If you're looking for a good deal, test out the Sportsmen Show waters

Irv, my father, always managed to find a good deal, especially when it came to finding inexpensive chest waders.

In one case, he wanted to wade a Michigan stream for steelhead, with me going along of course.

But winter steelheading was something new for us. We stumbled our way over gravel bars, chunk rock, sand flats, and finally connected with several gloriously colored steelhead.

My late dad, Irv, was a stoic who believed in really experiencing the outdoors. So once we accomplished the bone-chilling river expeditions, he declared it ws time to return back to Chicago and attend the big outdoor sports show. This was an annual father-son thing I never missed, even when I was away from home base, making my way through a world of strife.

And now the show goes on again in Rosemont, with exhibitors selling their wares along with angling pros walking the aisles with their shirts and jackets adorned with myriad sponsor patches.

Jim Grandt, chief shaker and mover of Grandt Custom Rods, never fails to have a jumbo booth that shines like a spotlight. Grandt noted that show attendees will see a new release of the Limited Edition Cuda Series. Only 100 of these special rods will be made, and the only release in Illinois will be at the Chicago Sportsmen Show in Rosemont.

My father loved to sit by the huge tank, affectionately called the Hawg Trough and stare at the bass and panfish swimming around as if nothing mattered to them.

Show boss Rick Rosalina told me this year's event regarding exhibitors is practically sold out. "We have the biggest lineup of retail tackle outlets at our show," he declared. Another exhibitor told me the Rosemont show is rapidly returning to its former size and sparkle.

Rosalina said he understands that the outdoor-oriented public wanted a show that resembled the massive exhibition so many came to know and expect in January. "We had a number of people tell us they also wanted a gun show as well as the fishing and tackle elements," he explained. "And because of the demand that segment is once again included."

• 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.