Story Courtesy of Outdoor Canada Website

February 15, 2018

The 2018 Canadian Angler Hall of Fame awards

Dave Mercer has won international accolades as an angling ambassador, educator and entertainer

On Friday, luminaries of the Canadian sportfishing industry will gather at the International Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, where Dave Mercer will become the newest member of the Canadian Angler Hall of Fame. In addition, Pat Pagano of the Italian Canadian HandiCapable Association will be presented with the Rick Amsbury Award of Excellence, and the Ontario B.A.S.S. Nation Pledge to Pitch It Campaign will be awarded the Conservation Project of the Year. All three awards are presented annually in conjunction with the popular Spring Fishing and Boat Show.

Since he first hit the airwaves over 23 years ago, people noticed that Dave Mercer (above) was not your typical TV fisherman. Not only could he catch fish and effectively share tips and techniques, Mercer was also born entertainer—and just plain hilarious.

As the originator of the one-minute fishing interstitial video, Mercer quickly became an audience favourite.

What started as a television tip series has now grown into one of the world’s most-watched fishing shows. Every week Mercer can be seen on Facts of Fishing in over 176 countries around the world. But more than that, when he’s not on the water, it seems like there’s nothing that Dave Mercer won’t do to promote the sport of fishing and his passion for it. Then, eight years ago Mercer got the call he had always dreamed of: He was chosen to host the Bassmaster Classic,widely recognized as the Superbowl of bass fishing. Mercer is only the fourth Bassmaster emcee in 40 years, and can now be seen in over 100 million homes every weekend on ESPN2. Mercer has also entertained over 2 million people in live audiences at Bassmaster events.

Even just a partial list of Mercer’s accomplishments shows how deserving he is of entry into the Hall of Fame. His career ghighlights include:

• Hosting 100 Bassmaster tournaments
• Fishing broadcaster for: ESPN, ESPN2, NBC Sports, TSN, Outdoor Channel, CBS, FS1, City TV, Versus Network, CTV, CHCH
• Facts of Fishing is the only fishing show to ever win the Golden Moose at the Outdoor Sportsman Awards for Best Videography
• Rick Amsbury Award of Excellence
• 10 Outdoor Writers of Canada Awards for Television and Video
• Best-selling author of Dave Mercer’s 135 Secrets That Fish Don’t Want You To Know
• Bass Pro Shops #1 selling DVD series 4 years in a row for Facts of Fishing Volumes 1, 2, 3 and 4
• Mercer’s charity, Casting for a Cure, has raised over $200,000.00 to date for the Canadian Cancer Society and Nova’s Ark
• First pro angler with over 100,000 Facebook followers
• First person to ever throw out a first cast—instead of a pitch—at a Major League Baseball Game

Also the first pro angler verified on Twitter, Mercer has over 46,000 followers. And in some ways, his brief Twitter bio sums up just what Dave Mercer is all about:

“I am the host of TV’s Facts Of Fishing and The Bassmaster Classic & Bassmaster Elite Series emcee. I enjoy long walks on the beach and slow wet kisses with BASS!”