Muskie show has plenty to hook fishing enthusiasts
Hundreds of fishermen lined up Friday for the start of the Chicago Muskie Show at Harper College.
The lure: The chance to swap fishing stories and get the jump on the latest tackle and lures.
The show returns for the 13th year to the Harper College gym in Palatine, where some 144 booths -- featuring tackle, rods, equipment and charters, as well as boats and motors -- fill the space.
The show continues Saturday at 9 a.m. today and concludes at 5 p.m. Sunday.
Free seminars featuring celebrity anglers take place in the seminar hall located on the same floor in a quartered-off section that can seat up to 500 patrons.
Booths filled with colorful, hand-carved bait and with deer bucktail drew curious patrons as well as those offering custom rods. Luke Ronnestrand of Premium Musky Buster Lures of Holcombe, Wis., pointed to his most popular model, one that features a squiggly rubber tail.
"Fish aren't that smart," Ronnestrand said. "They are drawn to noise and action."
Steve Statland, show director, said the annual event draws muskie fishermen from near and far, making it a three-day "muskie party."
"Muskie are very special fish," he said. "They are the most difficult trophy to catch in freshwater fish and there's a mystique about them that draws anglers to go after them."
Consequently, he added, they are interested in the latest trends and gadgets for catching muskie.
Eddie Pacyna of Addison caught a 45-inch muskie in northern Wisconsin last summer. He brought a photo of his prized fish to the show.
"I'm like a kid in a candy store here," Pacyna said. "There's lures here that you can't find in any store."
Likewise, Ron Greer of Warrenville, a veteran muskie fisherman who's now retired, snatched up some of the top bait offered by vendors, for starters.
"It's a chance to see old friends, and talk fishing," Greer said, "and get rid of cabin fever."
The specialty rods drew the interest of John Gobbo of Park Ridge, who tried his hands on a 7-foot model designed by KT Professional Edge out of Big Lake, Minn.
If you go
What: Chicago Muskie Show
When: Continues 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
Where: Harper College, Roselle and Algonquin roads, Palatine
Cost: $10 for one-day entry; children 12 and younger free
Info: chicagomuskieshow.com