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Diaries of a Lodge Owner
In 2009, sheet metal mechanic, Steve Niedzwiecki, turned his passions into reality using steadfast belief in himself and his vision by investing everything in a once-obscure run-down Canadian fishing lodge.
After ten years, the now-former lodge owner and co-host of The Fish'n Canada Show is here to share stories of inspiration, relationships and the many struggles that turned his monumental gamble into one of the most legendary lodges in the country.
From anglers to entrepreneurs, athletes to conservationists; you never know who is going to stop by the lodge.
Diaries of a Lodge Owner
Episode 123: How A Reality Fishing Show Shaped Two Careers And A Lifelong Passion
A tornado on Lake Nipissing. Fifty anglers. Cameras sprinting through bush while boats pound eight‑footers—and a single log that quietly holds the winning bag. We pull back the curtain on The Last Call, the 2004 reality fishing series that pushed us to the edge and then reshaped our lives. From chaotic GPS races to head‑to‑head heats, you’ll hear how split‑second choices, sketchy weather, and unclear rules forged the kind of lessons you can’t learn from a highlight reel.
What surprised us most wasn’t just the production scale. It was the people. Roland Martin maps wind and structure like a cartographer, Hank Parker brings championship calm, Jimmy Houston turns pranks into legends, and David Fritz feeds the crew with moon pies after 60‑ounce steaks. Those moments—equal parts grit and grace—opened doors to a decades‑long career in the fishing industry at Lund, Berkley, and Rapala, and they taught us why a lost card can still be a winning hand.
We also dive into photography that actually works for anglers. Yes, phones can beat pro gear when the shot is right. Think face, light, background. Clean the lens, angle into the sun, frame out clutter, and set 4K 30 if video might make TV. We share the stories behind magazine covers, a 100‑foot trailer wrap, and a day on the water where a young hammer sticks a six after five minutes because passion doesn’t care about age or titles.
If you love fishing stories with real stakes, practical tips you can use this weekend, and a heartfelt look at how mentors and mistakes shape a life outdoors, this one’s for you. Hit follow, share it with a fishing buddy, and leave a quick review so more anglers can find the show.
I've had a chance to do some pretty cool stuff now with photography, and some of the things that you get to do is fun, but to have an image or to share that experience with a young kid that you know is gonna is as passionate as you are, it's uh it's just magical. I love the sport so much. It's just yeah, it's amazing.
SPEAKER_08:This week on the Outdoor Journal Radio Podcast, Networks, Diaries of a Live Jones, Stories of the North. We're stepping back into a wild chapter of our lives with my good friend, Chris Cockley, where we talk about our experiences on the reality TV fishing show, The Last Call, created by Angelo and Reno Viola, which aired across Canada in 2005 and turned the spotlight onto the fishing world like never before. On this episode, we're pulling back the curtain on what it took to create that series, sharing some behind-the-scenes stories that never aired, and reflecting on how that adventure shaped our lives today. We also touched on the art of photography, the topic of an upcoming episode, You Won't Wanna Miss. So if you like stories and great people, join us for a behind-the-scenes last call look at a fishing series that was completely ahead of its time. Here's my conversation with Chris Hoffman. Hello and welcome to another episode of Diaries of a Lodge Owner Stories of the North. And today I've got a good friend that I definitely don't see or get to fish with enough. But uh funny enough, I met this big gentleman um uh uh on the last call in 2004. And uh Chris has got to be a member of the uh last call fishing hall of fame for sure. Um and I'd like to welcome Chris Hockley to the show. Thanks, brother, for uh coming on.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, my pleasure. Uh you're you're quite the gentleman uh considering me uh some of all those kind words. That was awesome.
SPEAKER_08:No hell, that that's not that's nothing. That that's only the that's only the tip of the iceberg. All right, well, that 20 bucks went a long way then. But I you can pay me off real easy.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, it's amazing, you know, how many years have gone by. It's funny. My son was uh oh, he he was just months old when we when we were at the last call, and my family came up for that. And I mean, that's uh that was the first time we got a chance to meet you. And you know, you mentioned about us never getting a chance to uh um spend much time on the water. I don't think you, I don't think you and I have ever fished together.
SPEAKER_08:I don't think so in all of the years and all of the passing, and you know, I feel like you're you're you're in my friend circle, but uh it's um we haven't we haven't had that opportunity. So I think we should uh we should definitely make that happen.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, who knows what's gonna happen. What we can say is that there's probably gonna be an epic lunch involved.
SPEAKER_08:100%. 100%. So listen, now that we've mentioned that last call, let's let's go back, let's see here, 2021 years. Am I doing the math right?
SPEAKER_07:Doesn't seem like it's been that long. No, definitely a lot's happened and a lot of grades.
SPEAKER_08:Oh, yeah, yeah, I know. Well, I'm I'm being I'm blessed with not being gray, but I'm losing it.
SPEAKER_07:Okay, well, I'm just the opposite. I'm I'm gonna be straight up white probably in the next month and a half, but uh not losing anything.
SPEAKER_08:That's okay. You still got it, that's important. So it would make a good team already. Yeah, 100%. But I remember back uh back for for that last call, and and a lot of the diaries listeners know what the last call was, but that it uh for those who don't, it was really a first of its kind and um modeled um around the idea, which was very new at the time, um, the reality TV concept of Survivor. And uh Survivor, I believe in 2004, they were like in their infancy, like their second or third season. And um we had the winner of uh of the one Survivor, Ethan Zahn. Uh and um Amber, was it Amber, his girlfriend that he met on Survivor? I believe, and yeah, and she ended up winning.
SPEAKER_07:One of them won Survivor Africa and one Sur Africa. I think she did too. Yeah, she came back. I do know that he uh he used more hair spray than she did back in the day.
SPEAKER_08:I know. I know. We had uh we had them uh on this show called The Last Call, and uh Chris and I were both uh um contestants. We were one of 50 people that were chosen by Angelo and Reno Viola at the time who um who put it on and uh they uh they um they decided to to um uh take some of the uh um um revenues that they got due to um SARS. I wanted to call it COVID, but back back in the day it was uh it was um pre-COVID. Yeah, it was pre-COVID times, right? But they had to think of something. So there was a respiratory um virus that went through Ontario called SARS, and um uh it was like a mini COVID, and um uh the Ontario um government wanted to uh wanted to invest in tourism right after that to bring the Americans back into Canada. And uh the um uh a few of the fishing shows um saw some uh some advertising money. And uh thankfully um Ange and Reno and and Peter at the time had the foresight and um the um imaginativeness, if that's a word, to put together a reality TV fishing show called The Last Call. And uh it was um uh one of the most interesting and I'll say best experiences of my life up until that point. And uh and that's where we met. We were one of uh we were two of 50 contestants, and uh and uh I made it about halfway through, and and you uh remind me, you were I remember for sure you were on the uh the orientation thing. But after I got knocked out, I did a lot of drinking, so I don't remember exactly how things unfolded.
