My Day At The Chicago/schaumburg Fishing Expo

[slonezp]

Since my surgery in October, the show was the closest i've been to fishing, aside from the internet and staring at all my gear in the garage. I went to the show with intentions of looking at boats and attending the KVD seminar, and the ol' lady tagged along. We walked up and down the aisles stopping by the booths of different manufacturers reps, and she stood in silence while I asked questions, until we got to the Humminbird booth. "You already have one of those" refering to the 798ciSi on my console. "Yes I do, but if I got a larger screen, it would be much easier to see what's going on under the water." She turns and walks away mumbling "What a waste of money" to which I reply,"It's my money I'd be wasting." I head over to the Legend Boat booth. They are a club sponsor and are reimbursing the entry fee for the expo at our first tournament, I just had to fill out some paperwork. Might I say "What a sweeeeet boat!" I spoke with the mfg rep about fishing the TOC and asked questions about the boats on display. "Your not buying another boat, Are you?" "Yeah, I've been thinking about it." "There's no room in that boat" "There's plenty of room to fish. If you want, I can set up 2 lounge chairs on the deck for you and your daughter to suntan" to which the mfg rep responds "There's an optional sundeck cushion that snaps onto the rear deck so you can suntan while he(me) fishes." (I'm thinking to myself, what better way to convince the other half into buying a 50k bass boat LOL) her response to him was, "It's too low, the waves will go right into the boat."  (for those of you who pay no attention to my posts, I fish out of a deep v and that is what she's used to.) "Chris(her), this is supposed to be one of the best riding bass boats in rough water." and the mfg rep backs me up saying "I've done 74.4 in 3 1/2 footers without being phased." "You hear that honey? I can drive 80mph in this boat." and she walked away. We walked over to the Lund booth, and her tone changed. Apparently I'm a idiot to drop 50k on a bass boat, but 50k on a Lund, well maybe that's not so bad. The conversation changed from "You don't need a new boat" to "Maybe you should wait til you get back to work and make sure your shoulder is OK before you buy a boat" We went and watched the KVD seminar which was generic yet informative, and I did learn something new. It was 1/2 hour with another 15min of Q&A. I bumped into my dad at the show after the seminar, and went back to the boat displays and talked more boats. I'm leaning towards the Lund Predator 2010 as of now. I'd rather have the bigger boat for the times I'm on Lake Michigan, and less complaining from the misses. We'll see what happens. Said goodbye to dad, went home and had reheated venison tacos. They were good yesterday. Today, Not so much.

[MarkH024]

I'm hitting up the show tomorrow. I wanted to go today to sit in on Zona's but that thing called "work" was in the way. Did you see any deals from the vendors? Anyone offering rod/reels at a percentage off?  I might try to get there for Ike's seminar, but we'll see what the crowd is like. 

[slonezp]

I wasn't looking at gear, but at the Quantum booth a guy named Dave Lindner(no relation to Al or James) has some discount cards for one of the retailers. $80 Quantum rods are selling @ I think he said 2 for $40. Quantum is also giving away samples of KVD line conditioner. Illiana Bassmasters has a $2 raffle to win a 16' Tracker. Beers are $7 and parking is free. Ike is a good speaker. I saw him at Rosemont either last year or the year before. Here's the schedule and vendor list

http://www.sportshows.com/chicago/ChicagoSeminarSchedule2013.pdf

 

http://www.sportshows.com/chicago/ChicagoRosterWeb.pdf

[tbone1993]

600 series ranger blows lunds out of the water, though it is really expensive. The blue legend bass boat belongs to  an acquaintance  of mine and is really sweet.  The show was pretty good great plano deals on today. 

[MarkH024]

I hit up the show on Saturday. Watched Ike's Hawg trough seminar which was amusing but not packed with the info I'd thought we'd get. He just talked about 3 different soft plastic applications from top water column to bottom. Good stuff to know if you're just getting into bass fishing. Over all it was a nice show. I just remember a few years back there were always great deals from rods and reels to soft plastics at these types of shows and it's just not there anymore. This fishing industry is getting far too expensive these days.

 

I also sat in on a Gary Parsons walleye seminar. All that did was make me hungry thinking about a fish fry.  No he had some good pointers, just not a big walleye guy. 

[slonezp]

It was more than a few years back. Rosemont used to fill the entire exhibition hall. You'd have hundreds of boats to look at, not 25. Manufacturers reps giving away free samples, and ALOT more retailers. I think with the advent of the internet is why the shows are smaller. It's alot easier to get your name out there now if you are a bait company. On the down side it also created more companies and competition between the companies. 

 

tbone, a 600 series Ranger isn't practical for bass fishing on the Fox Chain and frankly I don't think any bass boat is practical for smallie fishing either downtown or Door County where I fish. I'm also thinking about fishing for browns out of Milwaukee in the spring and fall. Lake Michigan can turn on you in an instant. I've been out there when it has. Trust me, you don't want to get caught unprepared.  I know a Lund went down off Waukegan during perch season 2 years ago due to operator error. The guy had his drift socks set up wrong and pulled the stern under. Anyway, the Predator seems to be a good compromise for my fishing style. The deck is as big as a Z9's There's more than enough storage for my crap  and they hold on to their value pretty well. I'm open for suggestion if you think you know of a better boat for me.

[MarkH024]

It was more than a few years back. Rosemont used to fill the entire exhibition hall. You'd have hundreds of boats to look at, not 25. Manufacturers reps giving away free samples, and ALOT more retailers. I think with the advent of the internet is why the shows are smaller. It's alot easier to get your name out there now if you are a bait company. On the down side it also created more companies and competition between the companies. 

