Three years ago, leading up to the Mattagami First Nation Spring Walleye Tournament, I received news that the team that usually shared the cabin my tournament partner and I was unable to fish it.
After putting the word out that I had an empty room if anyone that was looking for one for the tournament, I received a call from Yves Bouchard saying he and his tournament partner Rick Leclair were interested in the room.
Well I never laughed so much, so often with the two of them over the weekend.
I said to Yves that we had to spend a day fishing one day.
After several calls and emails over the last two years we finally had a break in our schedules to hook up for the day this past weekend for a day trip on the water.
During our outing, I learned that Yves was born in Timmins.
Growing up, Yves remembers spending time in his older brother’s (Rock Bouchard) taxidermy shop watching him stuff fish when his shop was at the house.
There he would watch Rock make a fish come back to life which was very cool to him.
Although Yves was barely out of grade school when Rock was already hunting and competing in tournaments as there is an 11-year difference between them, as a younger brother Yves recalls wanting to follow him.
In Yves words, “He’s a great fisherman and for the times that we do spend in a boat together I’m like a sponge. Whatever knowledge he shares, I take in. We both have very busy lifestyles but the time I do have with him in a boat or even over a beer means a lot to me.”
As a youth, Yves and his friends did a lot of day trips to Big Water, Papakamika and to Josey Lake.
It didn’t matter the species as they always had fun.
This is all that mattered to them and they did this quite often.
Three years ago, Yves decided to toss his hat into the tournament scene.
After competing in his first tournament and the rush he got from it, he was hooked.
Having the chance to meet other anglers that shared the same passion as he does and a weekend away from his business was all it took.
When I asked Yves what his most memorable fishing experience was he told me, “The time I took my wife and kids fishing. The motor klunked out and I had to swim across a bay with the boat tied to me to the nearest cottage.”
“Trust me,” he said, “I’ll never forget it. We all still have some good laughs over that.”
Since both Yves and his wife Sophie both work for themselves, things can get pretty crazy.
When it comes to his tournaments fishing, Yves told me that Sophie has always encouraged him to go out and do the best he can and not worry about anything else that’s going on.
With limited pre-fishing time, Yves still manages to stay in the top to mid 20s in the tournaments he has fished which is quite an accomplishment.
Yves attributes this to his brother Rock, Craig Salmonson, Tory Garno, Rick Leclair, and Dave Reid in having helped him gain knowledge of fishing over the years.
When asked why he agreed to do this he simply replied “It was a day out on the water with a good friend.”
I would like to thank Yves for taking the time out of his very busy schedule to be featured in this article.
Although it only took us two years to hook up for this, to me it was well worth the wait.
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