Craig Stapon Character Piece
It’s what piscatorial dreams are made of. A one year old, custom, Red Oktober musky rod that shows as good as new despite the ninety-nine notches in its cork handle. One notch for each fish over forty-five inches – thirteen for fish over fifty inches. Fifty-year old Winnipeg native, Craig Stapon, is a bonafide trophy hunter and host of the weekly radio show Let’s Talk Fishing on Manitoba’s CJOB 68. 2008 has already proven successful for Craig as his line of rods and baits have found their way into the US market. He now turns his sights on a much loftier goal.
On his humble beginnings
My dad bought a fishing camp about two hundred miles northeast of Winnipeg in 1970. It was located on the Poplar River system. He named it Thunderbird Lodge. It was a high-end lodge, one of the only five-star camps in the area at the time. I was thirteen and I began guiding immediately. The lodge began operating at its capacity of fifty guests keeping me busy on the water. Walleye and pike were the most sought after species. My days off were spent pursuing only Pike and later Musky on Lake of the Woods. I caught some monster fish on that big lake. I built a reputation as a big fish angler and became familiar enough with Lake of the Woods to start guiding there in 1982.
On becoming the Midwest’s King of all Media
I was approached by the Winnipeg Boat Show to do a seminar series on Pike and Musky. I had no sponsors and ad-libbed my way through them. It was a blast. I shared information and anecdotes I had gathered through years of experience. Soon thereafter, I started writing a weekly column for the Winnipeg Sun and became a contributor to Fish’n Line magazine. Four years ago I approached the #1 talk radio station in Manitoba, CJOB 68, in regards to my doing a fishing show. They accepted my proposal and with no prior experience and only five minutes of training on phones, mics and delays, I was told I was to go on in five. I was a bundle of nerves but pulled through successfully. I now also appear regularly on television as I guide some of the most notable fishing show hosts in North America on the lakes in our area.
The Crazy Crippler and Red Oktober
Missing in most lure manufacturers’ repertoires is a large, deep diving, crankbait with rattles. My Crazy Crippler is just that. Now, after eight years, my Canadian distributor C.G. Emery International Ltd. has announced that it will be offering these baits to the much larger market south of the border. I designed my Red Oktober fishing rods after Shimano stopped making their V-Rods. I loved them too much to let them go. Now they too will be sold south of the border. This is a dream come true. Despite this success, I am still most proud of my accomplishment in starting the Canadian Esox Association. Through this association, we were able to raise almost thirty-five thousand dollars for charities last year.
On His Fondest Memory
One of my fondest memories occurred ten years ago on a family outing. I took my dad and brothers fishing for four full days. We landed thirteen musky the first day, including a small twenty-five pounder that gave me the best fight of my life. It went airborne six times jumping five feet in the air each time. The whole battle was recorded on camera. We watched it that evening. It was probably the most spectacular musky footage ever recorded. That was until my brother taped over it the next morning while filming a sunrise. I could have killed him at the time.
On Whom He’d Fish With
Despite being a well-known bass guru, I would like to fish with Jimmy Houston if for no other reason than to show him what it’s like to catch a real fish. In one of his books, Jimmy states that you’ve reached a pinnacle in your angling career when you begin to teach. That’s what I do. I teach. That’s what my club is about and it’s the reason for the excitement I feel when a client catches the largest fish of his or her life.
How to Catch the Big One
When I hit the water, I target fish in the fifty-inch range. I am simply not interested in the babies. This is all about location, location, and location. Find a nice midlake hump surrounded by deep water, add a dose of wind and a school of ciscoes and I would never move. I caught one third of the fish I landed this season off a spot just like this, some days bringing in multiples. I’ve caught musky that would tip the scales at just under sixty pounds and I have had three fish follow baits to the boat that would beat the current world record. This is my new goal. I’ve claimed this on the air and now in print. I will beat the current record within the next five years.
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Bass Wishes,
Chris Hockley
Copyright © 2008 Chris Hockley
It is illegal to reproduce or distribute this work in any manner or medium without written permission of the author, Chris Hockley c/o Blitzcreek Pro Fishing 47 Lorne St., Sunderland, Ontario, chris@blitzcreek.com