Reflecting on 30 years at OOD

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Reflecting on 30 years at OOD


OOD April 1997 Issue Cover

I’ve combined feelings in relation to anniversaries. On one hand, it’s nice to have a good time milestones and essential dates in your life. On the opposite, these events remind you about how rapidly time goes by.

That is definitely the case as I replicate on 30 years with Ontario OUT of DOORS. It appears inconceivable that three a long time of writing for the journal have handed.

OOD origins

Although I’ve been writing for OOD a very long time, my relationship with the journal stretches again even additional. Like many, I grew up studying OOD and its newsprint predecessor, Ontario Fisherman & Hunter. My father was and stays a eager outdoorsman, so publications like OOD and Outdoor Canada have been subscribed to together with American-based counterparts Outdoor Life and Field and Stream. These magazines have been learn cover-to-cover and Gord Sr. would clip probably the most pertinent articles to our space and create recordsdata. My favorite articles have been written by individuals like Bob Jones and John Kerr, each on the OOD masthead. These writers revealed the wondrous fishing potentialities in Ontario — many on my doorstep in Thunder Bay — whereas spinning tales that spurred the creativeness.

In the mid Eighties, my out of doors writing profession started with a now long-defunct publication. I used to be employed as an editor for the publication, though I used to be as inexperienced as you could possibly get. What I lacked in talent was made up for with enthusiasm. My dream job was to be an out of doors author and inform tales about fishing, searching, and different open air adventures. That first job gave me the arrogance to start out advertising and marketing out of doors tales and I managed to promote a couple of. It was round this time, that I met Thunder Bay author Russ Swerdlyk, who was already freelancing for OOD. Swerdlyk was a mentor and he taught me quite a bit concerning the out of doors writing world.

Outdoor Writers of Canada

In 1988, I used to be invited to participate in a author’s outing on the French River. It was sponsored by Lowrance Electronics, and lots of the greatest writers in North America have been there. It was there I met Bob Jones, then a premier author at OOD. He took me underneath his wing and launched me to a gaggle referred to as the Outdoor Writers of Canada (OWC).

A 12 months later, at an OWC convention in Sault Ste. Marie, I met Kerr, and we hit it off. Kerr was Fishing Editor of OOD and one in all my heroes. We went fishing for steelhead in the rapids one morning and within the night, talked Nipigon brook trout and ice fishing. We didn’t speak about writing, as I used to be affiliated with one other journal on the time. However, a pair years later, issues modified, and my first manuscript was despatched to OOD. The relaxation, as they are saying, is historical past.

Becoming a author with OOD was thrilling and a terrific studying floor. Both Kerr, after which editor and affiliate writer Burt Myers, have been encouraging, but in addition demanding. There have been many lengthy telephone calls from each of them, about all the pieces to do with writing and delivering high quality tales. Yukio Yamada, who was artwork director then, got here to Thunder Bay one fall to take pictures. I realized an unbelievable quantity about out of doors pictures from him. Yamada additionally took the primary photograph of me to make the journal cowl.

Field Editor

For the primary a number of years at OOD, I used to be listed as a subject editor, repeatedly offering fishing and searching content material to the journal. Then, one night in the late Nineteen Nineties, the telephone rang.

“Gord, it’s Burt.”

It was not out of the odd to get calls from the editor, however it was 9 p.m. On a weekday.

“I’ve been thinking about some stuff,” he mentioned. “John is getting more editorial responsibility, so I want you to be fishing editor.”

I practically dropped the telephone. For so long as I may keep in mind, Kerr had been the fishing editor of OOD. Besides being the person at OOD, he wrote an open air column for the Toronto Sun. He was a steelhead guru in southern Ontario. A legend.

His footwear have been massive to fill for a author from the north.

“Yes, I’d love to do that,” I mentioned to Myers.

Fishing Editor

As (dangerous) luck would have it, my first column as Fishing Editor was about steelhead, and Kerr was going to be the one to edit it. I’ve heard by way of the grapevine my preliminary providing had Kerr shaking his head however, over time, I eased into the job. Being fishing editor for OOD opened many doorways for journey and experiencing what Ontario needed to provide. Myers felt it was essential to expertise the southern Ontario trout opener, so I did that a couple of instances, in addition to chasing crappie in Kawartha Lakes, trolling muskie on the Ottawa River, and fly-fishing for brown trout on the Forks of the Credit.

The new place additionally allowed me to journey to the International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades (ICAST) present a couple of instances, the place the sheer breadth of the angling business began to sink in. One of the most effective components of being on the OOD masthead for therefore lengthy is attending to know the writers and editors. I’ve spent many, many hours open air with my expensive buddy James Smedley, who has been at OOD even longer than I. I’ve shared a ship, blind or cutover with Tom Goldsmith, Luigi DeRose, Bruce Ranta, Tamas Pal, and affiliate writer and editor Ray Blades. I used to be fortunate sufficient to information Blades to his largest brookie ever on the Nipigon River a couple of years in the past, a second I’m certain we each will always remember.

An honour

It’s been an honour to write down for OOD readers all these years and I’m grateful for the assist of the publishers and editors of this journal previous and current. I’m particularly grateful for the sort phrases and suggestions from readers through the years. I’ve additionally slowly gotten used to being advised “I’ve been reading you since I was a kid.”

God keen, I plan to be right here on your grandkids, too.


OOD April 2003 Issue Cover
OOD May 2008 Issue Cover

Just a couple of of the covers I used to be glad to hoist a fish for.


Senior Editor Gord Ellis is a journalist, radio broadcaster, photographer, {and professional} angler primarily based in Thunder Bay. Reach Gord at mail@oodmag.com and Twitter: @GordEllis

Originally printed within the Jan.-Feb. 2022 challenge of Ontario OUT of DOORS

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