SPEAKER_07:There was uh there's a lot of stories that came from that. I mean, first of all, I think accolades need to go to um to Ang and Reno and I mean Pete at the time as well, who put together this. I mean, I've never seen productions, and I've been involved with TV, you've been involved with TV. I've never seen that many cameramen, that big of a plan, that many boats, that much logistics that was going on. And then we had what a tornado go through one night, and you know, winds. I mean, some of the best stories that I have of uh like crazy things that happened were all at the last call. It was not some of the the weather. I mean, it was my first time ever on Nipposing. And I don't remember the fellow's name, God bless him, but he was the nicest guy, but he was assuring me that he was a small mouth expert. That was the first part where we got teamed up with somebody and we were gonna fish with them.
SPEAKER_09:Yeah.
SPEAKER_07:So we take a chest since we now have 25 boats. We have a tornado comes through the night before. I get told, okay, I'm gonna be one of the boat captains because I had a bigger bass boat at the time, and this fellow got put with me and so I mean, in the draw that we had, and he was telling me I got all the small mugs fishing and all that that he got. And I were ripping into Calendar Bay because we uh had decided to launch there because of the winds. It was it was the safest place for all watch, you know, and and naive. I look back now and I'm like, I'm surprised that I didn't kill us. But we went, I was full of I was feeling what 72 miles an hour when I hit the first wave that had to have been eight feet. I mean, we were torn. Like, I mean, props out. You feel it, you feel the engine just because it comes out of the water and then just why and he's he's actually leaving the boat inside. I thank God I'm a big lad because I went over and I grabbed him and I pulled him down. And when we landed, he laid down in the bottom of the boat. And Steve, I'm not kidding you. He was sobbing, he couldn't get his breath, and he was just like he was so scared. And I was heading up to no, it was something we I was trying to head to the calendar, that's what it was. Yeah, and that's and I was like, I gotta get up the calendar because it's it's just a short run, but it was out in these big waves, and he just couldn't, and you know what, to be honest, I made the decision right then and there, even though we had a lot of invested. I mean, we'd all throw it in a thousand bucks for this thing, and traveling for four or five hours, you're up there for a week at a time. I mean, we all know how much it costs to do that stuff. I just couldn't do that to another human being. And I turned around, I went back into the bay and said, we'll just make the best of it. And we were lucky, we ended up with fourth or something in that tournament, and then it kept us propelled. But from there, it was just uh I mean, uh a series of epic events. Um, like I mean, what funny story, side story. I went to grab him when I grabbed him. I didn't realize it. I grabbed him by his belt and I ripped his tool case off. And we got back. Not only is this poor guy just so scared that like he couldn't take a breath, but we got back into calm or water and he calmed down and it was all good. But when we got back, he was feeling around, he's like, oh, I lost my father's or my grandfather's tool, but uh you know, tool case. And I'm like, oh my gosh. And he was just again, he's beside him. I'm like, this is the most roller coaster of fence of his day. I mean, I'm like, I should be worried about fishing. And here I got this other fellow that I'm an ended up of all the things. That when I pulled him off, I let him go, and somehow that tool case came out of my hand, went tumbling back the back deck and fell into the little uh tray right in front of the uh the backsplash, you know, like the back welter. And when I went to trim the motor up to put it on the trailer, I saw it there. It's like you gotta be kidding me. It's like a gift from God. I can finally make this guy happy and turn out I kid you not, and I wish that they had a camera running, they did, and they didn't use it, but he he looked at me and he looked at the tools, and he was so happy. He went to come and give me a great big hug. And it was one of those things like out of a cartoon character, I just grabbed him in the forehead like this, and I said a handshake will be fine. Nice, that's hilarious. I mean, that was the start of the whole thing, and and from there they had all these. Um, well, it was the one day we had the the GPS. You know, it's funny because it that was a time, you know, we're talking about it being years ago. But it's so funny. I mean, that was the initial stages of GPS. Yeah, like I mean, I had everything before GPS where we had to, you know, basically take this thing, we entered in our waypoints that were given to us, we would run to them, and it was just like a I mean, it was kind of like a um scavenger hunt, scavenger hunt, yeah, through the through the woods. And what I I just put it in and then I'm ready to go. And I'm like, okay, the team, let's go. And I for some reason I was the only one on our team that knew how to use this thing, right?
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_07:Meanwhile, the reason why I knew how to use this thing is because my sense of direction is so bad. I pull out my driveway, I don't know whether to go left or right. So I've depended on this hardware since it came out. I was like, this is another gift from God. This stuff is gonna finally get me out there, and and so I was pretty good with it and comfortable with it, you know, and and we left and took off. There was a lot, there was what two or three other teams at the time that we were almost through the course before they even got started. And I remember Roland Martin being there, and it was it was so cool. And I look back at it now, they all got pictures of my son being held by Roland Martin. Yeah, we had oh, that's a whole other story. I got some great stories with Roland, I think the the world of him. But um, yeah, we ended up going through this course and running through and got all the stuff and came back, and and we finished hours and hours and hours before the second team. We had no idea, right? We're like, oh my gosh, we're gonna lose. And meanwhile, with the guy, the camera guys telling us to slow down. Stop, stop going so fast. I'm like, are you kidding me? This is a race. We gotta go, go, go.
SPEAKER_08:No way, the cameraman was saying slow down.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, they're like slow down. And I thought, to be honest, I thought it was because it was muddy and it was hot and it was raining and it was just nasty conditions, right? And I thought, poor guys, at that time, I mean, we don't have these small cameras. No, he's running through the bush with this like bazooka on their shoulder. Poor dude, he's keep up, yeah. And meanwhile, we didn't know that we're literally like four hours into this, you know. I mean, these guys hadn't even started. So I remember Roland saying, he says, I don't know how we can have 50 of some of the best outdoorsmen in this nation, and none of them know how to use a GPS.
