Welcome to the Show

At the end of this month, my wife Hanna and I will have a booth for our fishing travel business at the Chicagoland Fishing, Travel & Outdoor Expo. As best I can remember, I went to my first outdoor show with my dad in 1982 or ‘83, where I spent my hard-earned $29.95 on my first baitcasting rod, a 5’2” Berkley Lightning Rod. Since then, I’ve become a regular attendee at all manner of outdoor shows, expos, flea markets, and Bassaramas. I’ve been to twenty or so Classics, too. 

For the most part, though, I’ve always been on the consumer side of the velvet rope – or, in more recent years, I’ve viewed it from a media perspective. I’ve never actually tried to sell something.

Salesmanship does not come naturally to me. Perhaps that’s why I like writing – I get to tell you what I think without any sugarcoating. I’ve always viewed myself as the anti-salesman. I wouldn’t be lying if I told you that I looked down on the dudes in the shiny shirts cutting pennies with knives and telling me about the greatest Carolina Rig beads ever made. 

So here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to go to Chicago and talk about fishing, about the places I love to go fishing, and why. The proof is in the fact that the trips we’ll be promoting are to places where I choose to spend my most valuable commodity – my time. In fact, I’m a little salty that I’m spending some of my limited number of vacation days in a convention center rather than on some exotic fishery, but I suppose it’s for the greatest good.

So if you’ll be in or near Schaumberg, Illinois between January 25 and 28, please stop by. I won’t offer you a set of Ginsu knives. I won’t tell you about anything “revolutionary” or “game-changing.” I won’t ask you to spin a giant wheel for a chance at a 10% discount. 

I will, however, be willing to discuss my favorite Senko colors for big bass in Mexico, or the best times of year to catch tuna on topwater in Central America, or why it’s imperative that every American make it to Alaska sooner rather than later. Let’s talk fishing. The rest will sort itself out.