Hunting and fishing gear was on offer at the Columbus Hall Sunday, with outdoor enthusiasts checking out vendors with lots of lures, rods and reels on the tables during the second annual Gear for a Cure fundraising swap and sale event.
Jerry Daoust, a member of the Wheelin' Warriors, organized the event with proceeds going to the 2018 Ride to Conquer Cancer for the B.C. Cancer Foundation.
Along with the hunting and fishing gear, there was a raffle, bake table, donation box, and a table filled with lures donated by the vendors where all proceeds would go to the bike riding team's fundraising efforts.
Last year the event raised $2,000 for the cancer foundation and this year the goal is to double it and at about 10:30 a.m. Sunday they were well on their way to meeting that goal.
"It's been really good and I think it's been a good community event that's provided a lot of value to the public because I think we're all eager to get out fishing and it's April so we can't really do much so might as well get geared up for fishing season," Daoust said.
Last year Daoust only had a few sellers on hand for the event and he said public interest was huge so this year he was more prepared. The room at the hall was filled to capacity with vendors and browsers that filled the parking lot with their pickup trucks Sunday morning.
Vendor Craig Broening of BC Rod & Reel, a home-based business specializing in rod and reel repair, said he enjoys being part of the outdoor community and is an avid hunter fisher himself.
The recent gun law changes find those seeking gun licences now requiring a background check that not only goes five years back but throughout their whole lives and delves into details like criminal convictions, mental illness associated with violence or a history of behaviour that includes violence or threats to commit such acts, according to changes made to Bill C-71. Gun sellers now need to keep records for 20 years and transport permits are required when moving a gun except for taking it home from the sale or going to a shooting club or range.
Broening thought the gun laws were fine just the way they were.
"I thought we were doing a pretty good job as it is," he said. "We're not really having a whole lot of gun crime - not anywhere near what's going on in the States."
Talking about the transport permit Broening thought it was a bogus notion.
"What's the point?" he asked, shaking his head. "Again you're regulating people that follow the laws in the first place, right? 99 per cent of gun owners in this country follow all the laws - why are we regulating them more? It doesn't make any sense. How many gun crimes take place in Canada that are committed by someone who legally purchased a firearm?"
He said he just doesn't get it.
Broening, who also builds custom fly rods, was happy to participate in the Gear for a Cure to help get the word out about his business.
"It's a good time to get your rod or reel fixed because we're all getting ready for the season," Broening added. "I can fix pretty much any kind of fishing reel."
Avid life-long fisher woman Sandy Galletti was holding a fly-fishing rod case as she wandered around the room, checking out the latest in lures, fisher vests, hunting knives, rods and reels.
"I'm a wanna-be fly fisher," Galletti said, adding her husband, Peter, had gifted her with a fly fishing rod last year and hadn't had a chance to try it yet. "So the goal this year is to learn how to use it."
Galletti said she and her better half enjoyed attending the Gear for a Cure and have friends that also attended and some who were vendors at the event as well.
"It's about getting out in nature and providing food for the table," Galletti said about what it is that appeals to her about fishing. "When we do go out fishing we look for more remote spots like Eskers which is a bit of a hike in so we get a bit of a work out, set up a tent, have a cold beer and catch some fish. That's a great day."
