When I finished university at the end of 2004, I wasn’t totally sure what I was going to do with my life, as far as an occupation at least. I used to tell people I went to school on the “keep Mom happy program,” which was partially true. I spent a few months that winter working for a contractor friend in Kenora which made me realize that wasn’t going to make me happy. I was obsessed with fishing and wanted to be part of the fishing community however I could.
Because I didn’t know how to do anything, I got to do all of the worst jobs on the construction site like carrying drywall, shingles and shovelling snow. The hard labour. I got on the substitute teacher list for a couple of years and tried that, though it didn’t really make me happy either. I wanted to be on the water as much as I could.
In addition to guiding and fishing tournaments, I needed to supplement my income with more activities, especially during the winter months. I was starting to pick up a few fishing sponsors so any way I could offer them more promotion was a good thing, because this was before social media really took off. I started reaching out to fishing magazines across Canada and started getting a few writing gigs here and there.
In 2007, Jim Cumming, the editor of the Fort Frances Times, reached out to me about writing an outdoors column for the paper. It wasn’t going to be a high paying gig or anything, but it was something and it was a great opportunity for me to gain more experience writing and be able to share some of my fishing knowledge. Soon after, the Kenora Miner and News picked up the column as well, and I have written a column every week ever since.
There have been a few times over the years where I forgot to submit my column by the 9 a.m., Monday morning deadline and had to get a reminder. There have been times when I’ve struggled to come up with a timely, interesting topic, making the column feel more like a homework assignment, but most of these columns have been easy to write.
I’ve always tried to share fishing information that will hopefully help readers get a few extra bites. It’s been fun to share my adventures on the tournament circuit, some challenging, some good. And it’s been my pleasure to help spread the word on community events that happen in the outdoors around the region.
I’m proud to live in Sunset Country. I enjoy all of the traveling that I get to do, but I always look forward to coming home, especially when I get to spend time on Lake of the Woods and Rainy Lake. They are truly special places if you enjoy fishing, along with many other waterbodies across the region.
This will be my last Livewell column for now. The time has come for me to move on from this part of my life that I have done weekly for the past 18 years. It’s crazy to think that that is over 900 columns over the years! In the future I hope to pitch in a column here and there, when I can.
I hope that you all will continue to support the Fort Frances Times. We are lucky to have such a good community newspaper that still reports on local news and sports. Many of these community papers have gone away over the years or have stopped covering local news. I appreciate all of the support from everybody and for the shot that Jim gave many years ago.
Tight lines guys.
Did the young man in the left photograph know he’d one day be the first Canadian angler to win the Bassmaster Classic championship? Here’s Gustafson, middle, celebrating his 2023 win with Ben Gustafson, left, Bryan Gustafson, Jamie Bruce and Dustin Byfuglien in Knoxville, Tennessee. – submitted photo
