Canadian Fishing Tour 

David  Chong and his fishing partner Rob Lee were pretty discouraged on the last day of the recent Canadian Fishing Tour (CFT), Bay of Quinte Tournament. The pair had been out all day, and with one hour to go before weigh in Chong said, "We had one decent Bass in the boat. It didn't look good for us."

Chong and Lee, along with over a hundred anglers from all over the province and upper US, paid $749 Cnd. per team to be in Belleville, on August 9^th and 10^th, looking to walk off with the Tournaments $15,000.00 first prize. The rules were simple. Each boat was allowed to bring in 5 Bass, Saturday for the weigh-in. Sunday they did the same, and the two day total decided which pair of happy anglers went home with the cheque.

The possibility of losing big time was especially hard for Chong and Lee because they'd come in second on Saturday with a total of 18.79 pounds, just .15 pounds behind the days first place anglers Gaspore Costabile and his fishing pal Jayon Saliba. First price was so close for Chong and Lee they could almost net it into the boat.

The Canadian Fishing tour is led by London, Ontario angler and promoter Dan Carraro, Mid after noon Sunday a heavy rainstorm swept into the  Bay of Quinte forcing Carraro and his film crew under cover, for a few minutes of much needed rest. "The standing joke among the competitors," Carraro said smiling, "Is that the rain follows me wherever I go." Whether that's true or not, about the rain, the sponsors certainly follow him.

"In any sport," Carraro said, "there has to be one organization that leads the sport, bringing competitors and sponsors together so they both win." The plan he said was to promote entry-level club tournaments to help people, especially younger anglers, get into competitive fishing.

Carraro is a busy man with tournaments so far this summer on the Niagara River, in Windsor, and on Lake Nipissing in North Bay. Besides the $15,000 first prize, there is a second prize of $6,000, a third of $5,000, and other money for all top 20 finishers.

As if  Chong and Lee didn't have enough to worry about, there were some real contenders lurking back in the pack, hoping for just one or two big ones to keep the lead away from them. Guys out there on the water for the weekend, like Bob Izumi, of TV's Real Fishing Show, and his brother Wayne.

The Izumi brothers had an average first day, but Bob shrugged it off. "You know after 20 years of fishing," he said, "I still love being out there on the water. That's what it's all about." Izumi said his favorite place to fish is the Great Lakes, and the Bay of Quinte is currently the best Large Mouth Bass fishing spot in Ontario.

By the end of the first day Peter Savoia and Randy Cronkwright had landed the biggest bass so far, at 5.28 lbs. The official Ontario record is 10.43 lbs., and the world record largemouth whopper, caught in Montgomery Lake Georgia, in 1932, is an unbelievable 22.25 lbs. By the end of the weekend over 500 good sized bass will have been brought to shore, everyone hoping to land the one that breaks the record.

Every effort is made to ensure the bass are kept healthy and released alive after the event. The tanks are aerated and the fish are examined by marine wild life experts. Special scales allow them to be weighed still in their containers of water and later returned to the Bay, said Carraro. Catch and release is made easier with the special Shimano live-release system-a tank boat, which allows the fish to be released into good habitat spots, through trap doors in the bottom of the hull.

A good size crowd gathered on the docks at the foot of George Street as time began to run out for the competitors. The sun broke through the clouds and the bay was smooth and slate gray as the boats clustered off shore waiting to land with their catch.

One by one they docked their boats and brought up their catch as the cameras rolled. Gaspore Costabile looked less than happy as he walked up to the weigh in stand with his bag of bass. He had only two fish for the day, not enough to hold his first place lead.

By the end of the ceremony Savoia and Cronkwright still held the weekend record for largest fish, Jim Estabrooks and Mike Jackson took home $5,000 third place, Roderick Mcintosh and Mike Verbrueggen $6,000 second and Chong and Lee had added 16.50 lbs. for the day for a total of 35.28, landing them first place and a cheque for $15,000.

The tour ends the year with the National Classic Sept. 12-14, on Lake Simcoe (Barrie).