Welcome to Episode 32 of The Outdoor Narrative. I’m Robert Koopmans and every week I talk with interesting people about fishing, hunting and other wild pursuits in British Columbia.

This week, I sat down with Steve Jennings, the owner of The Little Fort Fly Shop for a chat about fall fishing and the joy of boats.

 One of the great things about hosting a podcast is the fact I can connect with very knowledgeable people about activities I love. Steve is such a fellow. A life-long fly angler, he has both passion and skill for chasing trout with a fly rod. Chatting with Steve is always a gift, and a conversation with him always leaves me with more than I had at the start …

 We sat in my man cave, which is my garage, between two boats, for a rambling chat about the things fishermen like to chat about, which often includes a little bit of everything. 

 Thanks for listening to this week’s episode. As always, if you like the show please subscribe through Apple Podcasts or wherever you find your podcasts and leave a review or a rating. All that stuff helps me grow. As well, if you have a question or comment, send me an email or a message through Facebook or Instagram or by email to [email protected]. 

 I’m Robert Koopmans, thanks again and we’ll catch you next time …

Welcome to Episode 31 of The Outdoor Narrative. I’m Robert Koopmans and every week I talk with interesting people about fishing, hunting and other wild pursuits in British Columbia.

This week I talked with Fraser Hayes from Anglers Atlas about the company’s latest project, an app called MyCatch that allows anglers to record details about their fishing and share them with researchers. 

 The app, which you can download to your smartphone or access via the web, is called MyCatch. At its core, MyCatch is a digital fishing diary that allows anglers to record a variety of details about their sportfishing experiences, including things like how many fish they have caught and how big they were to other relevant details such as the weather and time of day. All of those  data are linked through GPS to specific locations, creating an efficient and meaningful record of your angling successes through a season.

 What’s unique about the app, however, is the way Anglers Atlas has opened the data — privacy protected, of course — to researchers for the purpose of studying fish and sport fishing. MyCatch makes anglers active participants in research projects designed to better understand, manage or improve our sport fishing resources.

 The project is still in its early days. I talked with Fraser about how MyCatch is coming along, all the things it does, and why anglers should be using it on a regular basis….

 Thanks for listening to this week’s episode. As always, if you like the show please subscribe through Apple Podcasts or wherever you find your podcasts and leave a review or a rating. As well, if you have a question or comment, send me an email to [email protected], or a message through Facebook or Instagram.

 Thanks again and we’ll catch you next time …

 You can find Anglers Atlas and MyCatch here: https://www.anglersatlas.com

Welcome to Episode 30 of The Outdoor Narrative. I’m Robert Koopmans and every week I talk with interesting people about fishing, hunting and other wild pursuits in British Columbia.

This week, I talked with BC wildlife veterinarian Helen Schwantje about chronic wasting disease, which affects deer, elk, moose and caribou, and the fact that the disease has been discovered on our province’s doorstep.

 Chronic wasting disease, or CWD, is a fatal disease of the central nervous system. CWD is passed through animal to animal contact. It is caused by an abnormal kind of protein called prions, which accumulate in the brain leading to destruction of tissue.

Other diseases in this family include sheep and goat scrapie, BSE – or “mad cow disease” — and the human form called Creutzfeld-Jakob disease.

In the early stages of the disease an infected animal may look normal but in later stages infected animals often show signs of weight loss, drooling, difficulty swallowing, poor coordination or stumbling and trembling.

The origins of CWD are not known but the disease was first described in captive mule deer in 1967 in Colorado and Wyoming. This was followed by positive diagnoses in their free-ranging populations. The first diagnosis of CWD in Canada was in 1981 in mule deer at the Toronto Zoo. 

In 1996 a positive diagnosis of CWD was found in game-farmed elk in Saskatchewan. Later that year the first case of CWD in a wild deer was reported in a mule deer in Saskatchewan. In 2005 CWD was diagnosed for the first time in four wild mule deer in Alberta. CWD has now been diagnosed in captive and wild animals in 25 states and three provinces. 

