Casting for dollars
COMPETITION ANGLING IN EASTERN ONTARIO AND WEST QUEBEC
ED HAND
IT ’ S THE MOMENT of truth – did practice made perfect ? The anglers wait , longing to see whether their labour paid off , as the basket of bass hits the scales and lights up the scoreboard . For the tournament angler , this roller coaster of emotions comes almost every weekend of bass season .
For hundreds of diehard anglers in Eastern Ontario and West Quebec , the thrill of competition and a chance at cash and prizes are what lures them to the tournament scene , all in the name of developing angler skills .
The Bass Angler ’ s Association of Ottawa ( bassanglersassociation . ca ) is a smaller group which holds six such competitions . Ottawa Valley South Bassmasters ( ottawabassmasters . com ) features anglers of varying experience and its tournaments use the angler-co-angler format . For each event , coanglers fish with a different boater to use and learn new techniques .
This is how Ottawa ’ s Charles Sim got his start . An avid angler and guide after college , his first tournament was as a co-angler with the Ottawa Valley South group . “ It ’ s the added level of competition , and when I learned I could make a bit of money doing it , I took the plunge ,” he said .
That first tournament was in 1999 and he hasn ’ t looked back . “ It ’ s a great format that allows you to fish with different people , so you are always learning .” Now and then Charles will still fish a tournament with his first club when he can fit it in among his many other events .
If you want to take your competition to another level , you could join the Shootout Series and FLW ( Fishing League Worldwide ) Canada ( www . flwcanada . com ). Cory Banford , CEO of this international organization , says it ’ s been in operation for four years .“ What I offer is two levels of competition with no commitment . You can show up , pay your entry fee and fish . FLW Canada is a toplevel series for the guys who want to try and fish in the U . S .”
That will change for 2017 . Up until now , the top three teams in the Shootout along with the top three in Pro Bass Canada were allowed to fish in the FLW Canada Championship . Banford said some anglers thought this was unfair to those who supported FLW Canada and missed the cut , while teams outside made the grade .
32 | FISH , HUNT RIDE www . fishhuntandride . ca