December 31st 2003 saw not only the ending of a year but the end of an era with the passing of Lee Straight, the last of the full time Vancouver newspaper outdoor writers. The younger generation does not perhaps recall the days when both the Vancouver Sun and Province and yes even the New Westminster Columbian had on staff "hunting and fishing" columnists. Lee became the Vancouver Sun outdoors writer following his graduation from UBC in the mid 1940's and served our sport well for the next 33 years. He joined the ranks while Jack "Pintail" Lillington was the main writer for the Province and they were close friends and associates. The other two writers of note in this field were Mike Crammond who took over from "Pintail" and Arnie Homewood who wrote for the Columbian newspaper.
Lee was still writing long after all the others had left the business and all had passed on. During his long stint as the Vancouver Sun writer Lee Straight served the hunters and fishermen of this province and our great fish and wildlife resource well. He was a consummate outdoorsman and a local celebrity of no small note.
Have you read Lee Straight's column? This question was often asked at fish and game club meetings and during telephone conversations between outdoorsmen. Lee used his column not only to highlight his trips but to provide a venue for the clubs to advertise their meetings. His "Outdoor Calendar" section catalogued upcoming events and club meeting dates. A phone call to his office was all it took to get your meeting notice published.
During his writing years Lee was host to many of the greats of North America, ranging from our Prime Minister Lester Pearson, through Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, and Rosemary Clooney. He showed them all the delights of fishing in British Columbia.
Not only was he an expert at all forms of fishing, in his latter years primarily a fly fisherman, but Lee was a great shot and a keen hunter. He was a crack shot with a rifle, making the Bisley team in 1952 and he was no slouch with a shotgun either, in the field or on the range. He wrote about fish and game and hunting and fishing from first hand experience. Lee spent countless days in the field and there were few if any areas of this province he had not visited nor any fish or game species with which he was not familiar.
His expertise on Fraser River bar fishing was unequalled. Many a bar fisherman learned where to fish and how to rig up from the bar fishing map that he published. A lot of anglers were pleasantly surprised to learn that the fellow with the fishing rod who was asking them how the fishing was, was Lee himself. He was in demand as a speaker at many fish and game club meetings and was pleased to do so if his schedule allowed.
Lee was always a strong supporter of the organized sportsmen of this province and never failed to attend and report on any of the meetings and activities if the old Regional Game Associations, the Sportsman's Council which first became the B.C. Federation of Fish and Game Clubs and ultimately the B.C. Wildlife Federation. He was a very active member of the Steelhead Society of B.C. also for the Totem Flyfishers and for several years in the late 1980's early 1990's he served on the Board of Directors of the B.C. Wildlife Federation.
He often berated us for not getting the message out. He felt we were not vocal enough on issues and that we did not showcase club projects enough. His column was supposed to be an informative one and not a controversial one but he did manage to get the odd word in on issues that were critical. From time to time he was given space in the paper to report on conservation issues although he often said the best part of the article was cut by the editor because of space problems.
Following his retirement from the Vancouver Sun in 1978, Lee became the first ever Recreational Fisheries Advisor/Ombudsman for the Pacific Region of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Lee served in this position for six years and was a strong advocate for the recreational fishery and was a major factor in bringing new recognition of this activity to the Federal fisheries managers. In his position with fisheries he was a sage counsel for the Sport Fishing Advisory Board and when he left fisheries he became a very active and effective member of that group. He never stopped informing all who would listen, and many that wouldn't of both the aesthetic and the economic value of the recreational fishery.
He believed fervently in the need to conserve and manage our fish and wildlife resources and he always recognized the contribution of the hunters and fishermen to this cause. He promoted conservation and the environment many, many years before the general public had an understanding of either. He was not only a reporter but a leader in that his word, both written and spoken, set the stage for the much more general understanding of these concepts today.
Lee was always there to lend his help and expertise to those who wanted to do something for the future of our fish and wildlife. He was also always ready to lend a hand to up and coming writers or those trying to break into the field. I will never forget the day he asked me to do a guest column in his stead while he was away on a trip. It was only 800 words but how I worked those words. Being allowed to fill in for Lee Straight was a great honour and meant, at least to me, that you had "arrived" in the writing field.
I will always remember one great fishing trip I had the pleasure of sharing with Lee. A group of us were on the Babine and the order of the day was "dry" fly fishing for steelhead. Well we beat the water for three days and while we had some success, it was very slim pickings. But the company was good and the evening stories, aided with a bit of lubricant, were the frosting on the cake. On the final morning Lee announced that he wanted a fish to take home for the dinner table. He went to a sinking line and a wet fly and in short order had his fish. It was clear that he felt and understood that harvesting a portion of the resource was a part of the activity that brought you closer to the resource and bound you to that same resource.
A good friend and another writer and long time conservationist, Ralph Shaw, summed up Lee's legacy as well as I think could be done. "To present generations, if you would continue to pursue our passions you may pause to think about the men and women like this man who gave so much to the outdoor activities we hold so dear."
Amen to that.
With deep respect, this memoriam has been written by Bill Otway and Richard Cole.