I talked with Helen about the recent discovery of CWD in a deer in Montana, close to the BC border, and what steps our province is taking as a result ...

 Thanks for listening to this week’s episode. As always, if you like the show please subscribe through Apple Podcasts or wherever you find your podcasts and leave a review or a rating. All that stuff helps me grow. As well, if you have a question or comment, send me an email or a message through Facebook or Instagram or by email to [email protected]. 

I’m Robert Koopmans, thanks again and we’ll catch you next time …

 Here’s a link to a presentation prepared by the BC government about CWD in BC:

 https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/plants-animals-and-ecosystems/wildlife-wildlife-habitat/wildlife-health/wildlife-health-documents/cwd_hunter_ed.pdf

Welcome to Episode 29 of The Outdoor Narrative. I’m Robert Koopmans and every week I talk with interesting people about fishing, hunting and other wild pursuits in British Columbia.

 This week, I talked with a variety of people about hunting with a bow and becoming a bowhunter. This episode is about learning and lessons learned — including hard, humbling lessons that you can only get in the field.

I bought a bow when I was 17 years old. Living in Ontario, I was determined to hunt deer with it, and I practiced hard. I got to be pretty good with it, but I never did make it out deer hunting. Not long after, I graduated high school and moved to B.C., to go to school and start working. The bow went into storage and when the time came again that I wanted to hunt, I bought a rifle, because the guy who was teaching me about B.C. deer hunted with a rifle. 

 It is what I have done for the last 30 years.

 About a month ago, a fully loaded bowhunting package passed into my hands, completely set up and ready to shoot. That desire to try bowhunting flashed back up and I saw the possibility of a check box on a bucket-list item. All that was left to do was determine whether I could fire up muscle memory from 30 years ago in time for the September 1 deer archery season in my area.

 I started by reaching out to the Kamloops Target Sports Association. The club has an active and talented group of archers. Mark Britton is one of them. He and his wife Katie are both members of the Canadian National Archery Team, and recently competed at the international 3D archery championships in Quebec.

 I spoke with Mark at one of the club’s 3D archery shoots ….

 After I chatted with Mark, I met up with Al Campsall, who is another of the club’s talented archers. He’s been shooting bows and hunting with them for decades, and just missed a spot on the Canadian national archery team this year. He agreed to watch me shoot, and offered up several critical tips to set me on a better path …

 The next day, after my session with Al, I went back to the range and walked through the 3D archery course the club had set up in the sagebrush hills just behind the club’s shooting range. It was a great experience, wandering through the draws and gullies in search of the 3D deer, bears cougars, elk and moose the club had staked out.

 It was as realistic a hunting experience as you can create on a range. And with the exception of one shot on a rubber deer at 45 yards, I stuck my arrows into all the right places. All that was left to do was go hunting.

 One week later, I met up with Brian Chan. Most people know Brian through fly-fishing. I learned this past summer he is also an avid bow hunter, having picked up the sport a few years ago. We sat down to review the first five days of the season, and what we both learned ….

 Another massive thunderstorm passed through our area the evening after Brian and I talked, stealing one of our hunts. I hunted out the last two days, but it became apparent the best of that early season hunting was done. My first archery season ended September 9, yesterday, with no meat in the freezer. I had two good chances though, so only myself to blame.

 Regardless, it was an amazing week of hunting, one that has changed how I view hunting. I know I won’t put down my rifle for good, but there’s a pretty good chance now I’m goi ng to take it out a lot less. As Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan once said, “The medium is the message.”

