Earlier this year I was invited to be the Ambassador for Ontario Boat Shows which includes: the London Boat, Fishing & Outdoor Show and the Hamilton Boat, Fishing & Outdoor Show. I just got back from an amazing weekend at the London Show and wanted to share my adventure. This was definitely an experience I won’t forget and I look forward to the Hamilton Show coming up this weekend!
This was my first experience as an official ambassador, and it has been quite an exciting opportunity. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been showcasing the features and attractions of the show through my social media pages and have also hosted some ticket giveaways. Leading up to the London show, I interviewed a few of the speakers who would be presenting seminars on the Let’s Go Fishing Seminar Stage sponsored by Angling Sports in London. During the event, I was the emcee at the seminar stage and had a chance to put on my own presentations as well. We had a great line-up covering a wide variety of species and topics.
I had so much fun chatting with our amazing and enthusiastic speakers as well as interacting with the audience. We had a fun group! Although I was busy on the mic myself emceeing, I tried to get photos whenever possible to capture the experience and memories. I’m so thankful for everyone that came out to the show to say hi, chat fishing or get a photo together. The fishing community is a special group. It was so great getting to meet some anglers I’ve chatted with on social media in the past but hadn’t yet met in person. Thank you all for coming out!
With thousands and thousands of visitors to the show, it was an honour to be featured on the cover of the show guide as well as write an article for the inside cover welcoming our guests to the 34th annual event.
I can’t say enough about our fantastic seminar speakers and how wonderful they all did sharing their knowledge and passion for fishing. We had a very interactive audience of all ages and it was wonderful getting to know some local anglers that attended. I’d met some of the seminar speakers in the past, and it was great getting to know the others that I hadn’t over the course of the weekend. A special thank you to Dave Harris of Angling Sports and Jason Barnucz of the Reel Angle for being so helpful throughout the entire weekend! It wouldn’t have been such a great experience without these two, along with all of the speakers involved. Our presenters included:
- Captain Matt Sawrie, Inventor of the Torpedo Divers. Matt shared tips for catching salmon without down riggers using the various products he has designed.
- Captain Jim Fleming of Drifter II Charters. Jim discussed trolling techniques used for walleye, salmon, and rainbow trout on Lake Erie.
- Jason Barnucz, biologist, writer, and blogger at TheReelAngle.com. Jason discussed the diversity of species on the Thames River.
- Cindy and Dean Franklin, husband-and-wife-team and organizers of the Tri-Bay Bass Association. Cindy and Dean shared their knowledge of local bass fishing opportunities and their passion for tournament fishing.
- Cole Baily, tournament bass angler. Cole discussed seasonal patterns for largemouth and smallmouth bass. He is an accomplished young tournament angler participating in tournaments in Canada and the United States.
- Dave Harris, of Angling Sports. Dave discussed equipment and tactics on float fishing for steelhead.
- Captain Paul Powis, of J&P Fishing Charters. Paul discussed Great Lakes walleye fishing and also demonstrated how to clean walleye on stage.
To learn more about each of the speakers at the show, visit here.
I filmed 5 live videos throughout the show using the Facebook Live feature, you can check them out here. Be sure to follow me on Facebook so you can catch the live videos at the Hamilton Show.
Back in January I donated my first canvas print from my Let Them Go, Let Them Grow Series to an auction benefiting a special family in the fishing community. Ben McWhinney suffered a heart attack on Christmas and the fishing community pulled together to raise money for Ben and his family to help them with the financial challenges that lay ahead.
This smallmouth print raised $500 from a very generous bidder (who happens to be my dad). Ben had commented on how much he loved the image so my dad also decided to donate the print to Ben and his family. Ben, Debbie, and young Ty stopped in at the London Show and I was able to give them their print 🙂 We shared some hugs and teary-eyed moments and I’m so thankful that Ben made it through such a traumatic experience and will be able to continue to enjoy life with his family. Mike and Danna Parker hosted the auction which raised over $11,000! I’ll say it again, the fishing community is a special group.
I’ve rested up after this wonderful whirlwind of a weekend and I’m now getting caught up on some articles before I leave for the Hamilton Boat, Fishing & Outdoor Show this weekend. Looking forward to another great event, emceeing the seminar stage, and chatting fishing for 3 days! Hope to see you in Hamilton! For more details visit: Hamilton Boat, Fishing & Outdoor Show
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Hello Ashley, congratulations on your work at Ontario Boat Shows, it was surely an excellent experience.
Ricardo Bressan from Argentina