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Welcome to Hunting & Fishing BC, my podcast about fishing, hunting and other wild pursuits in British Columbia and western Canada. I’m Robert Koopmans. I’ve hunted and fished in BC for more than 30 years, and come to love everything about this province and all it has to offer. This year, I’ve teamed up with Randy Nelson, a retired fisheries officer and a skilled hunter with a lot of wisdom and experience to share. We’re going to chat through the coming months about a wide range of topics related to wildlife, hunting and fishing. If there’s a specific topic you’re interested in, let us know, we’ll see what we can do. If nothing else, send us an email letting us know how we’re doing. Reach us at [email protected] …  This week, Randy I had a rambling chat about the terrible choices of spring. With so much opportunity for outdoor activity available this at this time of year — what do you choose to do with your time?  We also discussed successes and failures we’ve had on recent trips. Both of us have had some great days on our local lakes fishing chironomids for trout. I’ve also been chasing bears with my bow, and despite my best tries, have not been able to find a way to close the deal on a bruin. We wrap it up with an update on the court case for the two dudes busted for filming a 30-day survival challenge in Banff National Park, a two-hour show they posted on YouTube. ***** BCWF membership page — https://bcwf.bc.ca/membership/ ***** Thanks for listening to this week’s episode. If you want to share a thought, send us an email at [email protected] …  I’m Robert Koopmans, thanks again, and we’ll catch you next time.

Welcome to Hunting & Fishing BC, my podcast about fishing, hunting and other wild pursuits in British Columbia and western Canada. I’m Robert Koopmans. I’ve hunted and fished in BC for more than 30 years, and come to love everything about this province and all it has to offer. This year, I’ve teamed up with Randy Nelson, a retired fisheries officer and a skilled hunter with a lot of wisdom and experience to share. We’re going to chat through the coming months about a wide range of topics related to wildlife, hunting and fishing. If there’s a specific topic you’re interested in, let us know, we’ll see what we can do. If nothing else, send us an email letting us know how we’re doing. Reach us at [email protected] …  This week, Randy I talked to Toby Tobiasson and Sara Dirienzo from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department about how their state manages hunting and access to wildlife. It’s remarkably different than how it is done here in BC, and most of western Canada. Randy and I decided the most important difference, however, is in the way they treat the hunting community. Game officials there have regular, meaning conversations with hunters and treat them more like partners. Today’s chat is a loose continuation of the last episode, which focussed on Limited Entry Hunting and people’s perceptions of the system. The same as last time, Randy and I concluded the number one thing that western Canadian hunters need to do is pay attention to what is happening and be prepared to speak up. Decisions around hunting and fishing opportunities are often socially or politically based, and groups that speak on behalf of the sporting community become crucial. Groups like the BCWF are a great way for hunters to have their voices counted and heard. But before we continued our gripe about LEH, Randy and I chatted about our late May outdoors activities Links: BCWF membership page — https://bcwf.bc.ca/membership/ ***** Thanks for listening to this week’s episode. If you want to share a thought, send us an email at [email protected] …  I’m Robert Koopmans, thanks again, and we’ll catch you next time.

