Live the adventures you read about in Outdoor Canada Magazine on November 26 – 28, 2010. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to meet, and learn, from the magazine’s outdoor celebrities and exhibitors at the International Centre in Mississauga (6900 Airport Road).
On the Saturday of the Outdoor Canada Show, be sure to check out the Fishin’ for Answers Quiz Show that will feature angling greats like Bob Izumi, Angelo Viola, Pete Bowman, Mike Miller, Leo Stakos, Dave Mercer, Ron James, and U.S. legends Roland Martin and Jimmy Houston.
The show’s hub will be the Outdoor Canada Lodge and will be providing filleting demos, sampling of wild game, shore-lunch tips, fly-tying lessons and antique decoy appraisals with expert Steven Lloyd.
If you asked me what person inspired my love for fishing, I would answer with two names. The first was my father and the second was Bob Izumi. I would watch, faithfully, Izumi’s Real Fishing Show every Saturday morning and imitate his ‘one-liners’ while fishing from my old aluminum fishing boat.
It was very exciting for me to exchange emails with Bob, and ask him some interview questions. I appreciate the time Mr. Izumi took to respond.
Bob Izumi Host of Real Fishing Show
1. Can you describe how you developed your love for fishing. What was the catalyst that started it all for you?
My father raised myself, brother and two sisters as a single parent in southwestern Ontario in a farming community of Blenheim. To forget his worries he used to take us as well as the neighbourhood kids fishing. All of us used to enter the Rondeau Rod and Gun kid’s fishing derby and Dad would help/coach us all into catching lots of fish. As a result we used to clean up on the prizes every year we entered. So you can say I got the bug at a very early age. He also started the first organized professional style bass tournament in Canada when I was 15 in 1973. It was a draw for partner tournament. There is no question that it was a turning point for me to want to do more competitive fishing from that period on.
2. What do you believe to be the keys to your success as a TV show host and tournament angler?
The funny thing is I grew up watching fishing shows. Red Fisher at first then Roland Martin, Bill Dance and Al Lindner. Never once do I remember saying to myself that, hey that’s what I wanted to do for a living! I really wanted to be a tournament angler. But after doing tournaments, seminars and promotional work full-time in the fishing business for 3 years and barely making enough money to put food on the table I knew I had to do something else in addition to what I was already doing to fund my tournament addiction. That’s when I decided that a fishing tv show may be worth trying. Tournament fishing is definitely what keeps my enthusiasm peaking. To be honest I just love being on the water!
3. What has been a highlight for you in the 2010 fishing season?
In August my son Darren and I won the Renegade bass tournament in Cornwall with the largest 5 fish limit weighed in to date in one of their series. We weighed 24.76 pounds for our five heaviest including a smallmouth that was big fish of the tournament that went 6.13. This was the 2nd tournament Darren and I have won together. As a parent it’s hard to describe how awesome it felt! It also has given me tournament wins here in Canada in each and every decade since the late 70′s.
4. How do you feel is the best way to excite Canadians about fishing in the years to come?
We live in the most diverse fishery in the world! The opportunities are endless even though many Canadians take it for granted. I have been fortunate enough to travel around the world sampling some pretty amazing places yet still would choose right here at home as my number 1 choice as having the most options in terms of species and waters to explore! And the overall fishing is as good as it’s ever been right now!
5. Without giving away some tournament secret, what lure/rig is the first you tie on in new bass waters and why?
That’s the hardest question you’ve asked…..since I have a number of baits I like to have with me I’m on the water. Every place we visit has different types of cover, water colour, etc. so I’ll fish the moment as opposed to the magic bait. I look at lures as tools for different jobs. I will say that Berkley’s Gulp has been the hottest bait for catching smallmouth in deep water the last few years. It has been my number one go bait for drop shotting!
6. Has there been an epic battle with a particular fish that stands out in your mind?
Some saltwater fish have been memorable. More of a brute strength type fight that can be almost be like work getting them to the boat! Big tuna, marlin, rooster fish, and many others are hard fighters. However I really enjoy horsing big largemouth out of heavy cover with either my Shimano Crucial or G Loomis flipping stick. It’s an adrenaline rush that I’ll never get tired of!
Thanks for your responses, Bob. I still have an old baseball cap you signed for me back in the 80′s. Your love for fishing inspired a younger generation to experience it first hand.
