David Chong grew up in the west end of Toronto, in the High Park neighbourhood. He always had a genuine interest in nature and the great outdoors. Introduced to fishing at a young age by his father, he immediately fell into what would eventually turn out to be a life long love affair with the sport. He would spend endless hours fishing in Grenadier Pond, Humber River, Centre Island and many of Toronto’s waterfront sites. He would fish everyday if that was possible.

Curious about how he would stack up against the pros, David tried his hand at tournament fishing. He and his various partners have been competing on different circuits seriously since 1992. Enduring many ups and downs, David has managed to become one of Canada’s top tournament anglers. He and his partners have earned numerous wins and money finishes through the years. He counts amongst his accomplishments the 2002 Chevy Mercury “Angler of the Year!” title and the 2002 Chevy Mercury “Team of the Year!” which he won with his then partner Rob Lee.

David has qualified for seven consecutive Chevy Mercury or CFT National Classics as well as numerous other Classics in other circuits such as Bassmania, Top Bass and Bass’n’tario. He has won several “Big Fish” awards including the “Big Fish” at the 2000 Chevy Mercury National Classic on Rice Lake where he fell just short, finishing second overall. David has been a two-time member of Team Canada and a member of the competition winning Team Mexico in the International Challenge portion of the Canadian Open.

In 2003 David ventured into the United States to compete on the Evertstart Northern Division Tour. Faced with a huge learning curve David did not fare as well as he would have hoped. None the less, it was both a phenomenal and humbling experience. The experience and knowledge that he had obtained will prove invaluable when he is able to tackle his American competition again. One important thing that David took away from this venture is the knowledge that he can compete successfully at that level.

2003 also saw David, along with other members of “Team Ontario”, compete against the states in the B.A.S.S. Northern Divisional on Georgian Bay. Exhibiting a true team atmosphere, “Team Ontario” became the 1st non-American federation to win a B.A.S.S. Divisional. It was truly one of the high-lights of David’s tournament career. Earlier that year, at the end of August, David had won the Ontario B.A.S.S. Federation Provincial title on Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching.

In 2004 David concentrated his efforts up here at home as business demands would not allow him the time to compete properly down in the States. He started off the year on the right foot by winning the CFT Newmarket Club’s Perch/Crappie Combo with Don Sheldrake. Dave and Don weighed in 15 Perch for over 20lbs. and had the big fish of the day at 1.65lbs. From there he moved to the CSFL Walleye Tour and several Pike tournaments. Although there were no wins involved it was a good tune-up for bass season.

After a disappointing performance at the Canadian Open, David went and won the CFT One-Day Series’ Belleville Open. David and his partner, Ivan Taylor weighed in over 21lbs. of Lake Ontario Smallies to win the opening tournament in this extremely competitive circuit. David then immediately drove to Balsam Lake to fish in a Bassmania One Day Qualifier with Rob Patricio. He and Rob almost made it back to back wins for David before eventually finishing in 7th place. They did win “Big Smallie of the Day” with a 4.39lbs. Bronzeback.

The next few events did not work out very well for David and Ivan as they struggled with poor decision making. Then came along what would become a dream weekend for David as he won the CFT Stony Lake Pro-Am. He and his non-boater, Steve Marsh brought in a sack of Smallmouths that was just shy of 21lbs. a very impressive weight. On Sunday Dave competed on Rice Lake with Rob Lee in a CSFL Bassmania One Day. Demonstrating tremendous versatility David and Rob weighed in another huge bag with almost 22lbs. of Buckets. Dave and Rob were literally pinching themselves to see if they were dreaming as they enjoyed an almost perfect day on the water.

As the season wound down David and Ivan gutted out a 10th place in the CFT Chippewa Two Day event to qualify for the National Classic in Barrie. They then traveled to Sparrow Lake and to compete in the Provincial Title Tournament, the championship event of the CFT One Day Series. They finished in 10th place and narrowly missed out on “Team of the Year” honours by less than a pound. Then finally the National Classic in Barrie, easily the most prestigious tournament in Canada. David stayed in the running until a sub-par third day saw him finishing in another 10th place position.

Next year will be an exciting one with the CFT going to a pro-am format. David has always been an advocate of the pro-am format and is looking forward to another successful season. In the meanwhile he will be writing articles, giving seminars and doing his best to promote this phenomenal sport! All this as well as running his own photographic retail store, Exposures Plus keeps David very busy. He enjoys spending what little spare time he has with his beautiful and extremely supportive girlfriend, Dana, their 3 dogs, Chester, Eddie and Shari and 5 cats, Sam, Ethel, Alex, Murtle and Billy.

David Chong 2004 Tournament Summary & Hi-lites

Tournament Results
2004 CFT Newmarket Club Perch/Crappie Open 1st Place
2004 Walleyemania Tri-Lakes Open 10th Place
2004 Walleyemania Lake Scugog 7th Place
2004 SWOBA Broadwood Open 5th Place
2004 CFT Belleville Open 1st Place
2004 Bassmania Balsam lake Open 7th Place
2004 CFT Stony Lake Pro-Am 1st Place
2004 Bassmania Rice Lake Open 1st Place
2004 CFT Chippewa 2 Day Open 10th Place
2004 Member “Team Evinrude”- Canadian Open Corporate Challenge
2004 CFT National Classic Qualifier
2004 CFT Provincial Title 10th Place
2004 CFT National Classic 10th Place

Career Hi-Lites
7 Time Chevy Mercury Bass Tour/Canadian Fishing Tour Classic Qualifier
2 Time BASSMANIA Classic Qualifier
3 Time BASS’n’Tario Classic Qualifier
3 Time Top Bass Classic Qualifier
2 Time B.A.S.S. Hawgtown Bassmasters “Angler of the Year!”
2002 Chevy Mercury Bass Tour “Angler of the Year!”
2002 Chevy Mercury Bass Tour “Team of the Year!”
1999 Member of “Team Canada”-Canadian Open World Challenge
2002 Member of “Team Mexico”-Canadian Open World Challenge
2003 Member of “Team Canada”-Canadian Open World Challenge
2003 Member of “Team Evinrude”-Canadian Open Corporate Challenge
2004 Member of “Team Evinrude”-Canadian Open Corporate Challenge
2003 Member of “Team Ontario 2003”
2004 Captain of “Team Ontario 2004”

Current Sponsors

• Mizmo Bait Company
• Exposures Plus Inc
• Bob Bannerman Motors
• Crackle
• Rat-L-Trap
• Berkley Trilene
• Rapala
• Ranger Boats
• Yamaha Motor Canada
• Abu Garcia Reels
• Fenwick Rods
• White Water Marine
• Bluewater Optics
• Humminbird Electronics
• Atlantis Underwater Cameras
• TS Lightning Lures
• Environmental Restoration Contractors
• Design Concepts by David Likens

Association Affiliations

• B.A.S.S. Member
• O.F.A.H. Member
• Proudly working with Big Brothers & Big Sisters of York Region
• Instructor for the Ontario Chinese Anglers Association