Welcome to Hunting & Fishing BC, my podcast about fishing, hunting and other wild pursuits in British Columbia and western Canada. I’m Robert Koopmans. I’ve hunted and fished in BC for more than 30 years, and come to love everything about this province and all it has to offer. This year, I’ve teamed up with Randy Nelson, a retired fisheries officer and a skilled hunter with a lot of wisdom and experience to share. We’re going to chat through the coming months about a wide range of topics related to wildlife, hunting and fishing. If there’s a specific topic you’re interested in, let us know, we’ll see what we can do. If nothing else, send us an email letting us know how we’re doing. Reach us at [email protected] …  This week, Randy I talked to Jesse Zeman, who is the executive director of the BC Wildlife Federation, about B.C.’s Limited Entry Hunting regulations. The LEH system has been used in B.C. for many years and is designed to balance hunting opportunity against wildlife resources. Jesse wrote a research paper in 2009 that found 60 per cent of hunters are not happy with the LEH system. His paper also outlined the current system and possible alternatives to the LEH regulations. It’s a complex topic and Jesse has done his homework in regards to the system and how it works. We also talked about how hunters and anglers can influence government to protect their sports and activities for future generations. The short answer — “join a gang,” said Jesse, such as the BCWF or another group such as Backcountry Anglers of BC or the Wild Sheep Society, to name a few. Being part of a community such as the BCWF carries weight and can significantly influence decisions government make. Decisions around hunting and fishing opportunities are often socially or politically based, and groups that speak on behalf of the sporting community become crucial.  We also talked about the BCWF’s recent set of resolutions passed at the April convention. The resolutions are full of incredibly valuable recommendations around hunting and fishing in B.C. and everyone should have look to see how the BCWF is working on our behalf. I’ve included a few links in the show notes to some key documents we discussed in this episode, including Jesse’s research on LEH, and the BCWF’s recent resolutions. Lastly, I’ve included a link to the BCWF’s membership page. For those who have never considered membership — and I was one of them — have a look and think again.  There is value in being engaged and active. But before we started our gripe about LEH, Randy and I small-talked about the unseasonably cold spring and early season fishing … Links: Jesse Zeman’s research paper on LEH in BC — https://bccf.com/sites/default/files/LEHReviewOct2009.pdf BCWF resolultions passed at the April 2022 convention — https://bcwf.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2022-AGM-Resolutions-Submitted.pdf BCWF membership page — https://bcwf.bc.ca/membership/ ***** Thanks for listening to this week’s episode. If you want to share a thought, send us an email at [email protected] …  I’m Robert Koopmans, thanks again, and we’ll catch you next time.

Welcome to Hunting & Fishing BC, my podcast about fishing, hunting and other wild pursuits in British Columbia and western Canada. I’m Robert Koopmans. I’ve hunted and fished in BC for more than 30 years, and come to love everything about this province and all it has to offer. This year, I’ve teamed up with Randy Nelson, a retired fisheries officer and a skilled hunter with a lot of wisdom and experience to share. We’re going to chat through the coming months about a wide range of topics related to wildlife, hunting and fishing. If there’s a specific topic you’re interested in, let us know, we’ll see what we can do. If nothing else, send us an email letting us know how we’re doing. Reach us at [email protected] …  This week, I met up with Jeremy and Kevin to talk about our journey in bowhunting to date. Through the last two seasons, we’ve had a variety of experiences with our bows — some good, and some not so great — and I wanted to see how we all felt about our ongoing commitment to bowhunting. It was an interesting discussion about hunting, ethics and personal choice. Our chat also shows there is not always a clear path or easy answers, and that hunting is an individual journey that we take based on our own reasons. Randy was out of town for this chat but joined me later to listen after the fact, and offer some of his thoughts … ***** Thanks for listening to this week’s episode. If you want to share a thought, send us an email at [email protected] …  I’m Robert Koopmans, thanks again, and we’ll catch you next time.

Welcome to Hunting & Fishing BC, my podcast about fishing, hunting and other wild pursuits in British Columbia and western Canada. I’m Robert Koopmans. I’ve hunted and fished in BC for more than 30 years, and come to love everything about this province and all it has to offer. This year, I’ve teamed up with Randy Nelson, a retired fisheries officer and a skilled hunter with a lot of wisdom and experience to share. We’re going to chat through the coming months about a wide range of topics related to wildlife, hunting and fishing. If there’s a specific topic you’re interested in, let us know, we’ll see what we can do. If nothing else, send us an email letting us know how we’re doing. Reach us at [email protected] …  Today, Randy and I talk with Wes David, the host of Fishing the Wild West TV Show, about his pathway from pro bull rider to host of a popular TV show exploring sport fishing in western Canada. Wes’s show focuses on teaching, conservation and the experience of fishing more than just tactics and gear.  He says his main motivation for doing the show, now in its seventh season,  is to “help people catch one more fish” as well  meeting people at the boat launch to “talk hunting, fishing, farming and ranching.” Before our chat with Wes, Randy and I chat briefly about the upcoming season here in BC … ***** Thanks for listening to this week’s episode. If you want to share a thought, send us an email at [email protected] …  I’m Robert Koopmans, thanks again, and we’ll catch you next time.

