How one Canuck angler got to the world championship of bass fishing—the Bassmaster Classic

#2: Get Connected

Born and raised in Montreal, Sim grew up fishing for anything that would bite. Throughout his teens, fishing became such a prominent force in his life that he ended up studying fish and wildlife at Lindsay, Ontario’s Fleming College in the early 1990s. After that, he spent a couple of summers guiding anglers for walleye and pike in northwestern Ontario.

It wasn’t until Sim moved to Ottawa in 1999, however, that he really started to get into bass fishing. He soon joined the Ottawa Valley South Bassmasters as a non-boater, a move he credits for fast-tracking his bass-fishing learning curve. “Joining this club gave me the opportunity to learn from and fish with some great anglers,” he says. “It forced me to experience different bodies of water, introduced me to some fantastic people and allowed me to discover the challenging world of tournament fishing. I would encourage everyone to join their local bass club. I guarantee it’s something you will not regret.”