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John Kerr dead at 73


craigdritchie

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Deeply saddened to learn that former Ontario Out of Doors magazine editor John Kerr has passed away at 73 from complications related to cancer.  John was not only a terrific angler and a true pioneer of many techniques that trout and salmon anglers in Ontario take for granted today, he fought countless battles with MNR on behalf of anglers and campaigned relentlessly toward getting MNR to establish the extended fall seasons and year-round seasons we all enjoy today.

Beyond that, John was a true gentleman, a pillar of integrity, and one hell of a mentor to guys like me who wanted nothing more than to make a living writing about fishing.

No funeral service details have been released. For more info, see https://oodmag.com/news/ood-editor-john-kerr-passes/

John Kerr.jpg

Edited by craigdritchie
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I've recently been going through boxes of old ODD magazines from the late 70s to present... I'll be sure to read a few of John's columns this evening.

The industry has been lucky to have a few special gentlemen like John and others, past and present..  whether it's been front and center or quietly in the background 

Rest peacefully John 

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I also had the pleasure to fish with him a few times. A true gentleman. I also did a fishing book with him for Ontario Tourism.

He wrote an amazing article about one of our best Friends in April 1999. The spinnerman, David Fernie.

RIP John it was pleasure knowing you.

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John was a good man. I too read his articles for years. Still use his recipe for doing roe, but never fished  for bows with him. However I ran into him every spring for probably the last 25-30 years fishing a favourite shore spot on Lake Simcoe for perch, a fish we both enjoyed chasing. Shared many conversations about fishing and gardening standing side by side tossing perch in our buckets. Last April he was not looking good but I was hoping he would get through it and I'd get to see him again at the  "spot".  RIP John and my condolences to all the friends and family of a great man.

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21 minutes ago, Old Ironmaker said:

Anyone who ever tossed a line in Ontario knew the name John Kerr. If I'm not mistaken didn't he write for the Star as well? RIP.

John wrote for the Toronto Sun, every Thursday if I remember correctly, for many, many years. Before him it was written by Pete Sticklee (briefly) and Tiny Bennett, author of The Art of Angling.

It was John Power (another wonderful guy) who wrote the outdoor column for the Star.

I often regret the fact that we no longer have outdoor columns in the papers, even the online versions. Now that it's out of the mainstream media, it's becoming more and more of a fringe pastime ... something that's painfully obvious with every MNR budget cut.

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The guy that shared the salt/brown sugar cure for roe . Always enjoyed his coloum in the Sun every Thursday . Actually, I could not wait for the next write up .

 

Still this from 1989 .

This was the start of changing of limits and slots . It was a great informative write up with boundarys and water bodies .

DSCF5352.JPG.0471033c9e37c73d1bc0ee02bf6ccb68.JPG

 

 

RIP John Kerr

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4 hours ago, craigdritchie said:

John wrote for the Toronto Sun, every Thursday if I remember correctly, for many, many years. Before him it was written by Pete Sticklee (briefly) and Tiny Bennett, author of The Art of Angling.

It was John Power (another wonderful guy) who wrote the outdoor column for the Star.

I often regret the fact that we no longer have outdoor columns in the papers, even the online versions. Now that it's out of the mainstream media, it's becoming more and more of a fringe pastime ... something that's painfully obvious with every MNR budget cut.

And I think Greg Clark wrote for the Toronto Star before they did. The Trout Unlimited Canada chapter on the Credit is named after him.

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Very Sad .. he was my hero as a kid ... I also got the good fortune of watching him land more trout in a day than I did in a season, a true gentleman and one of the earliest (along with "Red") to promote fishing (especially in Ontario). RIP John

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On 3/31/2020 at 2:10 PM, craigdritchie said:

John wrote for the Toronto Sun, every Thursday if I remember correctly, for many, many years. Before him it was written by Pete Sticklee (briefly) and Tiny Bennett, author of The Art of Angling.

It was John Power (another wonderful guy) who wrote the outdoor column for the Star.

I often regret the fact that we no longer have outdoor columns in the papers, even the online versions. Now that it's out of the mainstream media, it's becoming more and more of a fringe pastime ... something that's painfully obvious with every MNR budget cut.

Well said Craig I agree!

In Niagara we had our legend writing in our papers for many years,  Joe Montgomery.  Hes still around in his early 90s.. 

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12 hours ago, fishdawg said:

Well said Craig I agree!

In Niagara we had our legend writing in our papers for many years,  Joe Montgomery.  Hes still around in his early 90s.. 

In Niagara, going back further , he was a friend of my fathers and I hunted and fished with him a few times in the 60's, important man in conservation locally and did the column in the Tribune  https://cudneyfuneralhome.com/book-of-memories/1601778/Elliott-Douglas/obituary.php

 

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