Here we grow again. 2022 will see a record number of boats and anglers that includes some impressive resumes. We are very pleased to announce that the Izumi family has greater representation this coming year. Wayne has fished our tournament for a number of years now.
Wayne Izumi is an accomplished angler in his own right. Wayne is back-to-back winner of the Canadian Open, in 1992 and 1993 as well as winning the first Ontario Place Open in 2004. On the business side, Izumi Outdoors Inc. is a 30 year-old multi-media company which produces the Bob Izumi Real Fishing Show and magazine of which he is also President. He and his brother Bob started the non-profit organization Fishing Forever in 2000 that has raised over 1.7 million for both fishing conservation projects in Ontario and the Kids, Cops and Canadian Tire Fishing Days Program.
Bob Izumi needs no introduction. He became Canada’s first professional angler in 1979. Three decades later, Bob earned his induction into the Canadian Angler Hall of Fame in 2009. He has now won more than 70 major fishing events, and amassed several Angler of the Year titles. Perhaps his best run was from 1994-96 where he won three consecutive Canadian Opens and in 1995 he became the only Canadian to win the Triple Crown of fishing; the Canadian Open, the Classic Championship, and Angler of the Year title in a single season. Bob has hosted the Bob Izumi’s Real Fishing Show for over 37 years.
Darren Izumi, Bob’s son, is building his own resume. Darren, the son of renowned Canada angler and TV personality Bob Izumi, set a tournament record when he caught a 7.20-pound smallmouth in the 2016 Kingston Canadian Open at Lake Ontario. Bob was quoted, “As a proud father, it was definitely a highlight of my 43 years fishing bass tournaments.”
We are also very pleased to announce that David Chong will fish the 2022 tournament. David Chong is one of the most recognizable competitive anglers and fishing personalities in Canada. His tournament success is only surpassed by his desire to share his passion for fishing with young and old. Youth initiatives like the “Catch a Dream” Kids Fishing Derby and Fishing Friendzy are extremely important to David as well as educational ventures such as BassTalk, Live2Fish and “EVERYTHING You Wanted to Know About FISHING … but were afraid to ask!” David sits in the company of royalty when it comes to big catches. In 2014 David recorded a 8.2 lb smallmouth on Lake Simcoe. The all-time Canadian smallmouth record came from the same lake and weighed in at 8.05, the heaviest bass on record in a Canadian event.
We are going to miss the presence of Steve Clapper in 2022 after fishing our tournament for the last number of years. Steve Clapper of Lima Ohio was a 2016 inductee in the U.S.National Fresh water Hall of Fame. Steve won in the WFL Bass Masters Series in 2007 in Detroit taking home 200 K. In addition, through his relentless testing, Steve has helped guide manufacturers to create better products to overcome these unique situations. In fact, Clapper’s latest R&D efforts directly aided Ranger Boats in the design of their new big-water dominator, the massive 522D bass boat. Steve is a true gentleman and he will be missed in 2022. Steve was quoted in 2019 during a media interview with the Chatham Daily News, “the Canadian Tire Mitchell’s Bay Open bass tournament is the best one he’s fished during his 50 years as a professional.”