SPEAKER_08:I know that's crazy to think about today, right? Yeah, everybody's got one on their phone now.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, well, and that's it, right? I mean, it's it's uh and it's kind of a a great kind of segue into some of the stuff we'll talk about maybe a little bit later with the photography and stuff that uh that I I mean I've gotten into and I really enjoy. And but I mean some of those stories with that last call were just were just epic, you know. And I mean that's going out and and I mean Joel Richardson, I mean one of the actual uh like MLF pros at the time down there and lots of I mean Chet and Ang and Dalton and there was a lot of really recognized, yeah, and then and then there were a lot of names where you didn't, and it was such a great combination of the two that you know, like I mean it was like a nobody, a little, a little farm dude coming out of Amaranth Township. Exactly. Yeah, but the way they had it set up and structured was really cool, and that you know, day one, uh it's going back so many years now. I I don't talk about this very often or think about it, but the the the guys who won with teamed up, the guys who won the tournament went right to the end, which ironically, with I now know you know Bob Digger Man at the time, yeah, and the fella he was with that young lad that he uh Corey was the thing. Yeah, Corey, yeah, most arrogant young kid I've ever met in my life. Whatever, he's another character, yeah. He uh he and and Bob ended up winning on the spot where I was trying to get to when I had turned around, you know, and I went back into the bay because I was with, yeah. We we talked about it later. We were like on the exact same fish, and and uh that's funny enough because they got put to the end, right? So what what I don't think that you know, again, there was a lot of logistics around this, but what I don't think anybody realized was okay, so I won the tournament, you now go to the end. Well, we have a week of filming to do that you're not a part of anymore. Yeah, you know, you you just this oh, there's a couple individuals going to the end. Okay, so now the next day we have this, you know, this run through the bush, and we end up eliminating almost 75% of the people right there. Yeah. And again, if you you know, if you won that, it was you know, you you went to the to the next round. And then from there, we had a skills competition, and there was a few other things that went on, but the anybody who won ended up going to the end. And so what happened is the the poor buggers like us didn't win the first few, end up going through the whole thing. So now we become these characters, people are starting to recognize that you know, uh series or not series, but episode after episode. Yeah, and these poor people won at the end, nobody even knows who they are. Yeah, and you know, by the time we got there, there was four left. I won all the other events, you know, one as a team, and then that skills competition I won by myself. And and it was such a cool event. I mean, we got rock and waves out there. We were spent the entire day in that that trailer with with Ethan and this and his girlfriend at the time, and I mean, such nice people. Um, but then you'd get called out and you'd go and do an event, and then you go back and you'd fit. You're just caught. I mean, it was like the most nerve-wracking setup because you had no idea what you're walking out to. Yeah, and meanwhile, they got this beach set up and they have boats and all these targets and all the stuff that was going. It was cool. That was a it was a lot of fun, yeah. And and what was cool is that I ended up winning that, and that put me to the end. So now the advantage I had at the end was there's now four of us left, and the other three nobody really knows anything about because they were fleetingly in an episode. We had a lot of biographies and all that that they did. I mean, they did a fantastic job of it. But in the end, you end up with the four of us, and I'm the only guy that anybody really knew because I had worked my way through it, and you know, I I kind of laughed that we kept trying to conference each other. Somebody had to go. There was only gonna be three, and it was this epic end of this whole thing, and somebody needed to leave. And we talked about it, and Ang and and uh uh Brino, I knew, thought that someone somebody would have just came they offered five thousand dollars if you just walk now.
SPEAKER_08:Yeah, so they wanted to cut the final four down to the final three by offering somebody five thousand bucks.
SPEAKER_07:And everybody was so sure, and what got me was that young kid that we were just talking about, yeah, of course, Captain Arrogance. Yeah, I would love to run into him again because I say that probably unfairly. I mean, I've changed a lot in 20 years, I'm sure he has too. But at the time, he was young and cocky, and he was sure he was just gonna do this, right? So he wouldn't, and everybody was sure that he would have out of I mean if Chet Doubs that it was a professional, literal professional angler in the same south, yeah. Um Bob, who had kind of proven himself in a in the tournament at the time, but otherwise we nobody really knew, and the same with me, you know. I mean, but I had gone through all the skills thing, so you would have thought that Courtney would have said, Hey, I'll take five grand and run, thank you very much, but he didn't. He's like, I'm gonna win this thing, and so it went down to uh, you know, literally we got handed a card each, and I flipped over the card and had the lowest number and I was out. Yeah, that's I mean I forgot about the card. Yeah, but you know, I at the time it was really, really hard because this is like think of this. I mean, uh, you got a young kid, me, at the time, who had planned my entire life was around fishing. I knew that I was gonna do something in fishing, I didn't know exactly what it was. I you know, I ended up going to school, University of Wealth for Honors Fisheries Biology, and um I had a plan that I was gonna, you know, work for a fishing company and I was gonna have a TV show and I was gonna do all these wonderful things, you know. And and uh had been working at it, and here's this opportunity with you know at the time I mean it's still the biggest national fishing show that it's had. The oldest now, four years, congrats for them. Thank you. Um but It was it was just devastating. I mean, and I didn't think about it at the time. It was like, oh, I got the card and that sucks in my mouth. But I have been through so much with each of those trials and the ups and downs. And I mean, I I'll be honest, there were pretty serious tears. I mean, I was like, it was like, oh my god, this is over. I thought, you know, there goes 50 grand, one. Yeah. And I I'll tell you, it's not exciting. I've never played cards since. I never, I can't do it. I just I really stuck in my head, and I've never ever touched cards again. I won't play, I just don't enjoy it. And uh to the point where now I travel with work, which ironically I do work for a fishing company with laplop. Um, and we go to Vegas, and you know, when iCast was there, and I mean my wife would be on the phone begging me to to please just put some money in a gamble, and I'm like, I this is not my thing.
SPEAKER_08:I'm not doing no, I gambled and lost once before, and that's enough.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah.
SPEAKER_08:But the thing was is that hard on your your psyche. Like it's gotta be hard on your on on on like I mean, being a young man and having that kind of opportunity, just I yeah, unfold because it was national TV, there was a lot of stuff going on.
