Jackson: Preview old classics, new gadgets at Chicago Outdoor Sports Show
There came a point in time when I said enough is enough. I knew that to be true when the nurse at the hospital finished pumping antibiotics into my body following another infectious fish-cleaning episode.
You see, I am perhaps one of the rare ones whose body reacts in a negative way if a dorsal fin, fish tooth or gill plate cover breaks skin or digs itself into my hand while trying to clean fish.
Water is the source of life for more than just fish and other well-known marine critters; it also supports all types of microscopic bacterial life. Some of these bacteria can cause harmful diseases and conditions in certain fish and other aquatic life, but mostly marine bacteria hang out anywhere there is water, including oceans, bays, estuaries, lakes, swimming pools and even home aquariums.
One particular type of bacteria residing in water and occasionally afflicting marine species has the fancy name of Mycobacterium marinum.
The doc and nurse on duty already knew about this "bug" when I told them what happened and just how many times I've had punctures from similar origins. Some angling doctors call this kind of happening "fish-handlers disease."
So when custom rod maker Jim Grandt heard my rant about my dislike of cleaning fish, he told me to contact Mark Cornell, owner of a company called Filet Claw (www.filetclaw.com).
Cornell will attend the Chicago Outdoor Sports Show (Jan. 19-22) in Rosemont to demonstrate his product. As simple-looking as it may be to a thrifty-minded angler, I was told this invention makes handling fish a snap, and it may subsequently solve my problem of getting infected after getting stuck when handling a fish.
Speaking of getting stuck, Michigan muskie guide Capt. Matt Firestein is one of those on-target muskie hunters who is out to please his guide parties on Lake St. Clair.
Lake St. Clair has been called the fifth of the Great Lakes. Lake St. Clair is shallow, averaging 10 feet deep, and its maximum depth is only 21 feet.
It's not the biggest secret in the angling community, but many people have yet to discover that Lake St. Clair is one of the top fisheries, especially for giant muskies and smallmouth bass.
Firestein, who comes highly recommended as a prime source for locating the lake's jumbo toothy creatures, will also be at the Chicago Outdoor Show talking big fish with "muskie-hungry" Chicago-area anglers.
And one of the big draws for this year is Lake Chicago, a massive pool at the show with fishing boats used in various seminars.
Evinrude is one of the major "lake" sponsors along with Lake County Watersports, and show attendees will be able to see the new E-Tec engines with their remarkable 10-year warranty.
Canoes, kayaks and fishing boats will be afloat on Lake Chicago. Tickets are $10 online and $12 at the door, with children age 11 and younger free with a paid adult. Visit chicagosportshow.com for more information.
• Contact Mike Jackson at angler88@comcast.net, catch his radio show 7-9 a.m. Sundays on WGCO 1590-AM (live-streamed at www.1590WCGO.com) and get more content at www.mikejacksonoutdoors.com.