St Paul Ice Show – disappointment

I went to the ICE SHOW at the EXCEL Center last night for 4 hours…

Everything you can think of for ice fishing was there including some of the things that you can’t think of ($40,000 fish house). All the factory rep where there…(the most repeated words are “I don’t like to cut a competitors product…but”). It was fun to go back to the competitor to see what there response was…

One tip that I found helpful was…when looking for a product..talk to all the reps..(obviously each rep has the best), get the as much info as you can…then walk around looking for guides…as long as they aren’t sponsored for that product, it seems, in my opinion that you get the most straight forward answers . Don’t get me wrong, I found a ton of info from sponsered guides…some good …some not so good (it maybe correct in their opinion)

What was disapointing was I had the only IDA hat on that I saw all night. I know there were members walking around…but I couldn’t identify…(hmm maybe they wanted it that way?)

Anyway…it’s a great place to compare brands of portables (’cause they are all their).

The one thing I didn’t see was custom ice fishing rods…they maybe there….just didn’t see them. HOF is still running there 10% discount…on all custom and in stock ice rods…I think.

Is a custom rod better than a off the shelf Walmart rod? Topic of a seperate post!

Is a custom rod better than a off the shelf Walmart rod?

Mike at HOF in Rochester has both Custom made St. Croix rods and your regular ice fishing rods. In fact last winter I bought many rods from HOF for ice fishing, both custom and regular. Boys and their toys you know. He has alot of ice fishing goodies so next time you stop in at HOF take the time to check out all the goodies and you will be surprised as to how many of the better catching fishing products he has in stock. Its MUCH more than a Bait store, its a FISHING STORE. My favorite place to shop. And he does ship fishing goodies to your door and takes credit cards too. In fact I request that people give me gift certicates from HOF. Thanks, Bill

At least you have a ice fishing expo we don’t have one down here in Madison Wis,they quit this a few years back .
the nice thing about these expo were seeing all the toys and equipment in person.

BrianK,didn’t you notice all those people with their hats turned backwards when you were walking around?
I suppose those guides/reps are there to sell,sell,sell.A big week-end for them.I hope you got at least a few honest answers.
Never been to the ice show but have always wanted to go.
Ryan Hale

We Fish..it’s less than 4 hours to the ice show from your place. Stop at the edge of WI and I’ll take you the rest of the way..

Ryan…For straight answers? A clip board and pencil would have helped!

It was a good educational time.

What did you get me Briank?

Hey Brian, sorry you did’nt come to the show today! As I was there with my IDA cap-shirt you name it!!! We had a very busy day at the Otter booth. I talked with many folks that visit IDA. From Midwest Outdoors to my good buddy Randy M………great seeing and talking with everyone today……I’m home and very tired of a long day driving down and back from Mille Lacs, and of course talking Otters and ice fishing!!!!!!!!!!!!

Briank,
Hey thanks for the offer maybe next year. I think it would be cool to see how another cold weather state has for an ice fishing expo.

just for your info, thorne bros had their custom rods there. just about every setup you could ask for. I came home with two along with a new revolution bag.

Bobber, the Otter display was awesome. Couldn’t miss it as you walk in.

I did meet this guy at the Marcum display…he was wearing a Ranger turtle neck…I know…I talked with Scott Stiel anyway.

Herb, they had these walkers there. Your bucket attached to the walker and the ice rods attached to the legs of the walker. I had one in my hand for you…but since you’ll be useing a wheel chair soon..I figure that might not work…I was looking for a buddy hitch for wheel chairs, but couldn’t find any…next year!

Thanks for thinking of me anyways.
How about this: A wheel chair with skis, and mini scratcher mounted on the back with remote start, throttle, and hydralic steering. Floatation optional. Now I need to figuire a braking system

Did you guys see the Bobshack? It was an ice house with a Waldoch custom conversion. Big screen tv, leather couches, satellite TV the whole works. I could have sold my house and moved into it.

I am back from the show finally. I think a lot of people come to the show execting great deals, some of which can be found if you ask for them. For the most part, the show is for showing the latest/greatest equipment in the industry. If you were there to see what is new in the industry, I am sure you found it.

Yes, there are a lot of retailers there, but they try to avoid price cutting because it creates a big mess. Most would rather throw in something into the deal, which seems to be more acceptable in the business. So, knowing how to ask for a deal helps.

With that said, I had a great time at the show. I was representing MarCum at this show but spent some time in the Polar Sled booth also. I met quite a few people from In-depthangling, including a lot of “lurkers”. The show was very busy for the most part I thought. It was nice putting some faces to names.