COLLINSVILLE — Newspaper columnist Doug Larson famously wrote, “If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there’d be a shortage of fishing poles.”
There was no such shortage over the weekend during the 29th Annual Let’s Go Fishing show at the Gateway Convention Center in Collinsville, where more than 100 exhibitors of fishing gear, destinations and guide services welcomed nearly 10,000 people who wanted to concentrate on the importance of landing fish in all shapes and sizes.
Eugene Dixon of St. Louis was one of the first people to enter the show, and he was looking for some new crappie fishing rods.
“I just got into crappie fishing during the last four years and this show helps me to gather up stuff for the fishing season,” Dixon said. “We have a couple of youths with us that we are going to introduce to fishing. I grew up on it, I learned it from my grandfather, and I’m just trying to carry on the tradition.”
Nine-year-old Weston Wisnasky is hooked on fishing and the weekend fishing show only intensified his desire to put a line in the water.
“I really like when I get up early and I feel that first bite, it’s both nerve racking and exciting,” Wisnasky said. “I really want to catch a muskie this year, and I’m looking at a lot of bigger baits at the show this year to catch bigger fish.”
Walter Krause would love to help Wisnasky catch a muskie. Krause is a full time muskie guide on Illinois’ Lake Kincaid, and he is part of a muskie club that had a booth with a large mounted fish at the show.
“They are very hard to catch and they are very big, and just the experience of catching a fish that big is awesome,” Krause said. “I’ve had guys that catch their first muskie and, even if it was only 33 inches long, they have actually sat down and shook for about half an hour.
“When a guy catches his first muskie he is hooked on muskie fishing for life,” he said. “We are fortunate here in Illinois and that we have over 40 lakes stocked with these muskies. They don’t reproduce in Illinois but they are stocked by the Department of Natural Resources with the help of 12 muskie clubs like ours.”
Eleven-year-old Sam Lukis of Wright City, Missouri hooked a small bluegill at the show’s indoor pond, but has his sights set on bigger fish.
“I have been fishing since the age of six and it gives me like a jump of excitement,” Lukis said. “I fish mainly for bluegill. But we are going to Florida and I might go deep sea fishing, and I might try to catch a big shark.”
Many of the vendors at the Let’s Go Fishing Show made their own fishing gear or offered fishing lessons to those who were interested. Maryann Townsend of MT Custom Outfitters from Wentzville, Missouri did both.
“I teach business and computer classes at Lindenwood University, but I also build custom fishing rods and teach fishing classes,” Townsend said. “I am the only female certified fly casting instructor in the state of Missouri and my goal is to get you casting 30 feet within 30 minutes.”
Townsend said it’s no secret why fishing is so popular.
“Fishing is spending time with family, just going out and having fun with whoever wants to go,” Townsend said. “I go fishing with little kids as young as two years old up to my mom, who is 86 and is my best fishing buddy.”
The Let’s Go Fishing Show came at the same time as an announcement of two new Riverbend fishing tournaments scheduled for 2023.
The SeaArk Catfish Tournament will take place March 3-5 in Alton. This event, similar to the popular Alton Catfish Classic fishing tournament held in the fall, will feature more than 75 boats during the two-day tourney in Alton.
The Fishers of Men Tournament Series, a bass fishing competition, is slated Sept. 12-16 in Grafton. The City of Grafton and Aerie’s Resort have partnered with Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau to bring the 25-boat fishing tournament to the city.
“It is exciting to see these tournaments commit to southwest Illinois as home for their events,” said Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau President and CEO Cory Jobe. “The bureau has made a strong push to secure new and exciting sporting events for southwest Illinois and these are a great addition” to other competitions coming to the region.”
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