Saturday 5 December 2015

AGM Meeting


Hey Guys, This past weekend I attended the AGM meeting. We did a presentation on our experience at the B.A.S.S Highschool National Champonship in Tennessee! Was super fun to get up and talk about one of the best experiences of my life fishing on Kentucky lake. Even tho we didn't do very well, it sure was cool to get down there, meet new people, fish completely different water, and have such an awesome opportunity. We were so lucky to be able to do what we did with the Highschool program with Team Ontario and through the BASS Nation. The amount of support and help we had aswell was unbeleivable. I highly recommend any kids wanting to experiment what me and Dan did, to start a Highschool fishing club.. I can't even describe how awesome it really is. If anyone has any questions on how we did it or need help, feel free to send me a message!!! The 2 other juniors Tyler and Kyle also did a pretty awesome presentation of their experience as well. They ended up finishing 3rd! Charles Sim was also there to share his experience on his road to qualifying for the Bassmaster Classic. The second Canadian ever! Charles won the Ontario B.A.S.S Hank Gibson qualifier on Big Rideau which qualified him to fish in Conneticut with Team Ontario on the Connecticut River. He won the Eastern Division in Connecticut which qualified him for the BASS National Championship. The next step after the Nationals is the Bassmaster Classic, and He ended up winning the Nationals in his devision and he is now heading to the Classic in March!!! I am super pumped to be going to the classic this year to watch Charles compete against 50 of the best anglers in the world. If anyone is thinking about going, Rob jackson set up a bus to go down with 50 people. Facebook Rob if you would like to find out more about it. Its going to be a blast.... WOOOOOP

- COOP

Wednesday 23 September 2015

Team Ontario - Highschool - Eastern Divisionals - Connecticut River


 Just got home from the Connecticut river this past weekend with Team Ontario, and it was a blast. We arrived in CT on Saturday night and pre-fished sunday-wednesday. Our coach didn't show up till monday night so we fished sunday with Team member Frank Ramsay and on monday we fished with Doug Brownridge who also made the team last year when we fished on the St. Lawrence River! Doug and Frank have both fished the Connecticut River before and we learnt a lot from them in the 2 days we fished with them. I've never fished tidal water before and it was pretty cool learning it. We had 2 days to pre fish with our coach Forrest Weiller and it was a grindddd. This time of the year is one of the toughest time to fish on the river. 5 bites a day would be awesome. Going into day one, we had some spots that we were confident in. We hit most of our weigh points, and didn't catch a fish till about noon when we went back to one of our spots at the same tide we went to it during pre fish. Prefish was nothing like our tournament day. Durring pre fish we were doing a lot of casting and winding with chatter baits, spinner baits, crank baits, and jerk baits, but day one the fish decided to slow down for some reason. We really had to slow down and we caught 4 fish on our one spot on texas rigged senko's. We were fishing a main river flat with rock, sand and weed with heavy current. We caught 4 fish really quick before we had to make our I hour run back to weigh in. Ive never been so pumped to not even catch a limit.. Day one we lead the tournament with 5.5pounds.. but did not have much of a lead and needed to get a limit on day 2 to have a chance at winning this thing. Day 2 comes around and we hit all of our spots we had fish on during practice. We spent the majority of our day on the same main river flat but just couldn't get them to go. The fish were there, but we couldn't get them to bite. Sometimes thats just how it goes.. We ended up going from Ist place to last place.. Just goes to show if your leading day one, it means nothing, but to work your butt off day 2 and try to catch em again. You gotta catch em 2 days in a row, but we just couldn't get them to go like we did day I. Even tho we finished last for the Highschoolers, words can't describe what it feels like to get back up on that BASS stage. I get the chills every time I walk up onto it. It was our last year to fish as Highschool students, but we made Team Ontario again as seniors for 20I6!!! We could be travelling as far as florida, and I am pumped! Im super lucky, and without the help of my parents and friends, this wouldn't be possible. A HUGE thanks to our previous high school coaches David Chong(Sturgeon Lake OBN high school Qualifier) , Tony Chimiri (St lawrence river Team Ontario) , Stan Pilarczyk (B.A.S.S high school Nationals) and Forrest Weiller (Connecticut River Team Ontario), our youth director Doug Ferguson, Laurie Charlebois for all her hard work with the team the last few years, my parents, all the guys from Team Ontario, B.A.S.S, Ontario BASS Nation, Port Perry bass masters, and everyone else who helped out! The list is HUGE, wooooooooop and a Massive congrats for Charles sim for winning for our team and will be heading to the nationals within the next 2 months at a shot at fishing the Bassmaster Classic.. Go Charles!

