On Friday March 07 the BC Boat & Sportsmen’s Show opened at the TradEx Centre in Abbotsford until Sunday March 09. With over 400 exhibitors from all over Canada makes this the largest hunting and fishing show event in British Columbia.I have to admit that I enjoy outdoor shows. To me such events are like an outdoorsmen convention. You meet up with old friends and make new contacts, and get to see and play with new products.
This year I looked forward to meet a man that I only knew from the outdoor blogging community. Rick Passek from the Flyfish Fanatic blog. Rick is from British Columbia too and if some of you wonder why we never got together before them let me tell you that this is a very big province, approximately twice the size of Texas. To my surprise, in the conversation with Rick at his boot where he promoted his new book, The Freshman Flyfisher – A Beginners Guide For A New Generation, I learned that he basically just lives a few towns over form my hometown. I guess the world is a small place after all!
In an upcoming post I will review Rick Passek’s new book and his new company Rp3 Fishing Adventures. Besides having an interesting chat with Rick there were many new products to explore too on the show.
On many rivers here in British Columbia it is not permitted to fish with barbed hooks, which is good because it makes the catch-and-release of wild salmon and trout a lot easier on the fish and the fishers. The BC based fishing product company DNE Fishing Tackle came up with a new barbless high-glass carbon hook of a very unique design that will keep the fish on the hook. I am looking forward to field test the free sample the friendly company representative handed out to show visitors and report my findings here.
I am in the market for a new fishing boat and the BC Boat & Sportsmen’s Show offered plenty for boaters to see. In fact the only criticism I have to the show organizers would be that they have to many boats on display. I mean, common folks don’t you think that over half of the exhibition dedicated to boats is a bit much while the hunting section is pushed in the far corner were most folks can’t find it?It seems that from year to year the fishing and boating part gets larger while the hunting exhibition gets smaller. The reason why it gets smaller is because each year exhibitors of hunting products and services pull out from the show. The reason! They are fed up with being hidden away in a corner, at least that is what some hunting company representatives have told me.
Enough of my ranting, I said my piece. Lets get on with what I look for in a boat. Being the frugal type I look for a boat that can serve equally well for a variety purposes without raising my bank managers eyebrows. In my case the boat I am looking for should be a good fishing boat that also is useful to get me to remote hunting places across sloughs, shallow lakes, flooded timber and finally be a waterfowl hunting boat too. Can’t be done, said someone, you need a special boat for fishing and a special boat for waterfowl hunting.
Of course it can be done. With a little searching, planning and compromising almost anything is possible. The solution to my quest is a Princecraft Jon Boat. With a few inexpensive modifications, such as a fishing platform and pedestal swivel bass fishing chair that can be removed if not needed, I have a reasonably priced all-around-hunting-fishing boat that will get me anywhere, on any water, I want to go.
I also would like to purchase a new hunting bow. A crossbow is on my wish list for quite some time now and I think I have found the one I want. Excalibur Crossbow, based in Kitchener, Ontario manufactures crossbows since 1983. With that many years of experience it is no wonder that Excalibur crossbows are the best on the market today. I have not made my mind up yet which model it will get. But one thing is for sure it will be an Excalibur.
In the coming days I will pick some product highlights from the hunting show and review them here, starting with Rick Passek’s new book and his new company. By the way Rick invited me to go sturgeon fishing with him. I never fished sturgeons but it sure sounds like a lot of fun, especially when you hook one of the 12ft. monsters in the Fraser River.
Tags: Outdoor Trade Show, Hunting Show, Fishing Show, Boating Show, Outdoor Event, British Columbia, Canada, Hunting Products, Fishing Tackle
3 comments:
I like the outdoor shows too, but our shows down here have the same problem as yours. They are always overrun by fishing boats.
I think sturgeon fishing would be an absolute blast. Looking forward to reading the post about that once you go.
Arthur – Here in British Columbia the sturgeon can only be found in the Fraser River. The other good news is that the best place to fish them is basically in front of our home. I guess you could say I am a very lucky guy. :)
-ov-
It was GREAT meeting you at the show Othmar. I enjoyed our chat at the show, I wish it could have chatted longer with you, but as you saw there were many people at the show.
As for the show itself, I have heard from many people that they were also disappointed in the hunting section.
As for the fishing section, it was OK in my opinion, I hope that in the next few years that they add a casting pond so that the buyer can test out a rod before they buy one like they do in many of the American shows.
I look forward to taking you out on the jet boat and try to hunt down a few of those Sturgeon!!!!
Talk to ya soon Othmar!
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