Johnny Morris, founder of Bass Pro Shops and recent addition to the Forbes 400, never intended to rule an outdoor sporting gear empire. When he began selling fishing tackle in the back of his father’s Brown Derby liquor store, the five-time Bassmaster Classic tournament pro was 23 and subscribed to the philosophy stuck to the bumpers of his customers’ trucks: “I’d rather be fishing.”
“My intention at first was to avoid work and fish,” says Morris, who graduated in 1970 from Drury College with a business degree. “It’s just that there weren’t many places to get the lures bass anglers wanted.”
Even though he’s 65 now and that 8-by-8-foot mini shop in the back of his dad’s Springfield, Missouri, store has exploded into a kingdom of 58 stores in 35 states, the only thing Morris flaunts now is his Ozark humility. He remains committed to spending just as time with his reel as he does to expanding his business.
Recently, he told Men’s Journal his favorite places to fish. Check out the list here.