SPEAKER_07:Uh another real interesting site, Totorian. This is one thing that I I look back and I I just didn't know, you know, I was very naive. Um, and I'm I'll come out with it here. I've never told this publicly anywhere. Um but you remember they used to call me what is it, big bird or whatever. I mean, I'm six foot five, 300 pounds, and I have this giant yellow shirt, which never changed. I had about 60 of them because I had I had met a very good friend of mine, my one of my best friends, his dad owned a company called Great Lakes Packaging. And he until he hired me as a kid, I would go in and I'd help package up stuff. So he had all these boxes and plastics and stuff. And then we were doing part um parts for GM. We're like close to Audio. GM's a big big supplier of auto parts. And they had this paper that they would wrap parts in. And I'm like, why are they wrapping parts in paper? And it was the final fellow's name was Lionel Deerling. And he said to me, Chris, he says they they wrap that in it because it's got this magic stuff inside to keep stuff from rusting. And I'm like, Huh. Like, you know, water, lures. I mean, my head's always there, right? I can't, I can't shut it off. I still, you know, 20 years later, I'm still never stopped thinking about fishing. And and I was like, holy smokes. I said, can you set up a meeting with me and this this guy who comes in? He's like, Yeah, sure. So we uh we met and I don't remember the fellow's name and you know, emails I I try to go back through. But he said to me, He said, Yeah, he says it's a wonderful product. He said, It's called Z Rust. And uh, you know, here's a couple things that we'll do. And he was a sales guy at the time, and he he said, one, I'm gonna send you a big box. Sure enough, he sent me a box that was massive, and I still have the little little tabs that you could put inside your tackle trays, it had little space things you could put inside lockers, you had gun wraps, so if you had firearms, you could wrap your firearm in it to keep it from rusting. All of these products, and I'm just thinking, man, this is magical. If you could have these tabs so that they were included in tackle boxes, you could just stick them to the lid and you would be good. Yeah, I didn't have the idea of putting it into the providers, but I went through that entire show and I love this part of it because there's nobody on this planet that can say that this wasn't my idea. Because that's why I wore that yellow shirt. It was with a Z Rust shirt. I had Z Rust on the back of it, and this is long before Z Rust ever hit any of the trays that are now commercially produced for fishing. But I told the guy, I said, This is what I want to do, and he told me, he says, Well, I'm gonna give you 50 grand, you're gonna do the show, and we're just gonna do that for the national promotion. I'm like, Are you kidding me? So now not only can I win the you know, the the basic 50 grand from the show, but I'm also gonna get 50 grand from this company, and I could get a pilot for you know a show and maybe do something with that. And so you know, and again, so to be handed a card and the whole thing just come crumbling down, I thought, okay, well, at least I got the 50 grand. Well, the kick in the junk or the stomach or wherever they kicked me ended up being, dude took that idea and sold it to one of the other companies, they started producing that. I never saw 50 grand and I didn't get anything into the show because I've been dealt out. But I'm telling you, when I went the next time down at the Sportsman Show, which I've been going to as a you know forever working at different places in different companies, kind of went down, and for the first time ever, I had people, hey, you're Chris Hockley from the last call. And and I was signing autographs, and I'm like, what world is this? And that's what started my relationship with Lund. Lund actually reached out as a result of that. And thank goodness for for that whole storyline, but it turned into what I do now. I ended up being the marketing manager for the largest fishing company on the planet, Berkeley, and if you're fishing um for North America, and I decided to move back home and uh started with Rapla 10 years ago, and it's such a wonderful company. Everybody here is so incredibly passionate about fishing, and it's not that gigantic corporate, it's a big company, but yeah, it's just a pleasure to work for them. It's it's a lot of fun, and I get to live. But I don't think any of that would have happened if I had actually won that show. So I'm grateful that I didn't. Yeah. And I can honestly say that.
SPEAKER_08:The Lord works in mysterious ways. We always hear that said, and and um, but I truly believe that um everything happens for a reason, right?
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, I agree.
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SPEAKER_04:As the world gets louder and louder, the lessons of our natural world become harder and harder to hear, but they are still available to those who know where to listen. I'm Jerry Olette, and I was honored to serve as Ontario's Minister of Natural Resources. However, my journey into the woods didn't come from politics. Rather, it came from my time in the bush and a mushroom. In 2015, I was introduced to the birch-hungry fungus known as Chaga, a tree conch, with centuries of medicinal use by indigenous peoples all over the globe. After nearly a decade of harvest, use, testimonials, and research, my skepticism has faded to obsession. And I now spend my life dedicated to improving the lives of others through natural means. But that's not what the show is about. My pursuit of the strange mushroom and my passion for the outdoors has brought me to the places and around the people that are shaped by our natural world. On Outdoor Journal Radio's Under the Canopy podcast, I'm going to take you along with me to see the places, meet the people, that will help you find your outdoor passion and help you live a life close to nature and under the canopy. Find Under the Canopy Now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER_08:Like, I mean, um we made it. My partner was Mike Miller and for the tournament.
SPEAKER_07:And well, yes, so you would remember when we came head to head, and Mike and I chirping each other. Yes. Because we went way back. I mean, I've known Mike for a lot of years and fished against him. At that time, I never fished with him. He's now become a very good friend of mine. Yes, mine too. Again, it was never used, but man, we were chirping each other. That was fun.
SPEAKER_08:Yes. And um the uh well, so um Bob ended up winning with Corey, but he won because Angie Dalt was disqualified. Yes, because she and um she her partner was a great guy too.
SPEAKER_07:Oh, yes, I know it. Um I can this is the part that I I I think I regret is because I made it all the way through, I didn't get to have all the time with everybody to get to know everybody because you're constantly just doing the next thing. It's like yeah, it's the TV thing, right? It's like okay, you go sit over there and wait for us, and you don't get to spend all the evenings and that with everybody.
SPEAKER_08:Yeah, well, I did. We ended up we ended up getting through that tournament. I think we finished 17th or 18th. But the um that tornado, when they drew, we went out on the chief commander and drew our partners, and I got uh Mike Miller. And at the time I didn't know who Mike was. And uh Steve Bates, um, and I didn't know who Steve Bates was either, but he'd come up to me, he says, Hey, you got one of the best, uh, you got one of the best guys to be partnered up with. And I'm like, perfect, right? So I went and talked to Mike and I said, Hey, brother, um, uh uh much um opposite of your experience with your partner. I said, buddy, I don't care what you want me to do. I can cast, just tell me what to throw, where to throw it, and uh I'm I'm your I'm your guy. You just tell me. And uh she said, no problem. And then they announced that there was this tornado and we were going to um uh blast off from uh where was it, South Bay? South Bay.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah.
SPEAKER_08:Well, Mike, as soon as he heard South Bay, he's like, oh my god, I can't even fucking believe this. Yeah, what's wrong? It's like my spot is in South Bay, like it's in South Bay, and it's not very big. And I'm like, uh, yeah, but I knew a little bit about nipissing. I thought, well, we should be okay, Mike. It's like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I'm blast off. I've told, I've told this story before. Um, I'm really interested to hear this because I have not heard the story. Oh, yeah. But at Blast Off, Mike and I are sitting there. They call, they're calling the numbers, right? Calling the numbers, calling numbers. And Mike says, Hold on, you tell me when they call our number. I'm like, okay, and I'm intently listening. I hear our number and I'm like, go. And Mike does this.
SPEAKER_09:Okay, he's like, no, we're here.
SPEAKER_08:And we we literally drove from the one side of the blast off right across traffic and stopped right on the point. It was a weed, a weed point right there with a log. And Mike said, We're here. I'm like, okay, Mike, what do you need me to do? And he had me throw a, I prefer to call it bubblegum because we don't use the word pink. Um I threw a bubblegum uh fluke off the back of the boat, fan casted, and he flipped this log probably for two and a half hours and didn't even get a snuff. And the whole time he's like, I know they're they're here, they're here. I've I I've got a uh a school of fish, a pot of fish here, and they're here I or they're coming. I just gotta, they're gonna, they're they're here. I'm like, okay, dude. So we spent about two and a half hours right on that spot. And then he's like, okay, let's go. So he we jump in the boat, drive.
SPEAKER_07:You know, keep in mind for anybody who doesn't know Mike Miller had won at that point, 26th national event. Yeah. Oh yeah. He has he is arguably even till today the most incredible larger. Like, I mean, so I know him and his his fishing partner, Jim Analakis, very well. And Jim used to say the man's just like an animal. He's like huntering, he'll just be standing there and you'll go, there's a big one here somewhere. You flip out and catch like he said he'll have caught threes and fours, and Mike will throw you know, off a tire, bounce it around the log, and it'll flip in under a dock and catch a seven-pounder. He's just like he's like, and he does it constantly. Yeah, he's an animal when it comes to that stuff.
