D&R Spring Fishing Show Zona VanDam Hite Reese Monroe and more!

[djkimmel]

D&R Sports Center Spring Fishing & Boat Show

Friday, March 29      9:00 am – 8:00 pm
Saturday, March 30    9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Attend free seminars and speak with top tournament pros including Skeet Reese, Kevin VanDam, Jonathon VanDam, Mark Zona, Davy Hite, Ish Monroe, Gerry Gostenik and Chris Noffsinger. Take advantage of some of the year's biggest sales and check out the Berkley Experience Truck! Award winning Big Moe's BBQ will be grilling on-site.  Seminar schedule coming soon.

View Event Poster (requires PDF Reader)

[Waterfoul]

Looks like fun to me.  We leave for Bull Shoals/Table Rock on the 31st... maybe I could ask them for a few pointers!

[djkimmel]

Couldn't hurt. They've all fished there before. I liked Table Rock. Was a long time ago, but I had fun. Big lake.

[bob o]

is anyone interested in going to this? i've never been to this event and it sounds like a real hoot.

[djkimmel]

It is a great event for a road trip. These pro and expert anglers will be wandering all over the store and accessible most of the time they are there. We usually get to talk to most or all of them.

[Team houston]

bob o  I would be interested. pm me.

[blakstr1]

hoping to make the trip over this year... maybe

[bob o]

bob o  I would be interested. pm me.

i just noticed it's easter weekend. it's a good bet we will be out of town that weekend 

[djkimmel]

It's always Easter weekend, just never on Easter Sunday.

[bigjc]

Easter weekend is a dumb time to host this event.  As such I have never made it, but would love to check it out.  I do enjoy D&R Sports.

[djkimmel]

The event is on Friday and Saturday, not Sunday. Has been that way for years. Always a great turnout for this event. See all those who can make it there at least one of those days.

[stackenem]

How about an address for those of us that have no idea where this is.LOL

[t-bone]

Let me google that for you...
http://www.dandrsports.com/Store_Info.html

How about an address for those of us that have no idea where this is.LOL

[Dan]

What??? You live in Michigan and fish and don't know where D&R Sports is. Man you have been missing out. Their Spring Flings always have some top name pros. More that any other show you are going to attend in this state or probably any other.

[rangerfan]

Went last year and it was great.Good sales,lots of seminars,factory reps,and more specialized bass lures than any store in Michigan.

[djkimmel]

All the info you need at the link t-bone provided INCLUDING a nice map to zoom in or out of. Here is the address and phone number if you just prefer that:
D & R Sports Center
8178 West Main Street
Kalamazoo, Michigan  49009
On M-43, 3 miles west of US-131 (Exit 38B)
Local Phone: 269-372-2277
Long Distance:  800-992-1520

It was just a little corner room off of the Father's business building the first time I randomly drove by it one day long, long, long ago and met Randy when we were not much more than big kids (well, I won't speak for Randy, he is a VanDam after all and I learned all I wanted about him shortly thereafter on the tournament circuits!! ). Randy was about the only employee that day decades ago.

Now, I don't even know how many employees he has but it is a bunch! The store has grown into a large, super-stocked fishing tackle and marine equipment complex now, with a number of large outbuildings for multiple brand boat sales and service, along with a big stockyard of new and used boat.

The store also spawned out a KVD. And then later, a JVD. Several others too who have taken a bunch of my, and other peoples' money over the years at various levels. The store also contains a mount of the Ohio state record 9 pounds 8 ounce smallmouth bass caught by RVD (Randy) back when he was also taking a bunch of my and other peoples' money at many tournaments! He still pops up now and then to 'collect' at various locations!

The store is named after (D) Dick VanDam - the family Patriarch (who has also taken some of my money in tournaments in the past), & (R) Randy VanDam - the person who built it from that little corner into the very large business that it became years ago. It's my favorite tackle shop in Michigan.

You can't go anywhere without running into someone in the industry who knows Randy well. You can be sitting in a little airport in Mazatlan Mexico and BAM, there will be several big wigs coming up to Randy to say hi, and swap industry news and fish stories, of course! Most of the bass pros know and respect Randy quite a bit too because he also could have gone the national tournament route if he had wanted to, and collected even more peoples' money, and they know it! D & R Sports Center is always worth a good road trip!

[djkimmel]

Besides... Z will be there and that's all I need to think ROAD TRIP!! They don't call him Awesome for nothing!!

[djkimmel]

That KVD guy is pretty cool too!

[Dan]

Great D&R history lesson Lt. Dan. Learn something new every day on this site.

[djkimmel]

Glad you enjoyed it. Always good to learn new things (or re-remember things I've forgotten).