 After an intense week chasing deer with a bow, I can tell you that bowhunting’s message feels a lot deeper. There’s a lot there to explore and I plan to spend a great deal more time honing skills and getting ready for the next opportunity, whenever that might be…

Welcome to Episode 28 of The Outdoor Narrative. I’m Robert Koopmans, and every week I talk with interesting people about fishing, hunting or other wild activities in British Columbia …

Today I’m talking with Iain Currie, who is the federal Green Party’s candidate for the Kamloops Thompson Cariboo riding in B.C.’s Interior. 

 The federal election in Canada, set for October 21, is well underway and parties and politicians are working hard to sway people’s thinking and win their votes.

 The Green Party is one of the newer players on the political scene, one that is showing increasing strength in many parts of Canada. As their name suggests, the Green Party has roots in the environmental movement and many of their proposed policies and initiatives show as much.

 At the same time, some of their policies stray from environmental places into arenas of social and cultural concerns, such as the Party’s proposed ban on handgun and semi-automatic rifle.

 Iain Currie is a former provincial Crown prosecutor and long-time environmental activist. I sat down with Iain recently to explore his and his party’s views around many of these issues, including gun control …

 Thanks for listening to this week’s episode. As always, if you like the show please subscribe through Apple Podcasts or wherever you find your podcasts.

 As well, if you have a question or comment, send me an email or a message through Facebook or Instagram. I want to hear what you think.  

Welcome to Episode 27 of The Outdoor Narrative. I’m Robert Koopmans, and every week I talk with interesting people about fishing, hunting or other wild activities in British Columbia …

 Today I’m talking with Mark Stenroos, the developer of a unique and extremely useful mapping app for your smartphone or computer called iHunter. If you spend time searching for new places to explore or hunt, iHunter can save you time and effort by providing you information about who owns the land, and whether or not you can travel there.

 I’m lucky to be in British Columbia, where the vast majority of land is owned by the Crown and free to be traveled and explored. But that isn’t always the case, and certainly in places closer to our cities, there are expanses of private land or land that is controlled by leases. 

 Knowing the boundaries of land you can hunt on and land you can’t can be pretty hard. Sometimes there are fences or signs, sometime there isn’t. And often there are fences or signs in places where there shouldn’t be, making it difficult to sort out the boundaries.

 iHunter is an app that you load on to your smartphone, tablet or computer. It interacts with GPS and pre-loaded data layers to tell you where you are on the landscape, but more importantly, who owns it. As well, it offers the user information about wildlife management units, open and closed seasons, bag limits and sunset and sunrise times.

It all works together to create what I now consider to be an invaluable exploration and hunting tool. iHunter has given me insights into places I would not have been able to glean otherwise. I spoke with the app’s creator Mark Stenroos recently about how he came up with the idea, how best to use it, and future plans for the tool …

You can find iHunter on the IOS or Android App Store, or on the web at https://www.ihunterapp.com

Today I’m talking with Al Martin, who is the director of strategic initiatives with the BC Wildlife Federation.

 Formed in the late 1800s, the BC Wildlife Federation is one of the oldest organizations of its kind in Canada. With more than 36,000 members, the federation is one of the largest groups in B.C. speaking and working on behalf of conservation and environmentalism. A key mission of the federation is to preserve wildlife, habitats and natural ecosystems for future generations.

 People might think that the BCWF is solely the voice of anglers and hunters – and there is no question sportspeople are the bulk of members in the federation – but the fact is the federation does far more than just look out for the interests of its membership.

 Many of the federation’s current initiatives focus on environmental and conservation issues that are well removed from hunting and fishing and critically important to the future of the natural landscape in British Columbia.

 I talked with Al about many of these initiatives, including the fight to save the Thompson River steelhead and concerns for the preservation of the headwater valley of the Skagit River…

Today I’m talking with Terry Lake, who is the federal Liberal Party’s candidate for the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo riding in B.C.’s Interior. 

If you don’t know it yet, you will soon enough — it’s election season once again in Canada. This fall, Canadians will go to the polls to choose a federal government after four years of Justin Trudeau’s Liberals. 