SPEAKER_08:So you're with this guy. I'm with the guy. That's why I'm like, listen, buddy, I will do whatever you want me to do. So we leave that spot, we go and um um fish somewhere, I forget, it's a long time ago, 21 years. And uh the camera boat comes and they board. And as soon as that camera boat came on, Mike bagged like three largemouth, nothing big, like a two, a three, and a and uh uh pound three-quarters, whatever. But in the span of five minutes with the camera on him, he was like bang, bang, bang.
SPEAKER_07:And I'm like, these are some of the most incredible. Like, I mean, we're talking post-tornado conditions, which we all joked about. Like, who has any any knowledge of that? Yeah, nobody, and that was some of the toughest fishing. I had to give him my eye teeth for a two-pounder, you know, the first couple hours of that event. Yeah. That was that was good.
SPEAKER_08:Yeah, and then the the guys got off the boat. We stayed there for another maybe half an hour. I think I got one or two just thrown right out the back, you know, just whatever, whatever I can pick up.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_08:And we go back to that spot we started. And Mike nosed right in on top of that log, and I cast fan cast the same water behind the boat for another hour and a half. And he's like, ah, they're they're here. There is fish here. We just gotta hit it right. We left, and we only had about two hours left in the tournament at this point. Now, we've got a bag of five, but it's not a it's in our mind, it's not a big bag at all, right? Right? I think we're sitting around 14 pounds or something like that.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah.
SPEAKER_08:And um, Mike's like, okay, we gotta go, we gotta, we gotta go somewhere and just upgrade. He said, Steve, your job is to catch one fish that we can toss one of these ones out. I said, Okay, buddy, done. So we went out for it, was on a flat. I don't even know where we were. And I and I did. I caught a fish, we upgraded, and then Mike said, Okay, um, we're going back. We went back to that spot, and as we come around to where that spot was, guess who was sitting there?
SPEAKER_07:Are you kidding me? Is it was it Ang? Because she sat up one percent.
SPEAKER_08:It was Angie Dalton, and Mike's like she saw us going to that spot, yeah. She saw us going to that spot two or three times, and she pulled up on that spot because she she saw us going there, yeah, and she caught the winning bag on Mike's on it. Chris, it's not even like it was the spot is a uh you know, uh hundred-foot shoreline somewhere. Yeah, it was a log. It was a log.
SPEAKER_07:I remember hearing that story and how she had done it because we were all in that bay circling around working, you know, for those fish. Yes, and I heard about this log. I had no idea that that was a log that you guys were actually fishing.
SPEAKER_08:Yes, that was Mike's initial spot, the one when we blasted off and we went like 80 feet.
SPEAKER_09:You didn't even get it on plane.
SPEAKER_07:That's stupid. Yeah, well, now I've got something on them. Next time I'm fishing with them, I just tell them, hey, I hear that log. Uh, Angie's apparently a little better fisherman than you got.
SPEAKER_08:Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. For sure. And then uh after that, uh um uh they had a golf course uh set up. Remember the golf coals where um we all had to we were head to head and then we blasted off, and then there was like uh one you come into uh the the the one that I went to, um, the object was they had a specific cordoned off area on the lake.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, and you had to catch a fish faster than the other guy.
SPEAKER_08:First person to catch a fish that was bigger than 12 inches or illegal in the tournament.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, we had the I still have that last call board. Did you? Yeah, I still have one. Nice. But it that was I that was another one of those stories. I mean, I have fished tournaments since I was what 13. I had to have my parents sign a waiver saying I'm allowed to, even though I'm that young. Yeah. And I have never been put into a situation where you're literally in this cordon off area that you're you're talking about. You have a you have the boat that checks you in right behind you watching the whole thing. You get Ethan doing his commentating, you can hear him, and then two boats in the same area moving around, and it's like you're watching them, right? It's like, oh my gosh. So I take a cast out, and I was using something very similar to the fluke that you were talking about, and I I got a hit, and I was like, oh my gosh, here it goes. And I had my blood pressure, I was I set the hook and then and it popped off. And I was like, oh my gosh. Well, I ended up getting it in, and it'd have been a pike, and it bit me off, is what had happened. Yeah. I'm like, now I gotta retie because I only had one rod with that setup, and I was so sure that that was what was gonna get it here that I'm like, I'm gonna take the time. But I was just gonna tie down another plastic, it was easy to pull it over. It must have taken me what felt like a half an hour to tie that knot because I was shaking so bad from the adrenaline. Yeah, I still I've never at any point in my time experienced anything like that. Yeah, I mean, anything else in my life, I've never sat. I was joking with the camera. Like, I I can't even get the line in the eye. I'm shaking so bad. I'm like, okay, well, maybe I gotta pick something else up. And I'm like, no, I I lucked out and I got I got it tied on my next cast, I got a fish, and I'm getting through that. So it was like wow. I ended up I ended up that's where I got knocked out. I that's where Chad actually did his because he caught the fish the fastest out of everybody, and that's how he ended up in the end. Chad.
SPEAKER_08:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, and then he ended up giving his spot to Angie, who was disqualified. Yes, yeah, but no, I uh I come into that uh little bay, and you remember what was the guy's name that had the yellow, not a bullet, um but a post. Yeah, he that that yellow stroker small an hour basketball yeah yeah yeah yeah I went head to head with him and I had I had borrowed my buddy's Grumman to go into this tournament Ray everybody out there that listens he they know who Ray is my fishing buddy Ray anyway um obviously the bullet or um stroker beat me to the to the spot and we come around the corner and uh uh they were they were supposed to hold you back so you started at the same time and that kind of happened he had beat me to the spot already had deployed his um trolling motor and when I come around I still had to I still had to go to the front get the trolling motor down but he was gone and in the bay that that they had cut off that I was in there was one dock and he would go straight to it I didn't even get a cast before he had a fish in the boat. Yeah yeah but no that well it's what happened to Mike there because he got into a bit of an issue because he had asked about casting over the area or something and the guy in the boat said yeah it was fine and he caught one but then it ended up being well no you can't I don't know did he get out because of that I can't remember but I you know what that's a great I remember exactly that because uh they had uh they had um a meeting remember how we used to get together at the bar at the um uh the college there what can do at the wall they call it the bar the wall that's right yeah and that's Mike had seen a fish in the weeds in the lily pads beyond the area and he did ask one of the judges as long as I'm here I'm in the area can I cast out and they said yes he cast out and caught one but yeah there was something going on with that yeah yeah I I I seem to I I seem to remember that um uh they let him through with that but I think Mike ended up on one of those teams with the GPS and he wasn't on your team that's right it was him and Steve Bates I remember them taking off because we were going this way and him and Steve Bates were running straight through like I mean hardcore will I mean we're in Nymphising right so we're up in the they were going I'm like are we supposed to be going down through like bushwhacking or are we supposed to follow this path I'm like oh we're just gonna follow the path and they were the team that came in almost dead last because they were one of they ended up walking almost into town miles. Whoa I know yeah it was awesome and then that's when my adventure began really I um that's where I got to know Roland Martin fairly well. Yeah you know I was uh I was the the guy from uh um shelburne Grand Valley Ontario area who uh was uh now out couldn't leave because that was the deal like once you went out you were there for the next 10 days or however long the shoe was exactly and you had to sign a uh non-disclosure agreement which always which makes sense yeah but um so I was buying drinks for everybody we go to the wall then and and I went to the wall and uh at the time Roland he liked to have a few drinks and um I very quickly found out that he liked the Crown Royal. And um and uh I'd always buy I'd be buying him drinks and stuff and then he'd buy me a a drink here there. And next thing you know the one night I'm I had to pinch myself after I I didn't realize the magnitude of what went on uh for a young guy like me with a with a uh an icon like Roland. Like an absolute legend a legend in the in in the fishing world and um the Gordy how of of fishing. And uh I find myself half cut standing in the parking lot okay with Roland Martin with a flipping stick and he fucking took his hat off and he threw the hat as far as he could and it ended up it was sitting face up on the on on the pavement in the parking lot.
