Kitchener Fishing Gear

Fishing buddies

Ladies, beware! If you marry a fisherman, you may not see him for several days when the fishing season opens. On the plus side, you can bond with the wives of his fishing buddies and have a lot of fun together while your husbands are away.

In 1954, three young men, Dave Lacey, Jim Soltysiak and Bruce Rabb, who worked in the investment department at Dominion Life Insurance, decided to try their hand at bass fishing at Red Bay on Lake Huron. Bruce supplied the boat which he had built in his garage.

Over the years, 18 others have joined them but several, including Jim and Bruce, have had to drop out for various reasons. Dave is the only original member (57 years) of the present group of nine who headed to West Lake, Bloomfield this year. With him was his brother, Jim Lacey, Dave Rush, Harvey Campbell, Art Groff, Carl Rumig, all of Waterloo; Doug Ratz, Alma; Jamie Frelick, Kitchener; and Chuck Wilken, West Montrose. All of them, except Jamie, are in their 70s and retired.

The friends switched from bass to pickerel fishing, which has an earlier season and leaves the summer months free for family holidays. Dave Rush is the organizer. He has a book full of charts, reports and costs, kept meticulously on his computer since he joined in 1973. He makes out the shopping list, which has changed considerably over the years.

“No one smokes anymore. We take a little wine instead of liquor and a small chub of summer sausage instead of three large ones,” said Lacey, who contributes some of his home preserves.

They didn’t catch any fish this year so their fishing trophy remained unclaimed.

“It’s probably a mistake to call us a fishing group. It’s more social now. We just go for four days instead of a week — we can’t carry that many pills,” Rush said.

He has estimated what the fish cost per man each year — not that any of them (or their wives) want to know. The fish (when they caught them) were cleaned and divided before they came home. In the glory years, they had to have fish fries at the camp to keep their catch within the legal limits.

In the beginning, the men stayed at hunting camps and had to portage to reach them. At first, they were considered poor risks for cottage rentals but always left them so spotless they were welcomed back.

Last year they found accommodation at West Lake that provided air conditioning, cable TV for hockey and ball games, a heated swimming pool and a resident OR nurse. This is roughing it? Needless to say, they booked it again for this year.

WagJag Home - $12.50 for $25 Worth of Fishing Equipment from ...

They say the best way to communicate with a fish is to drop it a line. Today's WagJag lets you commune with the fishes, and not in a Luca-Brasi-in-the-Godfather kind of way: get $25 worth of fishing equipment from Rainbow Sports for only $12.50.

Your WagJag voucher gets you out on the open lake - or river, stream or pond - with all the stuff you need to land a big one. Choose from rods, reels, lures, line, terminal tackle and live bait (including minnows, maggots, roe and worms). You also get access to all the electronics, clothing and marine equipment necessary for taking your fishing expedition from an amateur weekender to an epic Old Man and the Sea-type adventure.

Rainbow Sports has been in the fish-catching game for over 22 years, and features a great selection of down rigging equipment, fly fishing, float fishing, spinning and bait casting gear. The staff are happy to talk shop about pike, walleye, bass, musky, trout, salmon, carp and pan fish. Whether you're a beginner or a pro, owner Chad Dosman is ready to show you the ropes - all you have to do is write up a "Gone Fishin'" sign and hang it on your door.

"WagJag is a great way to reach customers that otherwise wouldn't have thought to try us out. We sold out our first event and everyone loved their Calphalon Culinary Center experience! Food, friends and fun – you can’t go wrong!" - Jade, Calphalon Culinary Center

"We got over 4 000 page visits the day of the Wagjag launch – a big boost to our website traffic. A great way to reach new potential clients! - Michaela, Front Door Organics

"When I checked WagJag in the morning I couldn't believe how many Crepes had already sold!

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