the great outdoors

from summer 2010 airdrielife

Cranked

story

Sometimes it’s hard to see the forest for the trees. To enjoy camping, hiking, fishing, hunting and appreciating nature, we don’t need to travel great distances.

“Fishing is about the people you’re with and the places you go with them. It’s different things to different people.”

- Don scotten, retail fishing consultant and avid fisherman

Don Scotten, recently transformed former publisher of the Airdrie Echo and lifelong outdoor enthusiast, says he’s loved fishing from the time he was six or seven years old and fondly remembers camping and fishing with his family. These days, he can be found in the fishing department at Bass Pro Shops at CrossIron Mills and is happy talking to fellow fishermen about the “latest and greatest toys” and sharing his passion for the sport.

Scotten both fly fishes and spin-casts. “Typically you’ll have success one way or the other,” he says. His favourite fishing hole is the Clearwater River west of Caroline, but he says there is an abundance of good fishing closer to home. The Bow River is one of the best fisheries in North America. Midway Reservoir, 20 kilometres east of Highway 2 on Secondary Highway 581, is a large, stocked trout pond with a good camping area. Crossfield has two trout ponds within town limits. Dogpound, near Madden, is a great place to picnic and fish for brown trout and whitefish. Dewitt’s

Pond, west of Airdrie, is stocked annually with rainbow trout. Ghost Lake (lake trout and lake whitefish) is about 45 minutes away.

South of Calgary, Lake McGregor, Badger Lake, Travers Dam and Pine Coulee are walleye destinations. Walleye, a type of pickerel, is the fisherman’s choice – excellent eating but a challenge to catch. Other game fish in the area are perch, pike and burbot.

An aspiring fisherman doesn’t require a lot of equipment to get started. A rod, reel, package of weights and some hooks will give you a good idea whether you want to stay with the sport and invest more. Fishermen between 16 and 65 must have a valid licence and a WIN (wildlife identification number). Proceeds go back into the resource.

“It’s about the peace and serenity,” says Scotten,“but also it’s about the exhilaration and excitement of it all.” You don’t have to catch anything, but he admits it’s more fun if you do.

“It’s amazing how much a person will spend on a pound or less of meat, everything considered,” Scotten smiles.

“People don’t realize how good they have it right here in our own backyard.”

- Wes David, president, Airdrie hunting and fishing Association

In February 2009, the inaugural meeting of the Airdrie Hunting and Fishing Association (AHFA) was held at a local coffee shop. Organizer Wes David and eight others were present. By May 2009, there were 21 members. This May, at the organization’s first annual general meeting, there were more than 125 members on the books. In February 2010, the group affiliated with the Alberta Fish and Game Association and now enjoys the benefits of being part of a larger organization. About 85 per cent of the members are active.

“I’m really impressed with the enthusiasm of our members,” says David. “They all contribute in one way or another.” Members attend monthly meetings (with guest speakers bimonthly) in the Conservation Room at Bass Pro Shops.

AHFA is a family-oriented organization of hunters, anglers and conservationists. Their intent is to take a leadership role in developing and supporting wildlife management goals in the Airdrie general area. Their mission is to foster and promote the non-commercial harvest of fish and game as a legitimate part of an overall wildlife management program, as a respected traditional outdoor activity and as a valued heritage. Membership is open to all.

“Getting kids outside doing outdoor activities is one of the organization’s main goals,” says David, who is now AHFA president. Education is also a major component with a focus on safety and conservation. A third goal is to establish a good relationship with local landowners through various initiatives.

AHFA’s first major project is developing Dewitt’s Pond. Garbage has been hauled out and trees donated. The association is currently working on grant applications and a raffle (ending July 15 with Bass Pro Shops gift certificates as prizes) with funds going toward aeration equipment to prevent winterkilling of pond stock. Two wheelchair-accessible casting platforms at the site are in the plans. The association has also taken on the care and maintenance of a stocked pond to be constructed near the new Strathmore overpass.

“People come from all over the world to fish in the Bow River,” says David, who also recommends Gull and Pigeon lakes to the north and Crawling Valley Reservoir near Bassano, where last winter’s AHFA ice fishing event with more than 80 participants was held. “We promote catch and release,” says David. “And we have members who don’t care if they catch a fish but they always have their cameras ready.”

Entry fees for various events are donations to Airdrie Food Bank. Watch for the casting platform at Airdrie Food Bank’s Empty Bowls event June 12. AHFA also plans to become involved in a pheasant release program, runs a “Garbage for Gophers” campaign and is planning courses in ATV safety and dog training. The first banquet will be held in February 2011 with an offering of wild game on the menu.

AHFA promotes hunting safely and ethically.“We need to teach our young people,” says David. “We don’t want them to go out there and get hurt.”

More information can be found online at www.airdriehfa.com

“Whether you’re a religious person or not, there’s no better solitude than standing in a river casting a fly.”

- scott pulvermacher, outdoor writer and enthusiast

“My mother’s mantra was it was our duty to leave a campsite better than we found it. That’s carried through to how I look at a lot of things,” says Airdrie’s Scott Pulvermacher, outdoorsman, environmentalist and writer whose passion for the great outdoors was sparked by regular camping trips at an early age. Now

Pulvermacher wants to help his sons create the same positive memories.

He enjoys both hunting and fishing close to home. “Look where we live. We live in Paradise,” he says as he discusses both spin-casting and fly fishing anywhere along the Bow River, and pursuing his passion for bow hunting in the bowonly zone around Calgary.

Farther from populated areas, Pulvermacher also hunts game birds, mule deer and whitetail deer. His favourite camping area is Pine Lake. In May 2010, he accompanied Chris David, host of the TV show Hunting Chronicles, to northern Saskatchewan to hunt black bear and in the fall, he and business partner Barry Chisholm will accompany the show to northern Alberta to hunt whitetail deer. Both trips will be filmed for television and Pulvermacher will write about his experiences for Enquirer.com.

The local outdoorsman has always enjoyed writing and jumped at the opportunity to write a hunting/fishing blog for a former employer. He was then contacted by the news and information site, Enquirer.com. He began as the Calgary Hunting Examiner, soon progressed to the Canadian Outdoorsman Examiner and is still the only Canadian writer in the hugely popular Examiner network. His articles cover all aspects of outdoor recreation.

Pulvermacher’s conservationist philosophy extends to recycling in his home and to his business, LOGical Creations, which creates log furniture from old logs. He and Chisholm are committed to doing everything, including peeling the logs by hand, making each finished article a unique work of art. For their ‘green’ commitment they’ve received two local and two provincial awards and the national Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Award.

“The more people are out enjoying what we have, the more we learn to love and respect it,” says Pulvermacher. “Leave it better than you found it. After all, if two rednecks making furniture can make a difference, anyone can.” life

JUNE 20 - SEPT 20 , 2010

12 artists chairs places