She Loves To Fish

Despite being on the water, both hard and soft, about 200 days a year I’ve never seriously considered using a kayak. For some strange reason kayaks have never fit my preconceived notion of a fishing boat.

Ashley Rae is quickly changing my mind.

I met Ashley for the first time last winter while doing fishing seminars at the Toronto Spring Fishing and Boat Show. Ashley stayed around to talk fishing with me after I had finished. I’d heard about her from a number of buddies who had fished both with her and against her in tournaments and they were mightily impressed with her knowledge, passion and abilities.

Ashley, by the way, lives in southeastern Ontario and spends most of her time fishing Lake Ontario’s Bay of Quinte – she is a member of the Quinte Bass Anglers – and the many inland waters associated with the Rideau system.

Ashley hit the big time back in 2009 when she participated in Adopt an Angler, an online fishing contest sponsored by the World Fishing Network.

The premise of the contest was to upload a fishing video, convince as many folks as possible to watch it and then to vote for it. Well, let me tell you, once you get to know this young lady you know that grass is one thing that does not grow beneath her feet. Once she puts her mind to something, watch out.

So, she uploaded a video, garnered almost 14,000 votes and won a dream deep sea fishing vacation in Tobago. Since then she has fallen in love with fishing from a Hobie kayak, and based on the fish she is catching from it, she is making me a believer in the boat.

“Last night after I arrived at the lake,” she told me, “I saw some dark clouds moving in from the north. Even though I had packed my rain suit I decided to fish close just to be safe. About 30 feet away a tree lay fallen over in the water. I have taken a few casts at it in the past, but I am usually too eager to head out to explore the lake and fish my honey holes. Anyway, the rain only lasted for about 10 minutes and then the sky opened back up, so I decided to fish the tree that I had taken for granted. I peddled my Hobie over to the edge of it and on my first cast with a drop shot rig, I pulled up this nice bucket! My kayak, and the weather have now taught me that sometimes you don’t need to go to the other end of the lake to make the trip all worth it!”

Now, do yourself a favor. Click on this link and watch one of Ashley’s superb short videos. Trust me, you’ll feel much better for doing so!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRKvG_h7bn0&feature=share

This girl loves to fish!