paul-2016Last week I had the opportunity to spend a day on the water with Northern Ontario Walleye Trail (NOWT) Angler and Lund Pro Staffer Paul Ethier.

During our time on the water I learned that Paul was born and raised in Timmins, ON.

Paul recalls at age seven going to his grandparents cottage which was on Frederick House Lake. When at the cottage Paul and his brother would row a 12-foot aluminum boat to a point on the lake.

One time Paul said they forgot their fishing rods at home. In true Northern fashion, they made fishing rods out of branches and attached their line to it. Paul says they must have caught 50 walleye and sauger that day.

Growing up, Paul told me his father played a major role in his passion for the sport of fishing. Since his father was an early bird, they would leave in the early hours of the mornings to fish the local lakes within the Timmins area.

Once he was old enough, Paul got his drivers license. This allowed him to borrow the family vehicles to fish other remote lakes in pursuit of walleye.

At times he found himself in trouble by bringing the vehicles home on empty, or getting caught siphoning gas from the family vehicles to fill his boat gas tank so he could go fishing.

When he turned eighteen, Paul was able to purchase a 4X4 truck, thanks to his Nana loaning him the money for it.

The truck allowed Paul to load his father’s 12-foot aluminum boat and 1968 outboard motor, which he continues to use today, to venture even farther back to more remote walleye lakes.

Paul was introduced to tournament fishing while talking with NOWT Angler Rock Bouchard about Rock’s boat and why such a big boat is necessary.

This all became clear when Paul fished his first tournament, which was hosted by Mattagami First Nation in the spring of 2010.

After fishing the tournament, Paul realized that there was more to fishing than just sitting back and catching fish.

To compete with such talented and knowledgeable anglers, he took to the walleye trail himself.

Paul found that fishing tournaments allowed him to become a better angler and expand his knowledge while fishing the different water bodies the tournament trail visits.

Although his favorite technique is jigging for walleye, Paul was quick to point out that by fishing with many quality anglers such as Ray Seguin, John Labine, Rock Bouchard, Ken Perrault, JC Cayen and John Vrolykhas has helped him to learn more techniques that will hopefully help him put bigger fish into the boat for him.

To date, Paul has two top 10 and 1 top 20 finishes in the NOWT tournaments, a top 20 in the Gogama Walleye Tournament, along with a win and 3 top 10 finishes in the Lund Angler Young Angler Tournaments since he started fishing walleye tournaments.

He also has a win and a top 10 finish while fishing in conjunction with 3 other anglers in the Mattagami First Nation Ice Fishing Pike Tournament.

These accomplished have helped Paul to capture sponsorships with Albert’s Sports and Workwear, Guiho’s Saw Sales and Marine, and a Lund sponsorship through Guiho’s Saw Sales and Marine.

When I asked Paul what was one of his most memorial fishing experience, he said hands down, fishing with his two boys over the last five years.

One tournament which will always stand out and be talked about for years to come is a Lund Angler Young Angler Tournament.

During this tournament, his youngest son, Maxim, caught 8.04 pound walleye. Paul goes on to say that, while trying to net Maxim’s fish, he hit the walleye in the head with the net. He goes on to say that Maxim kept his composure and they successfully landed the fish.

This gave them the biggest fish of the tournament and helped them capture second place in the tournament. Now that’s a memory.

When asked, “What would be some of your greatest accomplishments over the years of fishing,” Paul replied, “meeting new people/making new friends, introducing people to the sport, and finding ways to balance my life so that I can do more of what I enjoy.”

“I have had some good success so far, and will continue to learn and grow to hopefully build on that every season,” he said.

“Technology is another of my passions, so recently becoming a fully certified Lowrance installer has also been great, as I can assist anglers with the fast pace of electronics for angling, (such as lake charting, structure scan, chirp sonar etc.),” Paul added.

None of this would be possible without the support of his wife Sarah said Paul.

“From our second date, fishing at Sandy Falls, Sarah has provided tremendous encouragement, reinforcement and inspiration in my endeavours to become a better angler,” Paul said. “She enjoys going fishing with me and at times catches more and bigger walleye than me. Like other anglers, Sarah isn’t above rubbing it in either.”

When Paul was asked why he agreed to have this bio done he replied, “any time I can spend time on the water creating new friends and have the time to share tips with another angler is always a great time.”

“Being such a new tournament angler, I was extremely humbled to have this opportunity,” Paul said. “My primary goal is to get more people fishing, so we can grow the sport and more individuals can reap the benefits that fishing can bring.”

Some tips Paul would like to share with anyone looking at fishing the NOWT one day would be not to get overwhelmed, by competing against some of the best anglers around.

“Take your time to listen and to research everything you can. Try new things. Most importantly, always be courteous to other anglers as we are all here to have fun, not only to compete,” Paul said.

Walleye aren’t the only fish Paul enjoys fishing for. He also enjoys the thrill of chasing trout and bass.

I’d like to take a moment to thank Paul for taking the time out of his busy schedule to do this interview.

Also, a little reminder there is still some room left for anyone interested in competing in the Mattagami First Nation Third Annual Fall Classic Walleye Tournament on Sept. 10 and 11.