SPEAKER_07:And then we walked another 30 feet back and he said Steve let me show you the difference between pitching and flipping now we're gonna pitch and he I we had to have been I don't know it had to be between 70 and 90 feet away 100 feet away and he and he and he's got a uh a a fairly hefty jig like um uh you know half a half ounce a half uh ounce jig head at the first and uh he's standing there in the parking like just see that hat over there and he's he he he flipped the hat like nine times out of 10 and flipped it right in his right in his hat and I'm like I could I couldn't even flip like pitch it or it wasn't flipping that was pitching pitching it pitching it like 80 80 feet 100 feet I couldn't even pitch it that far let alone be accurate yeah and then we were flipping and and uh and he stood there and spent I don't know half an hour 40 minutes out there messing around having fun with me you know it's amazing though you know you get like uh the that whole crew I've been very lucky in what I I do now as a career and and my first introduction was the same thing with with Roland Martin you know there's a lot of people you have often wondered you know are they really that type of person I mean just honest to God down to earth good people that just like you and I just love the fetch and when we were done that event I was actually heading straight from that event to uh to a big tournament and I was just happening to be talking to Roland he always just had all this time for everybody yeah and he was just the most conversational it was fantastic and the stories that he could tell you and he said oh go on back to my room son like okay uh this this is a little awkward but I get in there and he one of his sponsors at the time was a crankbait company and they just send him all this stuff why they sent it to him in the last call I have no idea or whether he just had a truck by chance but I'm talking a box at the time as a kid you know I'd never seen anything like this there had been 3,000 baits in this he's handing them to me in handfuls like here just take this just take these and I'm like I gonna need another box carrying them all I says we'll get you set up he said but he sat down and he studied me to okay so where's your tournament I said well it's on Lake Ontario and and uh you know we're talking about fishing Bay Quinney and he says oh he says I know that area and I'm like what is that how do you know like I know he says you think I stay in the same state he says no he says he says I know the ducks really well and I'm like you have got to be kidding me and he sat down and drew a map of the the duck islands yeah and he said that the thing is he was so serious about it he said you gotta fish it based on the wind he said the wind's coming this way it sets up this way and it comes from this way and he's drawing me pictures I'm going to the next tournament with intel from Roland Martin that's amazing that's like uh pinch me you know it was fantastic and he was you know just so so generous and I mean I've had those experiences now with so many guys of that same era between Ray Scott who I ended up down at the ICAS talking to Ray for a second and next thing you know he pulls me into the Bassmaster booth and we sat down we must have talked for two and a half hours it was incredible like I'm sitting here talking to Ray Scott and just randomly like I there was no meeting or anything you know I had the same thing with when I was with uh with purple you know got a chance to spend a lot of time with with Hank Parker um we did events that the Bassmaster classic that Hank was involved with and we got to do the victory lap and you know I mean I'm in the boat with Hank and I mean shooting t-shirts up and I mean it was just so cool and and it was just the funniest thing because between him and Jimmy Houston and uh David Fritz who then became a very good friend of mine again David Fritz I've never met another man in my life that could eat the way that that dude could he could eat a 60 ounce steak and ask for dessert. I mean I've never seen anything like it but David David would be he'd go back to his room and he made these moon pies and he comes back that's how we spent every evening he was baking for everybody and he'd come in with all this stuff and he he's like he had and there was pies and he was making I can't remember all this stuff I'm like what are you where are you buying all this oh no I'm I make it he's going to get what okay no way can you imagine no no man I'm making it yeah and then Jimmy Houston comes in the back of our booth and Hank is talking with his wife and and they're out on our our main floor and I was running the booth at the Bassmaster Classic because that was my job as a marketing manager. And I was out there all I hear is you know I mean I don't know if anybody knows Jimmy Houston but you can hear him across the show he's his laugh he's just he comes in he does he chokes a little bit and does it but I knew he was trying to be quiet. He grabbed Hank Parker's briefcase and ran out of the booth. No and then Hank's looking around and he's like I got all my notes I got everything in there I'm supposed to do this with that I've got my notes Houston did it and I mean these guys are all legends they're going around the show and I mean it wasn't two minutes later they're announcing Jimmy bring back no way Hank's briefcase and you hear them way at the other end of the show these guys are just so incredibly amazing you know it's it's uh it's just a lot of fun and that it's really turned into you know me knowing what I'm doing and and that's where it was so funny I started doing all these events and I'd always loved photography. I loved taking pictures and when I was with Berkeley I started putting you know again in marketing I was putting stuff up on the on their account and I was you know managing the social side of things and here I am sitting on hundreds if not thousands of photos at the time and I'm just like you know what I'm gonna start throwing them up on Instagram just because I'm sitting on them I I I I had no intention of doing anything with it. Instagram wasn't what it is now there was no such thing as an influencer at the time it was just put them up to share them because it's that was my way of sharing I mean pictures worth a thousand words just to say right and one thing led to another and next thing I know a company's getting hold of me saying hey would you like to buy these photos and I mean now it just turned into something that is just it's so much fun I mean I have my career but I have this side thing that I do make money with and and it's decent but I I it's more the experience that it was never intended to be a business but yeah I've made some really great friends and and partners that done a lot with the you know the OFAH and I've I don't know how many covers it now had with outdoor canada I now have the cover on the the regulations of the 2026 get the hell out of here is the photo I did and you go to the shoot the same thing. I walk into stores because of the stuff I did with you know when I was with Berkeley I shot a sh an image that's now on the experience trailer. Like I mean it's a hundred foot wall of of an image that I took that's on the the big truck that that they they use and that's saying it just you go into any aisle in the fishing section and there's my pictures or sometimes pictures of me just that were taken a lot of times it's funny there'd be like close ups of hands or whatever because you're showing baits and stuff that what we do and it's like hey those are my hands no way it just it never gets old you know because it's again it's just a way that I could share this passion and I love doing it and I I've had a chance to do some pretty cool stuff now with the photo the photography and some of the things that you get to do is fun but I I got a chance to go with um Jay Cooper who again we've all met at the last call. Love Jay great son Ben is dude he is gonna be a serious stick like I mean he knows what he's doing and it's so fun to see Jay guide him but Ben grow beyond that. Oh yeah and his abilities like I mean he we fished in the boat a couple times now and he's he's just he's just so passionate and you can just feel the this you know the sincerity around all everything he does in fishing. And you know we we we showed up and I the one time fished with him the first time and then the second time you know Jay's calling me he's like hey what gloves were he wearing and Ben really liked those and what rod and reel were you using Ben really liked those and next time we're fishing and we Ben's in the side I worked past this area and then he took a cast ends up catching a six pound largemouth like I'm like behind you. Yeah he's literally I just fish through that area now I I mean we were going fast but I mean he he picked that fish up and I ended up getting another six later on and there's a there's just a fantastic photo that I took on a tripod of him and I both holding up six pound largemouth those things are just things you just like to to have an image or just to share that experience with a young kid that you know is gonna is as passionate as you are maybe even more and to share that with with somebody and to share it with a buddy like Jay in the boat with us it's uh it's just magical I love the sport so much it's just yeah it's amazing.