Welcome to Hunting & Fishing BC, my podcast about fishing, hunting and other wild pursuits in British Columbia and western Canada. I’m Robert Koopmans. I’ve hunted and fished in BC for more than 30 years, and come to love everything about this province and all it has to offer. This year, I’ve teamed up with Randy Nelson, a retired fisheries officer and a skilled hunter with a lot of wisdom and experience to share. We’re going to chat through the coming months about a wide range of topics related to wildlife, hunting and fishing. If there’s a specific topic you’re interested in, let us know, we’ll see what we can do. If nothing else, send us an email letting us know how we’re doing. Reach us at [email protected] …  Today, Randy and I talk are talking about access to land, specifically, private land. While much of western Canada is accessible to hunters via Crown land, sometimes the best places to hunt are on private land, especially close to urban centres. Will Ciancone and is family have been ranchers for decades, owning and managing tens of thousands of acres of land near Kamloops. Over the years, Will has seen his fair share of hunters wanting to hunt on his family’s land.  He’s had good experiences and bad ones. They have suffered cut fences and horses and cows killed by hunters. Despite that, he said he was always prepared to allow hunting on their lands so long as the people doing the asking were respectful, and showed they cared about more than their own selfish motivations to be able to hunt on prime private land. Will says the key to winning a rancher’s trust is by building relationships, and showing that you care about more than just killing a deer … Randy and I also chat about two “survivalists” caught by authorities filming a YouTube survival movie in Canada’s Banff National Park. In the name of their show, the two men killed endangered trout and destroyed habitat, to name just a couple of the infractions they are charged with… ***** Thanks for listening to this week’s episode. If you want to share a thought, send us an email at [email protected] …  I’m Robert Koopmans, thanks again, and we’ll catch you next time.

Welcome to Hunting & Fishing BC, my podcast about fishing, hunting and other wild pursuits in British Columbia and western Canada. I’m Robert Koopmans. I’ve hunted and fished in BC for more than 30 years, and come to love everything about this province and all it has to offer. This year, I’ve teamed up with Randy Nelson, a retired fisheries officer and a skilled hunter with a lot of wisdom and experience to share. We’re going to chat through the coming months about a wide range of topics related to wildlife, hunting and fishing. If there’s a specific topic you’re interested in, let us know, we’ll see what we can do. If nothing else, send us an email letting us know how we’re doing. Reach us at [email protected] …  Today, Randy and I talk about taxidermy, what is a trophy and why hunters like to have animals mounted. It’s a controversial topic for some anti-hunters who see heads on walls as a some kind of terrible display of all that is wrong with hunting. The reality is though, the reasons why people seek out a taxidermist to mount an animal are more complex and much more personal than claiming  bragging rights. Mounting an animal is usually more about respect for the wildlife and a way to remember special events as it is about displaying trophies. We reached out to BC taxidermist Lino Grifone to talk about the work he does, and the things hunters need to do to ensure an animal they want mounted gets to the taxidermy shop in the best condition possible, There is lots to know, and many little tricks an tips that will make the difference between a quality mount and one that ends up in the garage. You can find Lino’s website at http://grifonetaxidermy.com. ***** Thanks for listening to this week’s episode. If you want to share a thought, send us an email at [email protected] …  I’m Robert Koopmans, thanks again, and we’ll catch you next time.

Welcome to Hunting & Fishing BC, my podcast about fishing, hunting and other wild pursuits in British Columbia and western Canada. I’m Robert Koopmans. I’ve hunted and fished in BC for more than 30 years, and come to love everything about this province and all it has to offer. This year, I’ve teamed up with Randy Nelson, a retired fisheries officer and a skilled hunter with a lot of wisdom and experience to share. We’re going to chat through the coming months about a wide range of topics related to wildlife, hunting and fishing. If there’s a specific topic you’re interested in, let us know, we’ll see what we can do. If nothing else, send us an email letting us know how we’re doing. Reach us at [email protected] …  Today, Randy and I talk about the BC government’s recent decision to extend its wolf cull program in parts of the province to save at-risk woodland caribou. The wolf cull is always a hot topic in BC, with strong opinions  both for and against. We decided to reach out to a biologist to learn more about the complexities of tis issue. Doug Heard retired in 2015 from his job as a wildlife biologist with both the governments of the NWT and BC and is now an independent researcher with his company, Tithonus Wildlife Research. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Northern British Columbia. He has devoted much of his life to the study of caribou and ways to keep them on the landscape.  His knowledge of caribou and wolves and the relationship between them made for a fascinating discussion that will hopefully help others understand more about the issue. Before we called Doug, however, we spent a few minutes catching up on our recent outdoor activities. ***** Thanks for listening to this week’s episode. If you want to share a thought, send us an email at [email protected] …  I’m Robert Koopmans, thanks again, and we’ll catch you next time.

