987. First appearing in regional State BASS Federation Newsletters, Scales and Tales was exactly what the tournament fishing community was yearning for. It was new, it was unique, it was different and it was funny. Bill would use his characters to make fun of the sport he loves and the experiences he gained and lessons learned from his tournament fishing only fueled the passion and fire. Thumbing through catalogs, watching fishing videos and TV shows also gave him a constant supply of ideas. His creative ideas and plans worked perfectly, as Scales and Tales would soon provide him with the notoriety and opportunity to do a lot of freelance artwork for several major companies and individuals in the fishing industry which continues today. Bill has worked with several outdoor writers and illustrated books for Mark Romanack and Kevin VanDam's latest, "Secrets of a Champion". Working with Bass Pro Shops, doing custom rod handle artwork provided him the opportunity to customize 2 rod handles for former U.S. President George H.W. Bush. Bill's cartoons have appeared in several nationally published magazines, on numerous websites and will now be a regular feature on "Wired2Fish.com"

Bill donates a lot of his artwork to charities for fundraisers and he will provide custom awards for charitable tournaments. Bill's sponsors include: Bass Pro Shops, Ranger Boats, Yamaha Outboards, Lowrance Electronics, Guest Chargers, and Spro/Gamakatsu. He and his wife live in Oakland County, Michigan and have 2 daughters in college. "I still need more fishin' stuff", Bill adds, with a smile,...."If I can help you or your company,.....call me!"