On To Grand Rapids!!

[Waterfoul]

Ultimate Sports Show

March 17-20
Devos Place, Downtown Grand Rapids.

[Puma]

Is it me or is that show getting worse every year.  Fewer and fewer solid fishing vendors, more vacation packages and 'stuff' dealers.

[McCarter]

i was really surprised at the UFS in Novi last week.  i did not get to walk around too much, but when i did there were a lot of booths that were not fishing related at all.  Window companies, back support companies, wooden spoon and bowl people, blankets, dog toys, and the list goes on.  i will tell you as a small business owner tho, that by the time people pay for tickets and parking, they are pretty tight with there money.  and everyone wants a deal but you have to take into account the cost to rent a booth at the show for the vendors, there isnt much room to make deals.  i am very fortunate to have gotten into the shows at little or no cost the past 3 years.  even my best year at UFS novi i would have just broke even if i paid for my own booth.  a lot of time and energy goes into doing a show and at the end of the day, if your losing money or just breaking even its not worth it.  my opinion is that the shows will get less fishing related in the future until they just stop putting them on.  with the way the economy has been the last 10 years its hard to make a buck doing what we do.  and i know that doesnt go for everybody but i talk to most of the fishing related guys from this area who do those shows and its a heartbreaker year after year.  some years more than others and some years less than others but the guys who have been doin this a long time still talk about the old days of bassorama and how profitable they were.  and i will also add that a guy has no problem shelling out $6 for a beer but thinks $5 is too much money for a bag of worms that someone hand poured in his garage. heheheheeeeeee  

Cant wait for GR

McCarter himself

[MadWags]

Very true. The show is starting to look more like a flea market. Hey maybe if you infuse your worms with beer they will sell faster. I can picture a bunch of guys standing around talking with worms hanging out of their mouths.

[thedude]

i agree. with how much they ding you for booth space i have a hard time believing anyone can do very well at these shows - other than the people putting on the show of course, i'm sure they are doing fine. Novi on friday was DEAD - amazingly so. My friends from Indiana were doing their booth for the first time since they bought red dirt baits and it looked like they weren't very impressed with the crowds or the sales.  hopefully things picked up over the weekend.

i didn't make it to novi last year, but i always remember it being a better show for bass guys than GR - i have to say it seemed like GR 2010 beat the pants off of novi this year. I hope gr holds up this year as well.

[Redbone]

I am still looking forward to the show.  I purchased a bunch of stuff that I normally wouldn't buy on a regular basis, met some cool people, and maybe even learned a little about fishing. I cant see it being profitable for vendors or even a bargain for buyers.  But hey that's fishing.

MMMmmmm $6 beers . Not as good as the 8 dollar ones but oh-well.

Ive never been to the novi show, but I personally liked GR's.

[Puma]

I understand the cost, but think more vendors need to look at it as a long term investment, not just what they make that week.  I am very computer oriented, in fact I do a couple web sites, but as a bass fisherman, I still like to touch and feel stuff.  I may not buy that particular day, but I will know what to look for when I need it and will first try to buy it from the vendor at the show, either in person or on line.

[Dan]

When's our next breakfast going to occur. Maybe a few GLBers from the Grand Rapids area might attend our morning breakfast fishing "seminars?"

[djkimmel]

Promotions is about more than just that day's sales as pointed out. It includes brand recognition and getting the word out. It's valuable to me for that reason alone being a website owner. I also just enjoy getting to see people I may only see at these shows some years now. Definitely beats cabin fever here in the North country too!

[Mike S.]

I didn't make it to Novi this year.  I had a blast there last year, though.  I go to GR every year, it's only 25 minutes away from home.  But, that show is very disappointing after going to Novi.  I remember going to one 10 years ago in GR that was packed with fishing stuff.  Rods and reels, tackle, and boats.  Not a bunch of crap like windows and doors, I can see that at Menards or Home Depot if I want.  But, none the less, it's a fishing environment, and that's good enough for me.  Beer price makes no difference to me because I always make those events a family ordeal.  No drinking with the little ones near.

[AMAST77]

I'm looking forward to GR. I hear that ROI will be offering 3 for 1 membership deals. ;Dlol

[Dan]

How's Rick doing in S.C. Aaron?

[djkimmel]

3 for 1 thinking caps might be a good idea

[AMAST77]

He has poured more concrete in one year there than five years up here. Although he has found a lot of good fishing he does miss Mich bass.

[Frank]

I won't pay $6 a beer though I will pay for fishing stuff.  This year I had a very limited budget and only spent $10 at the show.  Bucause of the fact I can actually see and touch the stuff I can figure out what I'll be buying soon however.  I bough one spinnerbait from Red Dirt at the show, but I will be buying 50 before season.  If they weren't at the show, I wouldn't even know about them.  Same thing with Zipper Worms, I got to feel and examine their product.  I got to talk to the owner of the company about what I needed and why.  He will be making what I need within a month.  I will be ordering over 100 bags of his worms before the season starts.  I wouldn't have got these either if it weren't for the show.
All of the other stuff was disappointing though, The non fishing stuff mainly.  I walked over half the show in 5 minutes, all random stuff and charter fishing stuff.  It was worth going though.  The 2 things I did find were well worth it.  What I'd really like to see someday is a line comparison area where you can try out 20 different lines if you want.  I hate spending $20 a spool only to find out I hate the stuff.
Also, for McCarter, next time your out towords Waterford before the lakes open up I want to get a couple of swim jigs from you to try out.  I want one each of:  chartruese in every wheight, White with 7 red strands on the bottom of every wheight.  If the heads are fairly flat I'd also like some type of brilliant purple color.

Frank

[VinceR]

What I'd really like to see someday is a line comparison area where you can try out 20 different lines if you want.  I hate spending $20 a spool only to find out I hate the stuff.

Frank, here is a link to a site that has done several fishing line comparisons. They appear to be unbiased, and don't make line recommendations. They give you the results, and let you draw your own conclusions:
http://www.tackletour.com/menulines.html

There are a couple of recent tests listed. If you click on the "Archives" tab, in the Contents column on the right, you can see some of the "Shootouts" that they've held in the past. Some pretty interesting stuff in there.

[Waterfoul]

A line comparison would be a great idea.  If a vendor carried 6 or 8 different lines they could have 6 or 8 identical rod set ups and you could compare apples to apples.  I don't think you will get any vendor to set up a comparison for a product they don't offer though... just in case you like the "other" brand better.

If Gander still did shows I'm sure I could get the GR stores to do something like this... but they don't do shows anymore so that's not gonna happen.  Bummer.

[djkimmel]

I have seen line companies do 'line comparisons' a few times. But you have to watch out for the old 'trick' knots I've also seen a few of them use to 'compare' other brands. I haven't seen it often, but when I do, I have to wonder why a rep would stoop to that to make his/her line look better than the competition??

Not sure how you'd get a true neutral party to an outdoor show who would take the expense on and then do a fair comparison? Easier to stick to known quality line companies like P-Line knowing you are getting an excellent variety of line types (tools) you can trust to cover all your fishing needs.

[Waterfoul]

Good points Dan.  But I sure would like someone to put some of the new Suffix 832 and the new Fireline Florobraid on an identical set of rods.  Say a 7' Medium heavy with a Shimano Curado on it.