Welcome to Hunting & Fishing BC, my podcast about fishing, hunting and other wild pursuits in British Columbia and western Canada. I’m Robert Koopmans. I’ve hunted and fished in B.C. for more than 30 years, and come to love everything about this province and all it has to offer. This will be the third year I’ve worked on this podcast, and I’ll admit it’s been hit and miss at times, with probably a lot more misses than hits along the way. It’s not an easy thing to do, but I’m giving it my best shot.  This year, I’ve teamed up with Randy Nelson, a retired fisheries officer and a skilled hunter with a lot of wisdom and experience to share. We’re going to work our way through the coming months talking about a wide range of topics. We have lots of ideas for episodes, but we want to hear from you as well — what do you want to hear about?  If there’s a specific topic you’re interested in, let us know, we’ll see what we can do. If nothing else, send us an email letting us know how we’re doing. It’s not easy podcasting in a vacuum, and a little feedback will help us stay on target… Reach us at [email protected] …  Today Randy and I chat about what’s in our freezers. A full freezer is the ultimate goal of hunting, it’s why we are out there. But the wrapped packages of deer and moose are more than just meat — they are also memories of trips and experiences, so we decided to reminisce a bit and recount how our freezes got full, or in my case anyways, why it’s still empty… ***** Thanks for listening to this week’s episode. If you want to share a thought, send us an email at [email protected] …  I’m Robert Koopmans, thanks again, and we’ll catch you next time.

Welcome to Hunting & Fishing BC, my podcast about fishing, hunting and other wild pursuits in British Columbia and western Canada. I’m Robert Koopmans and today, Randy Nelson and I chat about an aspect of ice fishing that I don’t think many people know about, one that could — at least theoretically — get you into trouble with the law… We also talk about spending time in the off-season building skills with a bow or a rife that will make a difference when hunting. We’ve all heard it — practice makes perfect, and there is no question that time spent on the range outside of hunting will increase your skills, confidence, and chances for success. ***** Thanks for listening to this week’s episode. If you want to share a thought, send us an email at [email protected].  I’m Robert Koopmans, thanks again, and we’ll catch you next time.

Welcome to Hunting & Fishing BC, my podcast about fishing, hunting and other wild pursuits in British Columbia and western Canada. I’m Robert Koopmans and on the podcast, I chat with people about the activities we love,,,. It’s been a while since my last chat with someone, almost a year actually. I’ll blame a pandemic, a new job and lack of time as the reason. However, I’m back again in 2022 to continue on. Through this year, I’ll talk with a variety of outdoors folk but especially with Randy Nelson, a retired fisheries officer and avid hunter who’s agreed to help me keep this effort going. Randy is also a writer, and his second book about poaching in North America is expected to be released later this year. This time around, Randy and I talked about ice fishing for Kokanee, one of the more worthwhile outdoor pursuits we can find in our area at this time of the year….  ***** Thanks for listening to this week’s episode. If you want to share a thought, send us an email at [email protected].  I’m Robert Koopmans, thanks again, and we’ll catch you next time.

Welcome to Hunting & Fishing BC, my podcast about fishing, hunting and other wild pursuits in British Columbia and western Canada. I’m Robert Koopmans and every once in a while, I chat with people about interesting aspects of our outdoor sports. This time around, I talked to Kamloops flyfishing master Brian Chan about his prediction for this year’s upcoming fishing season — especially as COVID continues to dominate — and how he is setting up a new boat for stillwater fishing this spring…    Thanks for listening to this week’s episode. If you want to share a thought, send us an email at [email protected]. I’m Robert Koopmans, thanks again, and we’ll catch you next time.