Toronto - Bassman Magazine is pleased to announce that award winning outdoor writer and angling educator Wil Wegman of Bradford Ontario, has accepted the position as editor of the quarterly publication. Canada’s only “All Bass All the Time” magazine hit the shelves with its first issue in the spring of 2008 and has published two subsequent issues since then, including its Winter 2009 Edition, on shelves now. Wegman will be taking over as editor from Bassman founder and its first editor Brian Facey - a successful lawyer and avid bass angler from Toronto.
“Although I will still be on the editorial board and hope to continue writing for Bassman, the magazine needed an editor with Wil’s background and credentials in order to move it to the next level. I’m happy to pass the torch over to someone who is so well respected within the Canadian fishing industry”, concluded Facey.
About the New Editor:
Wil Wegman had his first newspaper article published in 1985 and a year later began writing a weekly newspaper column for a Richmond Hill newspaper. For the next ten years his “Great Outdoors” column would appear in this paper but it also went into syndication and appeared in other weekly’s in Newmarket and the Kawartha Region. He also began freelancing and has had numerous articles published in such great Canadian magazines as: Ontario Out of Doors, Outdoor Canada, Bob Izumi’s Real Fishing and of course all three issues of Bassman Magazine. American publications like In Fisherman, Bassmaster and BASS TIMES have also published Wegman’s work. As an official ESPN Press Observer, he has covered more Bassmasters Classic’s in the US than any other Canadian writer. In 2006 he jumped back into writing a weekly newspaper column for the Georgina Advocate called Focus On Fishing (currently in hiatus). His feature length articles can also be seen on www.fishonlineca.com
As well as being a prolific writer, Wegman is also an avid bass tournament competitor (since 1986) and has qualified three times for Team Ontario, representing the Ontario BASS Federation Nation (OBFN) at Bassmaster Divisional Championships in the US. In 2006 Wegman marked the 20 year anniversary of the bass fishing courses he teaches at Seneca College. His bass classes are accredited with introducing hundreds of anglers to competitive fishing through his bi-annual amBASSadors Cup Tournaments open only to students of the course.
Wegman volunteers as the Conservation Director for the OBFN (since its inception in 1995) and is a member of the Aurora Bassmasters Club. Since 1996 he has also taken on the role as OBFN Media Director; writing and editing press releases and articles for the OBFN and its various Bassmaster clubs across the province. He volunteers his time as editor of “Time on the Water” an OBFN newsletter. He is also a proud member of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, Bass Anglers Sportsman Society and the Outdoor Writers of Canada.
2009 and Bassman:
Although Wegman’s new role will not detract from his full time position at the Ministry of Natural Resources, he will be joining a team devoted to producing one of the finest outdoor magazines on the market. “Wil’s responsibilities will include everything from editorial content to editorial direction and he will also work closely with new and current Bassman writers. With over 20 years of experience writing for some of North America’s top outdoor publications, Wil has a good handle on what works and what doesn’t. ”, said Brian Facey.
Wegman will begin work with Bassman immediately and his mark on the magazine will come with the Spring 2009 issue slated for release before the end of March. “I like the current format of Bassman and there won’t be too many dramatic changes”, said Wegman. “We will continue to offer leading edge articles on techniques, tackle, tournament coverage, travel/bass trips and profiles of Canada’s top bass anglers. He hinted however that he does have some ideas that will enhance the magazine even further so that it becomes a must-read for the thousands of bass anglers across the country. “Hopefully some of those enhancements will be evident to readers in our next issue”, said Wegman … But he also revealed that anglers will have to pick up a copy to find out what they are!
Bassman is a fully Canadian owned quarterly publication, operated by IMGroup.
For more information:
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416-966-BASS [2277]