SPEAKER_08:So now with your photography tell uh my question is how close are the telephone cameras to what you're using or are you using a telephone now?
SPEAKER_07:So you hit on a little bit of a sore spot for me working because I'll tell you something I have thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars of camera gear now and I can tell you the very first cover that I shot for Canada was shot on my phone. Yeah um which uh I never wanted to tell my uh my family at home with the amount of money that I spend and I just use my work phone to take a picture of I know first cover yeah it's about shot on my phone and I've now had two other covers on top of that that have been shot on my phone like this is the it's the thing that I I think people get lost in when I mean I have some really quick kind of pieces of information I do some seminars and talking about this stuff and there's there's some really quick tips that you can give somebody to make an epic difference in their their photography just because most people are fishing most people are more concerned about fishing and that than taking the pictures I get that it just happens to be the photography part is a passion of mine and I've I've said this in fact I've just had a conversation again with uh with another another one of my best friends his son uh Mason Hoogers is um has been a guide in fact he was at Lodge 88 he took you guys out oh nice yeah so he he's been involved there and now he's he's up in the Arctic at Timbo I never know where this kid is but he's catching lakers like I've never seen in my life but he's you know I said to him I said you know if you're good you're in these situations and that's the thing that I've been involved because of what I'm doing I'm taking images of places that's just a candy idiot with a phone can take it and they're just such epic shots because of the situation let alone you know you don't even have to take a good shot yeah just take a shot you know but I told them and same with everybody else I'll say the same thing. You could buy a$60,000 camera and I'll take a better picture than you will with a phone yeah just because nothing it's not a it's not a two year old horn thing it's it's just literally because I've taken the time to think about all these different things and and you know the the way the shot set up and all the light and all these things that's what makes a difference. Don't try to don't get lost in I gotta buy expensive gear to take good just don't our phones are so good. Yeah I mean it's incredible you know everyone's so well don't get lost to ask my question is because a lot of well I'm not gonna say a lot but definitely some of the fish in Canada television show is shot on cell phone yeah I've had I've had sequences um that I shot on my cell phone make the um the show yeah and you wouldn't know the difference no you know it's funny now I do uh I got into video and doing stuff just because again sponsors and stuff were wanting content which makes sense I mean you got lots of mouse feed between yeah social media website and newsletters and whatever else you're doing and they're like yeah you need to do videos but the problem was and this is why I was playing to uh the internet was like the difference between making it and not is doing it everybody talks about it but nobody stops the day and says okay I'm gonna stop fishing so that I can record that yeah and you don't have to do it for long. That's the thing you don't have to take the whole day to do it. You can you can turn it into some apple that's you know Hollywood ready but you don't need to do that. Just take the time to actually record something do it do a tip or just talk through I mean those situations again all in which is like being along with them for the ride. I started shooting with my phone and not pulling up the camera anymore because it was so much easier. And then when I go home at night it's on my phone it's it's all ready to edit I don't have to transfer anything I don't have to do anything I could sit down and watch the tube and just do my editing and shoot that video.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah.
SPEAKER_07:And because it's on social media the quality doesn't have to be there. But if you're shooting me at what you're saying for you know for Canada Voters National Television fishing show and and doing it you know in 4K and it's yeah 4K three.
SPEAKER_08:Yeah yeah yeah I've got my cell phone set at 4K 30 and uh uh you just never know when you can use when you use it actually we uh we just caught a real nice muskie uh on our annual uh muskie trip up on Nipissing um uh and um uh the shot would have made the commercial for the 40th year of me holding this muskie but uh my son Rayburn um he's uh he's of the younger generation and took only the vertical not the horizontal right yeah so and that's you know that's one of the things like some of the basic things that you like if you're fishing and you bring out your phone to take a picture the very first thing anytime your phone ever comes out white black
SPEAKER_07:Yeah. You know how many people have taken like a fish of a lifetime holding these things up and there's a smudge that covers over its head. Or you know, you get a bit of lighting and the whole thing's now foggy, and all you had to do is take your shirt and rub it off.
SPEAKER_09:Yeah.
SPEAKER_07:First time, every time, take it out. You know, you've had it in your hand, you get fingerprints on just like I mean first thing to do.
SPEAKER_08:Well, you know, we come into this podcast thinking that we were going to talk fully uh about the photography and everything else. Uh, but we've we're we're we've kind of come to the end. But what I would love is to be able to sit down with you in the next two, three weeks, whatever it might be, and uh really dive into the photography of it.
SPEAKER_07:That would be fun. I think there's because there's what I think we could do is talk through some of the things that you can do with what you already have, and it's not one of those Christmas shopping ones where you gotta spend thousands of dollars, you get photos, you're photos. No, you don't. So we can have here's a few things that we can talk through, and you're gonna have an amazing season of as a hook.
SPEAKER_08:What is one of the most important things that somebody with an iPhone or uh uh a phone can do to help improve their their pictures, their photos, their photography skills.
