I just completed a successful 2011 tournament year. I have competed in many tournaments including the Barrie Bassmaters Open on Lake Simcoe, my junior tournaments on Gloucester Pool and Bass Lake and I also fished some of the Frosties tournaments on Lake Erie. I won the 11-14 age group division for the Ontario B.A.S.S. Federation, and will be competing in the Eastern Divisionals, this September in Boston, against seven other U.S states. The bodies of water I will be fishing, are called the Mystic and Charles Rivers. It has been a great experience!
Prior to 2011, I fished primarily with my dad and some friends for fun. I started fishing at the age of eight, and we would fish for bass,pike and perch. We used to fish in and around Lake Simcoe area. We mainly fished out of a 19-foot multi-species aluminum boat. My dad and I would use crankbaits, live bait, and we used to troll alot.
About two years ago, I decided that I enjoyed mainly fishing for largemouth or smallmouth bass. Since that time, I have spent alot of time reading articles, watching WFN and surfing the web, in order to become a more avid and successful bass angler. My dad and I attend all the annual boat shows, fishing and outdoor's shows, and we keep tackle shops in business.
We used to always use crankbaits, spinnerbaits and surface lures. Now, we mainly use soft plastics (power fishing and finesse fishing) to catch most of our bass. I do understand that a successful bass fisherman must have a wide variety of fishing techniques at his disposal. Depending on the lake and weather conditions, time of year, water temperature, etc., it will dictate what technique to use.
In the future, hopefully I can become a successful bass fisherman and also achieve many goals in my career. Winning is not the only goal that I strive for, but also to have fun, travel to different lakes, meet many legends in the fishing industry and mainly to "Compete". So far I have met Bob Izumi, Italo Labignan, Dave Mercer, JP DeRose, Henry Waszczuk, Pete Mania, Angelo and Rino Viola, Leo Stakos and Ron James. I hope to meet my idols Kevin Van Dam, Scott Martin and Skeet Reese.
Smallmouth or Largemouth, I love my bass!
