Dates: Wednesday through March 9.
Location: George R. Brown Convention Center.
Hrs: March 5-7, noon-9 p.m. March 8, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. March 9, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Admission: Grown ups, $9 children 6-12, $2.
Information/schedule: houstonfishingshow.com
The majority of the Houston area's half-million approximately leisure fishermen, antsy from lack of exercise over what's been an abnormally cold winter, search with barely containable enthusiasm for indications of spring's arrival, signaling the beginning of perhaps the year's best, or at best most anticipated, handful of several weeks of fishing.
Some begin to see the first blushes of redbuds and mayhaws as nature's heads-up that you're ready to get seriously interested in fishing. Others watch out for flowering dogwoods or pear trees. Some listen for geese heading north or even the arrival from the first crimson martin.
However for many, the surest sign that spring's cascade of excellent fishing - crappie within the shallows, whitened bass stacked within the rivers, egg-laden striped bass trying to find protected nesting spots, ponderous black drum collected near passes and arm-lengthy speckled trout hunting mullet on warming bay houses - reaches hands and it is what Dork Holder decently calls "just a lot of fishing folks getting together."
The Houston Fishing Show, the "couple of fishing folks getting together" event Holder started 39 years back, locked in late Feb or early March, is viewed by many people fishermen in the area because the official sign spring fishing months are here.
The 2010 annual version from the The Houston Fishing Show opens Wednesday and continues through March 9 in the George R. Brown Convention Center.
Known simply because the Fishing Show or even the Holder Show by most longtime participants and participants, the big event is really a consumer show for leisure fishermen, tugging together tackle makers, sports stores, marine sellers, fishing guides and outfitters along with other companies and groups. The event's over-arching theme - its only theme - is leisure fishing.
"It's all regulated fishing-related stuff," Holder stated. "Little else."
That singular focus is among the stuff that makes The Fishing Show a regional touchstone for fishermen, freshwater and saltwater - a location where they are able to see, handle and purchase (frequently at reduced prices) the latest rods, reels, fishing lures along with other tackle talk to the a large number of fishing guides attend a large number of educational workshops on fishing tactics and methods browse the latest fishing boats for sale (no runabouts or "play" motorboats permitted) and usually immerse themselves in most things fishing.
The 2010 event includes greater than 150 participants, among the biggest groups recently, Holder stated.
"We offered from space," stated Holder, who come up with the very first Houston Fishing Show within the now-gone Albert Thomas Convention Center almost 40 years ago.
Top draws in the show more often than not are new items, especially fishing lures. Which year, the show includes nearly twelve local companies with lines of baits (mostly soft plastics targeted in the saltwater market) wishing to construct customer bases.
The main gamers within the fishing tackle industry - Shimano, Abu Garcia, Daiwa and the like - have cubicles exhibiting their latest models and staffed by employees and professional-staff people.
"It provides anglers an opportunity to consider the blog and request questions, and when they experience a reel as well as other bit of gear, individuals within the cubicles exist to reply to questions and solve any problems," Holder stated.
That interaction along with other fishermen - professionals and amateurs - and also the resulting exchange of knowledge is really a main issue with The Fishing Show's attraction. You can't really spend a couple of hrs walking the show's lanes go to a seminar or two and never be cranked as much as hit water as quickly as possible.
Also it does not hurt the redbuds are blooming.
