It's the first day of the PWT/Dryden Can/Am event... 25 of Canada's best are competing against the 25 of America's best, along with their Co Anglers, fishing for the pride of their respective countries. Who's going to win? Let's find out what the Team Captains had to say this morning.
 
Juls: How are you feeling about the Canadian team pulling off a win this week?
 
Canadian Team Captain, John Butts:  Well, I'm feeling pretty good! The guys have been out working hard all week, and they're getting some fish...nothing real-real big, but some quality fish.  This tournaments going to be won if you just get a good limit everyday...12-13 pounds and you'll be fine.
 
Juls: Artificial only....will that be a problem for the Canadian team who is probably more used  to using live bait all the time?
 
John: You know, I would have thought that before the tournament, that it would be tougher for the Canadians not to use live bait, but the guys have actually adapted pretty good. We talked to them a lot over the last month, on what to use, and what kind of techniques...and, surprising enough they are doing pretty good with artificial only. They feel pretty confident!
 
Juls: Gary, who's going to come away with the win this week? The Canadian Capt. says they will. What do you have to say to that?
 
American Team Captain, Gary Parsons: Ahhh, well...I like being an underdog (he says with a sly smile).
What can I say? I think quite frankly the way the bites turned out, that since there's so many Canadians that are local boys, that have seen a body of water like this, they probably do have a better chance.
 
A lot of them have been here for a couple of weeks...they're local on top of it, and this is a big system. There are local "honey holes" and things like that that are going to play a big factor in this event.
 
Most of our guys came in with 4 days of practice, which is usually our normal practice, and the conditions weren't exactly the way they were last year, so it will be interesting.
 
There doesn't seem to be as many big fish this year, so those "honey hole" spots could pay off.
 
But, we'll see...I've got faith in our guys. They're pretty dang good, and every time I think it's not going good for me, these guys bring in bags of fish, and I go, "where did they get'um?" (he shrugs and scratches his head...then laughs).
 
I think we'll be fine.
 
I always like what Scott Fairbairn has to say, so I've added his comments this morning too. Here is what he had to say about it all.
 
Juls: It's the Canadians against the Americans...who do you think is going to win? What do you think the chances are of the American team winning are?
 
Scott Fairbairn: I think the chances of the American team winning are pretty good. I think the artificial challenge is probably more challenging to the folks North of the border than it is to those of us from the United States.
 
We fish a lot with no live bait anyway, so getting converted isn't that hard. I think for a lot of the guys up here, that are used to dunking a minnow or a worm, or a leech...and catching fish pretty easy...that might prove to be a bit challenging.
 
It isn't like you can put on any hunk of plastic and catch a fish, you've got to be a little bit dialed in...more like crankbait fishing...you know, not just any crankbait will do. You have to have the right one at the right time.  It's the same kind of thing with the artificial plastics and stuff. With jigs you have to fiddle around a little bit until you find the right one.
 
The weather was beautiful here on Lake Wabigoon this morning with temps in the....ummm...they use Celsius here, so I haven't got a clue how warm 19C is, but I would guess it was in the high 60's to low 70's. Winds were out of the Southeast at 15km/h which, again, I'm guessing...felt like 5-10mph. The skies are partly cloudy.
 
In any event, it's a great day to be fishing!
 
Please join us this afternoon, at 5PM Central Time, for the first day of weighing in at the Dryden Memorial Recreation Arena.  The weigh in will be broadcast live, thanks to the efforts of the Dryden Municipal Telephone Service and the Dryden Chamber of Commerce. It couldn't have happened without their help.
 
Hope to see you all this afternoon!