SPEAKER_07:I think the biggest thing is if you think fish face light and background. So you you've gotta have your face you've gotta make sure you always make sure your face is all important. Photography is literally about nothing else other than light. So if you're half hand like this and it's all black and your face, you're half black or um the other thing is everybody's now people are smart enough to know, okay, if I have a back life, yeah. Everything's gonna be dark and then turn them around. But they literally do a 180 turn around. But what they end up with is you can't hold the fish, and now the shadow is right on his face. So you've got this right like the fish, you've got a dark face you can't see, yeah. You've got a weird shadow come across, and probably some other backer. That if you just gave it two seconds, this is what I'm talking about, just two seconds about where the light's coming from, and that's what I mean by face, and and that's where the light, just think of the light turns off at an angle. Yeah, instead of having it directly in the field perpendicular to you, um, where you get the harsh shadows everywhere. Those are some of the things that I'd like to the background to just make sure that the cement factory is back there. Yeah, but yeah, there's there's a lot of stuff that we could cover really quickly that would make a difference. And uh heck, you know what? We could even make a little checklist or something.
SPEAKER_08:You could throw it. Why don't I do a little bit of research and uh and um I'm I'm sure all of the uh all of the Diaries family would uh would love to uh listen to it. And hey folks, also uh be watching for it and share that with anybody too, because photography is one of those uh one of those things that it it is I I at least with the limited uh work that I've done with my phone now, um it is so very cool to to be able to take great quality pictures. And you're right, I'm constantly because I've shot with the Fish in Canada guys, I'm constantly um aware of where the sun's coming from, how what what does it look like, framing, angles, different things like that. And um, yeah, this is this episode uh coming up, it'll be uh it'll be uh an epic photography episode for sure. And with an award-winning photographer. Like, I mean, listen, I can't believe I was totally given to everybody. Yeah, yeah, no. Wow, yeah, but you've got the hardware to back it up with these uh with uh all of the uh your your work being spread out in the industry to the to to the point that it is. I had no idea. Congratulations for that. That's uh that is very cool.
SPEAKER_07:Uh well I appreciate it, but I also have a question for you, so this will be a little self-serving. In this episode, we're gonna do that. I want to pick your brain on an idea that I have specifically with a lodge owner or previously.
SPEAKER_08:Yeah, 100%.
SPEAKER_07:I'd love to pass some ideas past you and some input from uh a guy who's been there.
SPEAKER_08:Absolutely, because I can tell you one thing for sure, um, without knowing um what you're gonna ask or or anything like that. But for me, I built my business on photography and video.
SPEAKER_07:Really?
SPEAKER_08:Yeah, my my business was um the advertising side of it was television um and my and the website. And the website with uh with uh photography, with um um all of the videos uh that uh all of the television shows that we did. Um over a 10-year period, I don't think that there's another lodge in the country um in history. And that's a broad statement, and I'm not even a hundred percent sure that I'm I'm I'm I'm accurate on this, but I would I would pretty close to bet the farm that there was no other lodge that in a 10-year period uh had 28 television show shot, and that's where I was at.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, that's fantastic. And you know, it's unfortunate I never got to to you know get to and even to now I've never been to the Shadier Lodge. Um but I do know it has a reputation that precedes it. And I mean, something that you built was I mean, the level of customer service and the attention to details that it went to, and that's why I'd like to pick your brain on a few of these things. Absolutely. I don't think there's anybody better to ask, and I think uh absolutely look is a great platform for me to do it.
SPEAKER_08:Yeah, 100%. Well, listen, Chris, thank you so much. It was great catching up with you and uh seeing your face. You're looking great. Um and there's another 20. I got on that. I know. I I got it. Hey, I'm I'm uh I'm a starving podcaster. And on that note, I'd like to uh thank uh all the uh all the guys and girls at uh at Lakeside Marine in Red Lake, Ontario. You hear me talking about them all the time, but uh uh the the service quality is is uh second to none. And uh if you're ever in the area, stop in, tell them I sent you. And uh I'd also like to thank the Outdoor Journal Radio Podcast Network, because without uh Angin and those guys, uh I wouldn't be here today uh sharing uh sharing all of this stuff with you guys and and uh the producers, Anthony Mancini and Dean Taylor. Actually, Dino was on uh giving us some technical assistance before this uh show uh uh started. So thanks, boys. I really appreciate all that. And if you've got to this point in the podcast, thank you so much, all of you out there for listening. I hope you enjoyed it. Uh, and uh I'd appreciate it if you uh like, subscribe, do all that funky stuff. I don't know what you're listening on or how you do it, but any, any, all that stuff helps. And uh pass it on, pass it on. Um and with that, thus brings us to the conclusion of another episode of Diaries of a Lodge Owner, Stories of the North.
SPEAKER_10:I'm a good old boy, never meaning no harm. I'll be the only you ever stall been reeling in the hog since the day I was born. Bendin' my ride. Someday I might on the lodge and how to define. I'll be making my way, the only way I know how. Working hard and sharing the north with all of my pals. About a lodge and live my dream. And now I'm here talking about how life can be as good as it seems. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:Back in 2016, Frank and I had a vision to amass the single largest database of muskie angling education material anywhere in the world.
SPEAKER_03:Our dream was to harness the knowledge of this amazing community and share it with passionate anglers just like you.
SPEAKER_05:Thus, the Ugly Pike Podcast was born and quickly grew to become one of the top fishing podcasts in North America.
SPEAKER_03:Step into the world of angling adventures and embrace the thrill of the catch with the Ugly Pike Podcast. Join us on our quest to understand what makes us different as anglers and to uncover what it takes to go after the infamous Fish of 10,000 casts.
SPEAKER_05:The Ugly Pike Podcast isn't just about fishing, it's about creating a tight-knit community of passionate anglers who share the same love for the sport. Through laughter, through camaraderie, and an unwavering spirit of adventure, this podcast will bring people together. Subscribe now and never miss a moment of our angling adventures.
SPEAKER_03:Tight lines, everyone.
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SPEAKER_09:Hi everybody, I'm Angelo Viola. And I'm Pete Bowman. Now you might know us as the hosts of Canada's favorite fishing show, but now we're hosting a podcast. That's right. Every Thursday, Ang and I'll be right here in your ears, bringing you a brand new episode of Outdoor Journal Radio.
SPEAKER_02:Hmm. Now, what are we going to talk about for two hours every week?
SPEAKER_09:Well, you know there's gonna be a lot of fishing.
SPEAKER_02:I knew exactly where those fish were going to be and how to catch them, and they were easy to catch.
SPEAKER_08:Yeah, but it's not just a fishing show. We're going to be talking to people from all facets of the outdoors.
SPEAKER_00:From athletes, all the other guys would go golfing. Me and Garchomp Turk, and all the Russians would go fishing.
SPEAKER_01:But now that we're reforesting and anything, it's the perfect transmission environment for line.
SPEAKER_02:If any game isn't cooked properly, they're needed before you will taste it.
SPEAKER_08:And whoever else would pick up the phone. Wherever you are, Outdoor General Radio seeks to answer the questions and tell the stories of all those who enjoy being outside.
SPEAKER_09:Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.