The Tale of Ted Diltz

Ted Ditlz was a jeweler in London Ontario who had a small shop at the base of the TD Tower at King and Wellington streets. While I had an office in the tower, he was my go-to guy for family gifts. In addition to a nice selection of estate jewelry, he always had a great inventory of interesting stories. Ted was an avid fisherman, and on one of my visits to his store, he presented me with a fishing lure. I added this lure to our tackle box, and it quickly became my favorite. I think its first trip north with us was in 2005 and I have used it on every trip since. It's a little rusty and well used, but it has attracted the attention of many bass and pike. Experienced anglers have made fun of Ted and cautioned that I wouldn't catch anything, but I always bring it out at least once a season. I have a tendency to lose lures on a regular basis but never Ted. Randy and I were out the other day around Hotham Island, and we couldn't find any fish. We were heading back to the boat, but I asked him to try the northwest corner of our anchorage. It's a marshy area, shallow and warm. I was trolling when my line caught on a reed. Before we could stop the dinghy my line went slack and my leader and lure was gone. Oh no, it was Ted. We looked around for a while but couldn't see where I had lost it. The next day was really windy, so we were sticking close to the boat. After taking Tug to Shore, Randy headed to the place I lost Ted. There is a resident eagle there, and a couple of years ago, I saw a momma bear with two cubs, so I thought we were just exploring. No, Randy was on a mission. While I looked for wildlife, he checked every reed until he found one with a fishing lure wrapped around it. Ted is now back in our tackle box ready for action. I wish the real Ted Diltz was still around so I could share this story with him. Thank you, Randy, for bringing Ted home. You are the best.Read more