The Northern Illinois Sports Show lured tens of thousands of visitors over four days to Grayslake who wanted to get an up close look at fishing lures, boats,, outdoor recreation equipment, hunting gear and more.
With approximately 125 exhibitors on hand from Thursday through Sunday, this was the first time the newly named show was held at the Lake County Fairgrounds and Event Center.
“It is the first-annual,” said Rick Rosalina, show producer with Outdoor Sports Group LLC, a New York-based event production company.
“We have been producing the Chicago Outdoor Sports Show for years, and in Rosemont and Arlington, and obviously we’ve moved here,” he said. “It’s perfect.
“We’re thrilled, I couldn’t be happier,” Rosalina said.
Opening day on Thursday brought a steady turnout on a sunny day, in advance of the weekend’s snowy and cold forecast.
“It’s nice, it’s real nice,” attendee Branko Bozich of Wildwood said early Thursday afternoon. “This is a good facility for this.”
Also a fan of the Lake County venue was Tina Scheer, known as Timber Tina, founder of the Great Maine Lumberjack Show, which had a large corner of performance space.
“It’s really great. We’ve worked with Rick (Rosalina) before, and we’ve done several shows with him, in New Jersey and Chicago, so we’re excited to come to this one, the first year,” said Scheer of Trenton, Maine.
Of the exhibition layout, which included a catch-and-release trout pond, she said, “It’s beautiful, it’s fantastic. It’s awesome. We love it here.”
As part of admission, amenities and free entertainment included the lumberjack show, which featured log rolling, ax throwing and sawing competitions by pro performers.
“This is my 25th season,” said Scheer, who also appeared as a cast member on a 2006 series release of the television reality show, “Survivor.”
“I’m the only woman in the world who owns a lumberjack show,” she said.
“It makes you feel really proud,” Scheer said. “Now, there are women competing, but when I started out, there was nothing.”
In a shout-out to women, “You can do anything you want to do,” Scheer said.
“I mean, I have had to fight tooth and nail for things at times, and I was told I was making a mockery of this sport,” she said. “At competitions, fellow lumberjacks told me to get back in the kitchen.
“I don’t want to chop veggies,” Scheer said.
Next to the Great Maine Lumberjack Show was the Fox Lake Harbor exhibit, which featured boats for sale and Chain O’Lakes camaraderie.
“Fox Lake Harbor, my grandfather started it in 1952 (under another marina name),” said Warren Moulis of Johnsburg, co-owner of Fox Lake Harbor of Fox Lake.
With nearly 400 rented boat slips, “the boat slips are full,” Moulis said.
May 1 is the typical summer boating start, he said.
“People are out there enjoying the short season,”he said. “Slips are popular. They cook on the docks.”
About his lifestyle, Moulis said, “If you have to work, this is the best job to have.”
Another entrepreneur doing what he enjoys was Jim Grandt of Arlington Heights, president of Grandt Industries, Inc.
Grandt, also chairman of Outdoor Sports Group, which runs the Northern Illinois Sports Show, said he has been building fishing rods with his company for 37 years. He is also a 2018 Hall of Fame inductee to the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum in Hayward, Wis.
About the economic outlook of the angling industry, “I think it’s awesome,” Grandt said. “A lot of the people who are making Made in USA products like ours, made right in Arlington Heights. And, all of the lure manufacturers, I give a lot of credit for, to make it right here.”
Keeper Lures is another local manufacturer. Art and Kathy Remus of Addison sold metal and painted lures handmade in DuPage County.
What’s a preferred color to attract panfish?
“A couple of the good colors are yellow, chartreuse, orange,” Art Remus said. “Pink is a pretty good starting point. I always tell the fisherman, whichever color you have the most confidence in, that’s the color to use.”
About the new venue, Art Remus complimented organizers on the show’s diversity.
“It’s a nice facility,” he said. “They’ve got a nice layout. They’ve got a good mix, a little bit of everything.”
Capt. Clyde Folse, known as The Crappie Psychic from Raceland, La., sold his handmade trailer lures to customers. Folse was also part of the “Meet the Experts” show panel.
About the crappie fishing future, “Right now, it is growing leaps and bounds across the country,” Folse said. “We’re having more tournaments.”
Across the exhibition space from Folse’s booth was a boat for sale which had a sign on it, reading, “Your wife called … She says it’s okay to buy the boat.”
Shoppers were seen reading signage on boat motors and having extended conversations with sales reps.
“There seems to be some good buyers and interest in boats right now,” Rick Rosalina said.
Regarding the outdoor sports industry for 2020, “I think it’s good,” he said.
“You know, everybody’s skeptical at moments, especially in this economy,” he added. “But it’s trending well.”
