Bring Your Passport To Fish Lake Erie

On the front page of today's USA Today there is an article about the Homeland Security Department requiring fishermen who cross over into Canadian waters to possess a passport or two other forms of ID. Not only that, but they will require them to go to a local government reporting station when they return to shore. Charter boats would also be required to fax in passenger's personal information to be screened against the terrorist watch list prior to leaving shore.

Needless to say Lake Erie's 600 plus charter boat captains are not happy about this because the geography of the lake means the best fish are often over the invisible Canadian line. They fear this new regulation will severely impact Lake Erie's charter fishing industry.

Tom Bedell Steps Aside As CEO Of Pure Fishing

After serving as interim CEO of Pure Fishing, which was founded by his father over 70 years ago, Tom Bedell will step aside and Terry Carlson will take over as President and CEO. Bedell served as interim for almost one year after Pure Fishing was purchased by the Coleman Company. Carlson comes to Pure Fishing from Raymarine where he was CEO. In case you were unaware, Pure Fishing is made up of many brands including Berkley, Abu Garcia, Fenwick, Stren, Mitchell, Johnson, Spider, and 7 Strand.

Coleman's parent company, Jarden Inc., recently acquired K2 Inc. which is the parent company of Penn and Shakespeare, among other top brand name outdoor products. Both brands will be operated as one company, under the Pure Fishing name, based in Spirit Lake, Iowa. (As a fellow Iowan, I'm glad the company will stay in Iowa.) Coleman hopes that these three powerhouse companies will create some synergies helping each other bring innovative products to market. They believe there is tremendous potential to transfer the success of their freshwater business into the growing saltwater business. This merger will be interesting to watch.