
Canadian Open champ: Derek Strub
A big shout out to my friend Derek Strub-the Elora, Ontario, angler won the Canadian Open of Fishing yesterday on Lake Ontario. Strub hauled in 60.75 pounds of bass over three days to claim top bragging rights and the main prize of $40,000 in cash. While heâs placed in the top 10 before at the prestigious catch-and-release event, this is the first time heâs owned the podium. Bravo, buddy. Itâs well deserved.
Second place and $15,000 in cash went to Sault St. Marieâs Rob Laframboise, who bagged 56.60 pounds of bass, while Chris Johnston of Peterborough came third with 53.65 pounds, earning $7,500. As for the co-angler/non-boater division, Stuart Naylorâs 57.8 pounds of fish earned him a $20,000 boat, motor and trailer package. Remarkably, it was his first-ever fishing tournament. Darren Izumi followed in second with 52.15 pounds, while Dave Miller came third with 51.75 pounds. Payouts were made down to 20th spot in both the Pro and Co-Angler divisions.
Held out of Kingston, Ontario, the three-day tournament raised $22,000 for Soldier On, an organization dedicated to helping injured Canadian soldiers and their families. Colourful hockey commentator Don Cherry did the honours, handing over the cheque to Warrant Officer Andrew McLean.
The Canadian Open of Fishing is run by the Competitive Sport Fishing League.
One of the many issues of concern for the fishing and hunting community is recruitment, or, more specifically, the greying of our ranks. In short, we are continually striving to bring new anglers and hunters, particularly youth, into the fold. And more and more, the outdoors community has also been targeting woman as potential new outdoorsfolk of tomorrow. And that’s a good thing. In
Have you made plans for National Fishing Week yet? It’s coming up fast, kicking off this Saturday, July 2, and running through to Sunday, July 10. Even if you don’t participate in an official event, it’s a great time to take a kid fishing or introduce someone new to the sport. That is, after all, the main point of National Fishing Week: to get more Canadians outdoors and
Awesome. Sweet. Dude. Those are the three new words my Dad says he learned during our four days of fishing at northern Saskatchewan’s Milton Lake Lodge (we got back to Ontario on Tuesday). That’s hardly surprising, given we were hanging with Nick Pujic, the hip young principal of Fly Max Films and Fly Nation TV (think surfer culture meets fly fishing), and our guide Naoto Aoki.
Congrats to the winners of the first annual B.C. Loch-Style Fly Fishing Championship, held last Friday and Saturday on Trojan Pond near the town of Logan Lake, B.C. Eight teams of five anglers apiece vied for the top team and individual honours. Among the winners? Outdoor Canada field editor Mark Anderson, who placed third in individual results. As well, Mark’s team (Equipe
Subscribers should be receiving the March/April issue of Outdoor Canada magazine any day now, and among the great features, they’ll find a travel adventure story by yours truly. The subject? Trophy lake trout and northern pike fishing on Saskatchewan’s Lake Athabasca (at Lakers Unlimited’s Spring Bay Lodge). As promised in the article (”A sure thing,”
///// FOLLOW ON TWITTER: @OutdoorWalsh ///// Outdoor Canada Editor Patrick Walsh grew up fishing and hunting in Bracebridge, Ontario, where he began his magazine career in 1983 as assistant editor of Muskoka Life. Since then, he has worked for a variety of media, both in Canada and abroad, earning numerous writing and editing awards. In both 2011 and 2005, the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors named him Editor of the Year, while Outdoor Canada was honoured as Magazine of the Year. Learn more: www.outdoorcanada.ca.