The Ontario BASS Federation is pleased to announce an exciting bass fisheries workshop that will be held on the beautiful shores of Lake Simcoe in Sutton Ontario on Saturday April 1st 2,006. The attached flyer highlights all the great speakers who have graciously offered to present their latest bass fisheries research work. The workshop will be open to both bass anglers who have a passion for their great sport and keen fisheries staff from various government and non government agencies.

This sharing of science and information is exactly the goal of workshop organizers Jason Barnucz - a biologist with the Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority and Wil Wegman, Conservation Director for the Ontario BASS Federation. "This will be a really great opportunity for fishery staff to network with some keen anglers in the province.  The topics that these biologists and fishery scientists will be speaking on will not only benefit others in the fisheries resource field, but avid bass anglers who know that the more they learn about their favorite species the more likely they are to improve their overall fishing skills", explained Barnucz."

Several of the speakers are well known throughout both the academic community and the fishing community for their outstanding work. Researchers such as Dr Bruce Tufts from Queens University and Dr Mark Ridgway from the Ministry of Natural Resources will be presenting on tournament issues and a bass tagging research project. Their findings are the result of years of research - both in the field and in the lab.  Dr Steven Cook from Carleton University and  Dr Nick Collins from the University of Toronto might be considered esteemed academics among their peers but to many anglers they are great allies who will be presenting on such topics as catch and release and the relationship between nesting bass and the invasive round goby.  MNR biologist Barry Corbett will be coming down all the way from Kenora to talk about how MNR and other agencies can work with catch and release bass tournament to obtain vital fisheries data. He has also agreed to share some never before seen in public, underwater footage of the smallmouth bass in their natural habitat. Keynote speaker will be former MNR resource manager and multi-award winning outdoor writer - Gord Pyzer who will also travel from Kenora. He wil speak about the future possibilities of Bass Fishing in Ontario.

There will be several other remarkable speakers, including Noreen Clough, Conservation Manager for BASS headquartered in Florida. BASS is the world's largest fishing organization and through its founder Ray Scott, pioneered the concept of catch and release bass tournaments. According to Wegman … "Catch and release is without a doubt the single greatest personal contribution an individual angler can make for the future of a fishery. Whether that angler is fishing in a well run bass tournament or just fishing for fun, without that strong catch and release ethic we share today, there would be little hope for the future our great bass fisheries across North America. Ray Scott started it all over 35 years ago and bass anglers in Canada and the US owe him a huge debt of gratitude because of it."  The Conservation Director for the Ontario BASS Federation concluded by saying "This workshop will examine ways that tournament organizations and anglers can continue to improve our already high catch and release rates. I don't think Canada has ever seen a bass fisheries workshop like this before and I urge all those who care about the future of the sport to make an effort to attend."

For more information on this workshop please contact:

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To pre-register please send your check before March 20th to become eligible for a couple of great early bird draw prizes (Bass Pro Shops 100MPH parka and a Lowrance I Finder H20 GPS Unit). Please note space is very limited and only the first 75 applicants will be accepted. Pre-register for the incredible price of just $25.00; and send check (made payable to Ontario BASS Federation) or money order to: