2005 Fishing Expo and Boat Show
smalljaw 01/16/2005 - 14:23 Shows and Events
I went over to the 2005 Maryland Fishing Expo and Boat Show at the Maryland State Fairgrounds this weekend. I actually made two trips over, the first (Friday) was to work through a list of objectives that I had and the second (Saturday) was to take my son over and maybe hookup with a few people that I know. The second day just ended up being me and my son (Sam) walking around, checking things out, and just being a father and a son. That was great and I really enjoyed myself. I think that Sam had a good time too. The rest of this story is about my list of objectives and how those were met or not met as the case may be.
My "buy" list objectives were not met. Many of the items I wanted were not available to be purchased. Others were just overpriced. For example, spinnerbaits with Oklahoma blades were there but at between $4 and $7 a pop I'll just buy the ones that I know work at $4 a piece. I was able to pick up my Oklahoma style spinnerbait blades from Big Mouth Lures.Unplanned buys were a couple of Bandit crankbaits (decent price) in some colors that I liked and a couple of bags of "Paca Craws" from Susquehanna Fishing Tackle. Be on the lookout for Paca Craws, they have some really nice qualities about them.
My "observe" list objectives were essentially met. Big pluses here were the Kistler Rods and James River Jets. The Kistler Rods are built just about the way I would like to build my own. If you've got the money but no time to build your own then a Helium is the cat's meow for sure. James Starkey from James River Jets spent about thirty minutes with me talking about his boats. I was impressed with his candor and expertise. He is one nice guy that custom builds some nice boats without an eight month turnaround time. Big minus was Rogue Rods. I asked the rep to show me their casting rods between 5'6" and 6' and he hands me a spinning rod. OK, maybe he didn't hear me. Then I asked him to tell me why their blanks were better than the Shikaris and he said because we have a "taper". Don't most rods have a "taper"?
My "hookup" list objectives were essentially met. I hungout with the Captain for about an hour on Friday afternoon. We talked about just about everything. Really likeable fellow with a great attitude about life. He has a passion for fishing that I don't think I have ever personally encountered before. Since I didn't make explicit plans to meet up with anyone in particular I wasn't surprised that I didn't see Mike or Phil. (Phil, I will mail you some jig samples this coming week.)
My "seminar" list objectives were not met. I attended Ken Penrod's "Smallmouth Bass Tactics" seminar on Friday night. The sound system was not working properly and beyond that they set up the "room" immediately below a massive and very noisy ceiling heater so nobody could hear much of what Ken said. What I was able to hear sounded like a pre-flight speech that he gives to his clients before he takes them out for a day of fishing. It wasn't an especially interesting "Smallmouth Bass Tactic" to know that the rods with the blue tape on the handle were medium action. Between the crappy sound system and the dubious content I left after about 15 minutes and headed home for dinner.
To summarize, my overall success rating is luke-warm. Pricing was not so good that I spent any extra dollars at all. I bought what I needed and that was all. Total out-of-pocket breakdown was $14 for 2 days admission and $22 on tackle purchases. I was prepared to spend up to $100 on tackle and equipment but the value just wasn't there. The fact that kids 10 and under get in FREE was especially nice and the hot dogs at the concession were really good. I am planning on heading up to the Eastern Sports and Outdoors Show in the early part of February for comparison purposes. If I go I will do essentially the same thing as I have for this show.
My list details are below.
My Buy List:
Spinnerbait Mold (Not there)
Buzzbait Mold (Not there)
Spinner/Buzz-bait Wire Forms (Not there)
Oklahoma Spinnerbait Blades (Score: Bigmouth Lures)
Split Rings (Not there)
Clevises (There but did not buy: Bigmouth Lures)
Standup Jighead Mold (Not there)
Kirkman's Rod Building Book (Not there)
Case - Jack's Worm (There but did not buy, I'll order from Charlie directly)
Oklahoma Spinnerbaits (There but did not buy, overpriced)
French Blade Spinnerbaits (There but did not buy, overpriced)
Fit-Over Sunglasses (Technically not there but custom made clip-ons were)
Jam Cleat(s) for Kayak (Score: Special trip to West Marine)
My Observe List:
Spiral Wrap Rods (Never saw one)
Rod Blanks, Rogue & Shikari (Partial Score: Rogue was present but the rep I spoke with was uninformed)
Rod Guides (Partial Score: Saw some but the display was too disorganized for any real value)
Reel Seats (Score: Saw an exposed blank reel seat on the Kistler Helium which was SWEET!)
Split Grip Rods (Score: Saw plenty, fairly unimpressed)
No Foregrip Rods (Score: Kistler Helium again and again a sweet rod!)
Rod Building Tools (Never saw any)
Jet Boat Designs and Vendors (Score: James River Jets are nice boats at a fair price)
Hookup List:
Muskalungee (Never saw him)
Capt Walleye (Score: Friday afternoon, hungout for about an hour)
Oppiey (Never saw him)
Seminar List:
Ken Penrod - Smallmouth Bass Tactics (Partially attended)
Ed Keller - How to Rig & Fish Tube Baits (Did not attend)
I went over to the 2005 Maryland Fishing Expo and Boat Show at the Maryland State Fairgrounds this weekend. I actually made two trips over, the first (Friday) was to work through a list of objectives that I had and the second (Saturday) was to take my son over and maybe hookup with a few people that I know. The second day just ended up being me and my son (Sam) walking around, checking things out, and just being a father and a son. That was great and I really enjoyed myself. I think that Sam had a good time too. The rest of this story is about my list of objectives and how those were met or not met as the case may be.
My "buy" list objectives were not met. Many of the items I wanted were not available to be purchased. Others were just overpriced. For example, spinnerbaits with Oklahoma blades were there but at between $4 and $7 a pop I'll just buy the ones that I know work at $4 a piece. I was able to pick up my Oklahoma style spinnerbait blades from Big Mouth Lures.Unplanned buys were a couple of Bandit crankbaits (decent price) in some colors that I liked and a couple of bags of "Paca Craws" from Susquehanna Fishing Tackle. Be on the lookout for Paca Craws, they have some really nice qualities about them.
My "observe" list objectives were essentially met. Big pluses here were the Kistler Rods and James River Jets. The Kistler Rods are built just about the way I would like to build my own. If you've got the money but no time to build your own then a Helium is the cat's meow for sure. James Starkey from James River Jets spent about thirty minutes with me talking about his boats. I was impressed with his candor and expertise. He is one nice guy that custom builds some nice boats without an eight month turnaround time. Big minus was Rogue Rods. I asked the rep to show me their casting rods between 5'6" and 6' and he hands me a spinning rod. OK, maybe he didn't hear me. Then I asked him to tell me why their blanks were better than the Shikaris and he said because we have a "taper". Don't most rods have a "taper"?
My "hookup" list objectives were essentially met. I hungout with the Captain for about an hour on Friday afternoon. We talked about just about everything. Really likeable fellow with a great attitude about life. He has a passion for fishing that I don't think I have ever personally encountered before. Since I didn't make explicit plans to meet up with anyone in particular I wasn't surprised that I didn't see Mike or Phil. (Phil, I will mail you some jig samples this coming week.)
My "seminar" list objectives were not met. I attended Ken Penrod's "Smallmouth Bass Tactics" seminar on Friday night. The sound system was not working properly and beyond that they set up the "room" immediately below a massive and very noisy ceiling heater so nobody could hear much of what Ken said. What I was able to hear sounded like a pre-flight speech that he gives to his clients before he takes them out for a day of fishing. It wasn't an especially interesting "Smallmouth Bass Tactic" to know that the rods with the blue tape on the handle were medium action. Between the crappy sound system and the dubious content I left after about 15 minutes and headed home for dinner.
To summarize, my overall success rating is luke-warm. Pricing was not so good that I spent any extra dollars at all. I bought what I needed and that was all. Total out-of-pocket breakdown was $14 for 2 days admission and $22 on tackle purchases. I was prepared to spend up to $100 on tackle and equipment but the value just wasn't there. The fact that kids 10 and under get in FREE was especially nice and the hot dogs at the concession were really good. I am planning on heading up to the Eastern Sports and Outdoors Show in the early part of February for comparison purposes. If I go I will do essentially the same thing as I have for this show.
My list details are below.
My Buy List:
Spinnerbait Mold (Not there)
Buzzbait Mold (Not there)
Spinner/Buzz-bait Wire Forms (Not there)
Oklahoma Spinnerbait Blades (Score: Bigmouth Lures)
Split Rings (Not there)
Clevises (There but did not buy: Bigmouth Lures)
Standup Jighead Mold (Not there)
Kirkman's Rod Building Book (Not there)
Case - Jack's Worm (There but did not buy, I'll order from Charlie directly)
Oklahoma Spinnerbaits (There but did not buy, overpriced)
French Blade Spinnerbaits (There but did not buy, overpriced)
Fit-Over Sunglasses (Technically not there but custom made clip-ons were)
Jam Cleat(s) for Kayak (Score: Special trip to West Marine)
My Observe List:
Spiral Wrap Rods (Never saw one)
Rod Blanks, Rogue & Shikari (Partial Score: Rogue was present but the rep I spoke with was uninformed)
Rod Guides (Partial Score: Saw some but the display was too disorganized for any real value)
Reel Seats (Score: Saw an exposed blank reel seat on the Kistler Helium which was SWEET!)
Split Grip Rods (Score: Saw plenty, fairly unimpressed)
No Foregrip Rods (Score: Kistler Helium again and again a sweet rod!)
Rod Building Tools (Never saw any)
Jet Boat Designs and Vendors (Score: James River Jets are nice boats at a fair price)
Hookup List:
Muskalungee (Never saw him)
Capt Walleye (Score: Friday afternoon, hungout for about an hour)
Oppiey (Never saw him)
Seminar List:
Ken Penrod - Smallmouth Bass Tactics (Partially attended)
Ed Keller - How to Rig & Fish Tube Baits (Did not attend)
