This is part one of a three-part series examining fishing in Simcoe County.

Fishing in Ontario is big business, but unfortunately not enough communities in the Georgian Bay and Muskoka regions are taking advantage of the opportunities available to them.

Andy Pallotta is the tournament director of the Bassmania Fishing Series, an event that has enjoyed a strong run across Ontario in recent years.

“Communities see other towns hosting tournaments, but they don’t fully appreciate what these tournaments have to offer in terms of bringing dollars into their region,” said Pallotta.

Elite teams from across Canada and the United States travel across Ontario each summer to compete in Competitive Sports Fishing League events.

Professional angers and television personalities including Bob and Wayne Izumi, Pete Bowman and the Viola brothers (Angelo and Reno) all take part in the CSFL events, which boast heavy sponsorship.

In each community, they increase the exposure of fishing, attract media interest and leave precious dollars for purchases of gasoline, hotels, meals and other items behind.

While other tournaments have gone to a three-fish limit in terms of total weight, Bassmania, has stuck with five.

As a result, their tournaments have enjoyed strong attendance, reflected by the 160 teams that attended a $40,000 tournament held June 29 in Orillia.

Pallotta points to Midland as one community that has elected to stick with a three-fish limit for tournaments and as such is not drawing larger numbers of teams.

But he points out the need for these tournaments to thrive and survive, because they are being run to assist non-profit groups looking to raise money for various causes.

“Whether it’s the Big Brothers or the fire department raising money for a new piece of equipment, these are important causes in those communities. They rely on these tournaments to help raise the money they need to fund their various projects,” said Pallotta.

Working with the Ministry of Natural Resources, Pallotta feels a lot of the tournaments work hard to ensure no harm is done to the fish stocks and the strong population numbers are maintained through the live release program.

Surprisingly. Pallotta finds a lot of communities don’t truly appreciate the economic boost that can be gained by hosting fishing tournaments.

In June, Orillia hosted a Bassmania fishing event with 155, two-person teams taking part.

Pallotta estimates each team spent about $2,000 while in Orillia, providing a direct gain of approximately $320,000 to the local economy.

Brian Gardy is an Orillia resident who has been fishing professionally in tournament across Ontario for the past six years.

Gardy said the media has a responsibility to let more people know about the impact of these fishing events.

“What needs to be done is more promotion to let fishing fans know these are the best anglers in Ontario and they are spending big money in the communities they visit,” said Gardy.

Further promotion by event organizers will draw more people into fishing as well he noted.

If there is a dark cloud on the horizon within tourism fishing, Gardy said it is the ever-increasing price of gasoline.

While the heavily-sponsored teams should be able to handle the rising costs, Gardy points to the other anglers like himself who have only limited sponsorship.

“If the price of gasoline continues to rise, it is very possible you might see many of the smaller teams dropping out of tournaments. That affects entry fees, hotels, restaurants, gas stations and all sorts of other tourism-related businesses.