PIERRE, S.D. — Tom Bruno has no regrets about the way his life has worked out.

In the 1970s, he was considered a prime major-league prospect, a pitcher who showed flashes of brilliance in the minors. And he fulfilled some of that promise in the big show, pitching for three teams before his career came to an end after four years.

Now, he makes his living in a fishing boat chasing walleyes and in rolling crop fields pursuing pheasants in a sportsman’s paradise, South Dakota.

The two worlds are a long way apart. But Bruno, 59, is satisfied.

“How many people can say they were able to be a major-league baseball player and a fishing and hunting guide?” said Bruno. “I’ve been blessed.

“I’ve been able to do things that most people only dream about.”

For a while, he was able to combine the two. Even when he was playing baseball, he would fish and hunt whenever he had the chance.

That included his minor-league days with the Royals organization, when he would fish with fellow pitcher Dennis Leonard.

“We got invited to a lot of golf outings,” he said. “We would put our fishing rods in our golf bags and fish the water hazards whenever we got a chance.

“We would hold up play and people would be yelling at us, but we caught some fish.”

And Bruno is still catching fish. Sitting in his boat on Lake Sharpe on a recent weekend, he studied his fish finder for signs of walleyes. He caught them the day before, and he knew they would still be here.

There was only one problem: There were considerably more lines in the water.

“Look at this,” Bruno said as he looked out a stretch of water crowded with boats. “This looks like a parking lot. There must be 30 boats out here. There were only five or six yesterday.”

Bruno lowered his bottom-bouncing rig baited with a piece of a night crawler to the bottom and began trolling at the edge of the crowd. When he felt a steady pull, he immediately knew what he had.

Seconds later, that golden fish was in the landing net and on its way to the live well.

“That’s a good eating-sized fish,” said Bruno, whose guide service is appropriately named Major League Adventures. “Sharpe is a factory for fish this size. It’s not known for its trophy fish. But it has great numbers.”

Fall is a time that is usually reserved for pheasant hunting. Bruno has customers come from all over the nation to hunt with him on ground that he has leased.

“This area has a lot to offer, between our fishing and our pheasant hunting,” Bruno said. “After I got out of baseball, I came up here and I decided this is where I wanted to be. I’ve never regretted it.

“I was disappointed at first that I didn’t make it as big as I had hoped in baseball. But look at where I am now.”

bfrazee@kcstar.com