 Terry Lake was acclaimed as a candidate earlier this year. He is a seasoned politician who has served at both the municipal and provincial levels. As a BC Liberal, he served as Environment Minister and Health Minister in Premier Christy Clark’s government.

 This is Terry’s first run at federal politics. He is coming to the game in a time when Canadians are demanding strong leadership. There are many complex, divisive issues confronting Canadians these days, especially on the environmental front, and those who are elected to serve will face difficult choices and challenges.

 There are concerns around everything from climate change and resource development to First Nations rights and growing opposition to hunting and firearms. Throw in a myriad of other social issues and you have a political landscape fraught with obstacles.

 I wanted to explore with Terry his views around environmental and other outdoor issues, and try to understand more what he sees as the federal government’s role in the management of these important topics …

 In the coming weeks, I will reach out to candidates from other parties as well, to help us better understand where all our political players stand on issues that affect us as outdoor enthusiasts, B.C. residents, citizens and caretakers of natural environments. 

 Today I’m talking with Eiko Jones, a Campbell River-based photographer who specializes in underwater photography, especially of B.C.’s native fish species.

 For most of us, the surface of a lake or river represents a divide between our world, the one above in the air and light, and a different world below. As anglers we try our best to learn and understand that world but to say we truly know it would be at best, hopeful. So few of us get the chance to put eyes in that world and see it firsthand.

 So I was fascinated to come across Eiko’s website. For years, he has dived and snorkeled BC’s lakes, rivers and coastlines and photographed salmon and trout through all their stages of life. He has developed a unique understanding of fish that can only come from being below the surface, in their world.

 Most recently, Eiko has expanded into video and cinematography and is currently shooting footage for a full-length film about salmon and their cycles of life. Called Heartbeat of the River, the movie is due to be released early next year.

 I talked with Eiko recently about his photography, his movie project, as well as about the state of salmon in BC …

Anyone with an interest in fish should have a look at Eiko’s photography, which you can find on his website at www.eikojonesphotography.com. His photos of alevins, fry, smolts and spawning adults are impressive, and reveal a frailty and vulnerability that never dawned on me before. His pictures of underwater environments, taken as other photographers might frame a landscape, offer new perspectives on mysterious worlds. 

Today I’m talking with Danny Simons, a friend of mine who owns a communications firm based in Los Angeles, California. Danny is a skilled and experienced professional in the field of public affairs and public relations.

 I wanted to talk with Danny about perception and image, and how social media is affecting the public’s impressions of hunting. 

 We’ve all seen the pictures on social media of some hunter posing with a dead animal with blood on their hands and a grin on their face.  These blood-stained selfies are often taken by hunters to celebrate the end of a successful hunting venture. Instead, they are increasingly being used by anti-hunters to vilify and condemn not only the person who took the picture but hunting itself.

 When confronted by these viral controversies, the hunting community often seems at a loss to know how to respond. We become defensive or angry. Some lash out at the critics, while others try to rationalize the activity by arguing hunting dollars fund conservation and hunters are needed to help with wildlife management.

 In that heated moment, it all falls flat, and we’re left with a sense our public image has taken a hit, that anti-hunters have scored another victory in their quest to restrict or end hunting all together.

 I reached out to Danny to see what kind of advice he would offer the hunting community. He graciously took my call early one morning while on a business trip in Arizona….

 My conversation with Danny left me a great deal to ponder and think about, especially around the idea of telling my own story of why I hunt. It’s something all hunters should think about. What are our stories and how are we are sharing them with the public. If the only part of our story we are telling is that of a dead animal in the final moments of a hunt, we are most likely doing ourselves and the greater hunting community a disservice.

 We all have to decide what kind of impact we want to have and how best to achieve it. At the least, however, we need to understand that in today’s connected world, it’s possible to have impact even when we don’t want to. We need to think about what we share with others and the reasons why, knowing that while we mean well, others might not see it that way.