Friday 4 September 2015

Ontario B.A.S.S Nation Qualifier - 2nd place


Just got home, What a weekend! We went up to Lake Erie for the Ontario BASS Nation Qualifier. We were originally going to fish as high school students again and try to make the team, but found out we were too old for the program now so we had to fish as seniors. Going from a high school student to fishing against kids our age was a lot different than fishing as a non with all the seniors.. I was pretty pumped going into this event as I have never fished as a non before. The day before our tournament we were told we might not be able to fish the tournament because 4 boats backed out, and we were the last ones to sign up. Because of all the amazing guys from OBN, the local marina, all the boaters and volunteers, they got most of the boats fixed and ready for day one. There was an even amount of nons and boaters and me and Dan found out we were able to fish. We were pumpeeeed! Day one I drew Joey Turk. We started at a underwater point in about I0 feet and fished all the way in to about 3 feet. We caught lots of fish in the morning and had our limit before 9. We saw a couple big ones cruising but couldn't get them to bite. both our limits were small so we decided to move, fish deep and try to get some bigger bites. We tried to dropshot and drag tubes out deep but couldn't get anything to go so we went back in shallow to a big shoal. I was throwing a spinner bait and a decent fish followed me to the boat, so I dropped that rod, picked up a tube and the fish went right up to my bait, sniffed it then swam away close to a big boulder. I tried to through a senko and nothing... so I threw my tube back down, started to drag it and a fish picked it up. I set hook and a fish close to 5 jumped out of the water. I was so pumped because I caught the bigger one I didn't even see. I got lucky. If it weren't for that big fish, I would have had a small weight. I ended up weighing in just under 9 pounds for a three fish limit day one, sitting in I6th place. Big shoutout to Joey for the fun day on the water.

Went home, re tied all my leaders/knots and got ready for day 2. I figured that I would need at least ten pounds to make the team. Day 2 I drew Jeremy Baird. Jeremy Baird only got 4 pounds day one, but we figured them out day 2. We came up to Jeremy's first spot, and started to dropshot. We marked a big school underneath us, but they were all I2 inch fish. We gave it about half hour and left. We went to another spot with beautiful chunk rock and sand. We had a good feeling about the area. Within just a few minutes Jeremy lost one over 4 on a spinnerbait. It was a little cloudy in the morning and was harder to spot the fish below the boat so we were just trying to cover some water. I caught three half decent fish pretty quick, and got my limit early. I ended up getting one good one in the boat around 4 pounds and I had a good feeling I could make the team with the weight I had, but I needed 2 more good ones to seal the deal.. I was throwing a brown tube pretty much all day. I would long bomb it, let it hit bottom, drag it for about 5 feet, then reel in and cast again. I got most of my bigger fish doing this. The fish were so aggressive that if there was one there, it would hit within just a couple seconds. Almost every fish we sight fished we caught. I got lucky, we fished a big flat with lots of fish that were aggressive and were biting all day long. At one point I forgot I was even in a tournament! haha, it was honestly such a fun day on the water! The day panned out perfectly, and I ended up getting the weight I wanted. A HUGE thanks to Jeremy Baird for the fun day on the water. I ended up weighing II.5 pounds. I had a very good feeling I made the team, but I was hoping Danny got another good bag too. After day one, Danny was leading the event as a non with just over I2 pounds. We both wanted each other to do good so we could make the team together again like we did together as high school anglers. Danny got a decent bag day 2 and we both had a chance. I ended up climbing the leader board from I6th to 2nd place to make the team, and Danny also made the team coming in 4th. I did a lot better than I hoped and I was beyond excited. I would have never thought of making the Team 2 years in a row fishing the Highschool series then fishing as a non and making it again. I have been really lucky, and have had tons of support from tons of people. The list is ginormous. Thanks to everyone who has helped out and made this possible, especially my parents.

Team Ontario 20I6 has an awesome bunch of guys, and I am PUMPED for next years championship. 

Coop 


Monday 24 August 2015

Marshalling the B.A.S.S Elites on the St. Lawrence River




 A couple of months ago, a fellow angler, Dave Spence had brought up that he was going to Marshal the Elites on the St lawrence River at the end of July. It really made me think about doing it. Since I loved the St. Lawrence so much when I fished the B.A.S.S Eastern Divisionals last year, It really made me want to try and go. I talked to my parents, and being the awesome parents they are, they let me apply. I got excepted and was super pumped. I really didn't know what to expect. Hotel was booked at the Northern Family Motel, Bags were packed, and off we went. Registration was on the Wednesday, and the tournament started on the Thursday. Day one I drew Fred Roumbanis "BOOM BOOM". He caught a I9 lb. bag that day of smallies.. Day 2 I drew Brandon Card, and he had a I9 lb. bag of largemouth... and day 3, I drew David Walker and he got I believe another I8 pounds.. and on the final day I was not a marshal. Edwin Evers ended up taking the win, and Brandon Card made top I2 with green csh on the St Lawrence River...I drew amazing guys, who talked to me all day long, and even shared some info with me. I learnt a ton, and had an absolute blast. It really was one of the best experiences I have ever had. I liked it so much, that I convinced my parents to go to Michigan, Detroit to marshal another of the Elite events on Lake St. Clair. Gotta thank the parents, if it wasn't for them this wouldn't be possible, wooooooop, I can't wait

4th place - Balsam Lake


Super fun day on the water last week with Kris fishing a little event on Balsam lake.. We started off the morning trying to find some smallies, but couldn't get anything to go so we hit some docks for quite a while. Docks were also slow so we decided to go to a bay and fish some slop, grass and undercut banks. Right when we got there, I pulled out one over 4 and finally had a nice kicker in the boat. We then decided to hit one more smallie spot, and it was the right decision.. Right when we got there, Kris brought 2 good smallies to the boat so I threw a follow up bait right at them, and the bigger one came right up to my bait and ate it. We ended up getting 2 more keepers at our smallie spot and decided to spend the last half hour where I caught my big largie. We fished it for half our and didn't get another fish and had to pack up and head to weigh in. I took one last flip into a big grass patch and I heard a fish jump in the grass so I set the hook, and we probably culled about a pound, and got rid of our cute smallie. We ended up weighing in just under I5 pounds to take fourth place. Was a super fun day on the water
Woooop
Also a huge thanks to Kris for taking me out

B.A.S.S National Highschool Championship


What a trip to Kentucky Lake for the BASS High School National Championship. We had another tough day today and could only manage to get one fish in the boat. We were really hoping to get a limit to make it for a second chance tomorrow. We fished our butts off, and it just didn't work out. We didn't have a fish in the boat until later on in the day. The thing we wanted most was to just get on the stage one last time in case we had to head home. We ended up catching a keeper, and we were super pumped just to get back on the stage for one last time. The ledge fishing is really different, and it makes me want to stay here for another week to try and figure them out! I definitely want to come back. We didn't have a coach until 3 days before official pre fish, and we want to thank Stan Pilarczyk for taking his time to come up with us, supply a boat and be our coach! We also want to thank our parents for helping us out, without them it wouldn't be possible! The list of people to thank is HUGE and it means the world to us! What a week, and an experience to remember! Heading home tomorrow morning, and then off to the 2015 Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River to Marshal the Elites Next wednesday!!! woooooop ><> 


