St. Paul Ice Fishing show 12/3-12/5

[jwmiller33]

Everyone mark your calendars for December 3rd-December 5th for the annual ice fishing expo in St. Paul at the Rivercenter (next to the Xcel Energy Center). I know this was already mentioned in the Ice Fishing forum, but with the high amount of traffic on that forum, a thread can get lost in the back pages in a day or two.

For those of you guys who haven't been there before, it is a great way to kick off the ice fishing season. There are a ton of booths from pretty much every company in the ice fishing industry, and they are displaying all of the newest gadgets and gizmos, everything from flashers, lures, augers, portables, to anything. You name it, if it has something to do with ice fishing, there will be a booth there for it.

There are a number of great deals to be had too. If your planning on making a big purchase thing year, like a new flasher or auger (for ex), you can go to the expo and get a great deal, often times paying a good amount below what you would pay if you walked into your big outdoors stores. I bought a new Humminbird Ice35 last year for $40 less than I would have paid retail at any store. It is also great to have non biased retailers showing you each flasher side by side and you can see all the small details for yourself and make the best decision for your fishing style.

There are also great seminars put on each day from top guys in the industry like Dave Gentz (spoke last year I beleive) and a number of other guys as well. The expo usually falls very close to first ice, when your anticipation for the ice fishing season is thru the roof. I always get super pumped for the ice fishing season from the expo, and it is a great way to make sure I am 100% ready for the season with gear.

[JBMasterAngler]

I've been saying I'll go every year for the last 6 years and still haven't been there. This year won't be any different. It's put on about a week or two too late for me. I'll be on the ice somewhere that weekend catching slab crappies