 

tbone, a 600 series Ranger isn't practical for bass fishing on the Fox Chain and frankly I don't think any bass boat is practical for smallie fishing either downtown or Door County where I fish. I'm also thinking about fishing for browns out of Milwaukee in the spring and fall. Lake Michigan can turn on you in an instant. I've been out there when it has. Trust me, you don't want to get caught unprepared.  I know a Lund went down off Waukegan during perch season 2 years ago due to operator error. The guy had his drift socks set up wrong and pulled the stern under. Anyway, the Predator seems to be a good compromise for my fishing style. The deck is as big as a Z9's There's more than enough storage for my crap  and they hold on to their value pretty well. I'm open for suggestion if you think you know of a better boat for me.

 

I think you're spot on about the Rosemont shows and how internet has played a huge roll. I used to go to that show when I was younger and walk out with baggies filled with plastics and other goodies. I remember several rods/reels discounted and advertised big too. Not anymore.

 

Get the Lund...then call me to go fishing LOL.  If I were to ever get a big lake boat I'd get a Lund hands down or maybe a Crestliner. Since I fish mainly shallow, smaller lakes...my Ranger works great. I was on Big Green Lake with 3-4 foot swells and  it was a scary experience. If I were in my friends Lund we'd been dry and perfectly fine.

[Dyerbassman]

The Rosemont show has gone WAY down. Last year I left very disappointed. This year I didn't go. Went out to Schaumburg instead. Nice show, met Zona. He seems very down to earth. But I agree, the deals just weren't there. Brought some cash expecting to buy a rod and reel but couldn't find a price that I thought was a deal. I can find better prices online.

[tbone1993]

It was more than a few years back. Rosemont used to fill the entire exhibition hall. You'd have hundreds of boats to look at, not 25. Manufacturers reps giving away free samples, and ALOT more retailers. I think with the advent of the internet is why the shows are smaller. It's alot easier to get your name out there now if you are a bait company. On the down side it also created more companies and competition between the companies. 

 

tbone, a 600 series Ranger isn't practical for bass fishing on the Fox Chain and frankly I don't think any bass boat is practical for smallie fishing either downtown or Door County where I fish. I'm also thinking about fishing for browns out of Milwaukee in the spring and fall. Lake Michigan can turn on you in an instant. I've been out there when it has. Trust me, you don't want to get caught unprepared.  I know a Lund went down off Waukegan during perch season 2 years ago due to operator error. The guy had his drift socks set up wrong and pulled the stern under. Anyway, the Predator seems to be a good compromise for my fishing style. The deck is as big as a Z9's There's more than enough storage for my crap  and they hold on to their value pretty well. I'm open for suggestion if you think you know of a better boat for me.

Taking any boat out on the fox chain is not worth it for bass fishing I suggest hitting wisconsin lakes over it. The lund and ranger sit pretty close to the same height in the water. Honestly if i had the choice I would go with the ranger because of performance  I know someone that runs one in small and bigger water situations including lake erie. He has a 250hp outboard with a 15hp kicker motor on the back. The downside is that he has the new 2013 model and the hull is much better than the previous models at an increased price. The lund should fit you well but if I had to pick a boat that I could fish on any body of water it would be the 621vs. Yes the comanches are sweet but if the wind kicks up on erie or lake michigan they would be swamped. 

[slonezp]

Taking any boat out on the fox chain is not worth it for bass fishing

Have you fished it much? These are both 5lbr I've caught on the Chain.

 

 

Here's a 6.6lbr that won big bass in our first tourney last year. My son and I came in 8th.

http://youtu.be/7bnWON9sa0M   

[tbone1993]

Have you fished it much? These are both 5lbr I've caught on the Chain.

 

 

Here's a 6.6lbr that won big bass in our first tourney last year. My son and I came in 8th.

http://youtu.be/7bnWON9sa0M   

Great fish but there is so much traffic on the chain it really isnt worth it once they come out. I would rather take a trip up to delevan.

[Goaltender]

This was my first fishing show. I love fishing and do alot of it. All my gear is average priced stuff so I went to the show prepared to dump some serious cash on new equipment. I was very disapointed - I expected and atmosphere similar to a flea market with tons of stuff for sale. My wife was happy though, I walked out with all my cash in hand

 

I have been looking on line and am looking at the Powell flipping rods. Anyone have any feedback on the quality of the brand?

[MarkH024]

This was my first fishing show. I love fishing and do alot of it. All my gear is average priced stuff so I went to the show prepared to dump some serious cash on new equipment. I was very disapointed - I expected and atmosphere similar to a flea market with tons of stuff for sale. My wife was happy though, I walked out with all my cash in hand

 

I have been looking on line and am looking at the Powell flipping rods. Anyone have any feedback on the quality of the brand?

Search online for sales and deals now. I don't think you'll get the same type bargains that the fishing expos once used to have. 

I have no experience with Powell, I fish St. Croix rods exclusively.  

[tbone1993]

This was my first fishing show. I love fishing and do alot of it. All my gear is average priced stuff so I went to the show prepared to dump some serious cash on new equipment. I was very disapointed - I expected and atmosphere similar to a flea market with tons of stuff for sale. My wife was happy though, I walked out with all my cash in hand

 

I have been looking on line and am looking at the Powell flipping rods. Anyone have any feedback on the quality of the brand?

The sale prices are not what they used to be with rods. Though plano always has a pretty good deal going on. I got the biggest sized speed bag for $10. The key to shows is to go and feel the rods you want to buy and make a list of the likes and dislikes. I spent a lot of time doing that at the show and it will be helpful for future purchases. Also sunday is your best day to catch sales a lot of booths clear inventory on sunday.