Tuesday 14 July 2015

B.A.S.S Highschool Championship Win - 20I5 - Sturgeon Lake



Well... What a week/weekend! My and Danny went up to Sturgeon Lake a week before to pre fish for our Highschool tournament to try and make it to the states again this year. We spent all week from pretty much sun up to sun down, finding and eliminating a bunch of water. In total of the 4 days we pre fished, we only stung one fish, and it was painful, lol.. It was finally nice to start stinging them today! Our coach was David Chong. In the morning we fished smallies, caught a few dinks before 8Ish, we stuck around for a bit and started to hook into some good fish. Danny caught two good ones on a popper, and i got a smaller on on a jerk bait. We gave it till I0 and moved from the spot to go try and find some largess we had shook off from our pre fish. We fished this one stretch of docks we had some fish on, but we couldn't get them to go. We ended up going to our second spot, a stretch of beautiful looking docks with slop pushed right up to shore and against the docks. I was throwing a one ounce tungsten with a brown/Gold flake tube and punching it right through the matts beside the docks and letting it soak for a while. We came up to a nice, deeper dock, covered with slop and i had a good feeling. punched my tube into the slop about 3 feet from the dock and and let it soak for a long time..... Shaking it, bouncing it off the top of the slop, Deadsticking it, and finally THUMP, Danny grabbed the net and net it as the hook popped out right when it got in the net. We were pumped.. At this point we had 3 decent smallies, a decent largemouth, and now we were trying to get rid of the I3 incher.. We had some frog fish so we ran across the lake. It wasn't as good as we thought and was starting to get worried. We kept fishing our butts of and Danny had a 2 and change explode on his horney toad. We continued to fish till it was time to go in, didn't cull again, but was enough to take the win! Me and Danny would like to thank our parents for helping us out with everything, my dad getting my boat done just in time for pre fish, Our coach David Chong, and our high school director Doug Fergoson and MANY more, You guys rock! This tournament qualified Danny and myself to fish the B.A.S.S Highschool Championship on Kentucky Lake on the 22nd of July, and get to go to conneticut to represent Team Ontario,
WE ARE PUMPED
Coop <><

Monday 27 April 2015

Strip, Strip, Pause, Strip BOOM!


Man that was fun! headed up north after school to fly fish for some Brook Trout! Strip, Strip, Pause, Strip, BOOM! All night long.. Was so much fun, and to be honest, my first ever Brook Trout outing! Those little Brook Trout put the Streamside Tranquility to work tonight! That was a BLAST! headed out to my local river tomorrow with some friends from Quebec in search of some more Lake Ontario Tributary Steelhead! Can't wait,
COOP ><>!

Sunday 26 April 2015

2015 Steelhead Opener Was a Cold One..



I still have the chills from opening night.. Me and a couple of my buddies packed our bags and were down at the river for 6PM. Water was a lot better than I thought from the big rain we got last week, and I was super pumped about that! We got down there, set up our tents, filmed some clips, ate some soup and grilled some hotdogs over the fire! before we new it, it was dark, the temps went down to -2 and it was freeeeeeezin! So cold that the warmest spot to sleep was right beside the fire. I didn't even end up using my tent, as I literally slept in the dirt beside the fire we had going just like last years opener. Half way through the night the fire went out and I could barely sleep for the rest of the morning, But once the sun came up saturday morning, it was go time! Steelhead opener 2015 baby! It was awesome! We got a bunch of cool footage that I will be putting together for an edit shortly. Fishing was great, weather was great, and we all had an absolute blast! Can't wait to get back out tomorrow and all week long after school!
I hope everyone had an awesome, memorable 2015 steelhead opener!

- COOP ><>



Monday 6 April 2015

Fishing with Cole and Dan!


My buddy Cole came down from Innisfill, Ontario for the night and we hit the rivers for first light! The morning bite was super slow, but once the sun came up, the water warmed up a few degrees and I hooked my first fish around 10. Hit another creek, got one more, and went back to where we originally started, and grinded out one more fish before I had to go home for easter dinner... Man I can't wait for opener.. Woooohoooo!

Coop! ><>

Wednesday 1 April 2015

It Has Begun!


Well, It has Begun! My first Steelhead of the 2015 season and i'm pumped! Went down to the river right after school, The water was muddy, but noone was there and the bite was ON! Within the first couple of drifs I had already hooked up! Was non stop all night. I lost a bunch of fish, but ended up beaching 2 before I had to head home! Was throwing a Great Lakes Steelhead Co. Yellow bead under my float and this girl swallowed it! Love it!

Coop ><>