It is great to see fantastic people with a great fishing product make some iCast headlines. Fetha Styx are the creators of some very nice looking fishing rods that come from attention to details and high quality components.
In past communication with Evan (from Fetha Styx), I could tell right away he is proud of his product. What also stands out to me about Fetha Styx is the company’s commitment to helping American waterways and law enforcement personnel through rod sales.
It can be a hard to choice to make when you open up your tackle box to pick out the first lure for a fishing excursion. Colour can be a key trigger for fishing success, but do not let a topside, internal debate keep you from getting a lure down into the water quickly.
First, choose something that mimics the colour, size and shape of the natural prey your target species feasts on in the body of water you are on. When was the last time you saw chartreuse baitfish while you were freshwater fishing?
A shiner coloured minnow crank - a good start.
If fishing is slow on your first ‘natural’ pick, be sure to experiment with other colours. Let light conditions and/or water clarity dictate your next pick. If the water is murky or they sky is overcast move to a brighter colour like chartreuse or bright orange. When water conditions are clear and the sky is bright – try shades of blue, browns, or green.
These are just guidelines. It has been this blogger’s experience that the way fish react to your lures is far from predictable. When in doubt about what colour to use – experiment. Take time to try everything you got and forget the rules and systems often read about or seen on TV. My tackle box has cranks of various colours. The colour of your lure is just one of triggering mechanisms built into its construction. Vibration, flash and silhouette also play significant roles.
On day 1 of a recent sunny fishing trip on a local Muskoka lake, I started with a natural looking black-topped and silver-white bottomed minnow crank bait. My partner chose to start with a chartreuse coloured bait. Within four casts, he had landed a nice pike. Upon switching to a second bay, he pulled in another nice pike on his first cast. My natural looking lure had no hits. This all changed when I switched to a lure with similar colours (not shape) as my fishing partner’s. Colour in this case ‘trumped’ shape.
The second day of our fishing trip, I started again with a more natural coloured silver minnow crank bait. My partner, again, started with his chartreuse coloured lure. After a few minutes of fishing, I had landed two nice walleye. Things did not start to happen for the other angler UNTIL he switched to a silver coloured crank.
If you are deep water fishing, keep in mind that at greater depths, lack of light penetration makes a colour debate a mute point. Colours can not be differentiated if there is no light to reflect or absorb.
Colour can impact your fishing success, but not to the extent that it will benefit the angler to change a lure every second or third cast. Fish will not be caught if a lure is not in the water.
Jacob and his father scored big while ice fishing on Mary Lake this week! Both anglers were excited to pull out two of Mary Lake’s popular sport fish: A Northern Pike and Lake Trout.
I was checking around for local ice fishing updates when I heard that Jacob had hooked into these fish. They were fishing from a ‘secret location’ somewhere on Mary Lake in 35 feet of water. Jigs tipped with live bait tempted the trout and pike to strike. There was 8 – 10 inches of ice.
The duo braved a blizzard to reach the sanctuary of their hut. Jacob wondered if the changing weather system was a contributing factor to making these fish (and others) hit their jigs.
Jacob Hehir holding his hard water Northern Pike
A great lake trout from Mary Lake!
I was able to get an interview with 13 year old Jacob and he patiently answered my questions about fishing with his dad. He has been fishing as long as he can remember. His mother shares that he had several visits to an ice hut as a baby. Jacob appreciates being able to spend quality time with his father. Not only is he able to learn more about fishing from his dad, but he enjoys the freedom of being able to share ‘life issues’ in the shelter of their ice hut or boat.
Jacob’s top 2 game fish to pursue are smallmouth bass and lake trout. For exciting summer bass action, he recommends fishing during the early morning calm with top water ‘spooks’. His tips for new ice anglers are simple:
Dress Warmly
Watch Your Lines
Before I finished my interview, Jacob wanted me to be sure to include a ‘shout-out’ to one of his favorite fishing mentors, Louie Miceli.
Thanks for your time Jacob! I appreciate it.
*Note – If you have would like a photo of your ice fishing success stories to appear on my blog, please email them to me using the contact information below.
The Outdoor Canada Show is one of four jaw-dropping outdoor shows that are colliding under one roof to bring a myriad of technologies, seminars, and multi-media presentations to all aspects of the outdoors. That means you do not have to hunt and fish to get excellent value for your admission dollars. The other 3 shows include the Fall Cottage Life Show, the Explore Adventure & Travel Show, and the Canadian Home Workshop Show.
