Monday, March 2, 2015

40th Annual Houston Fishing Show

Today marks the end of the 40th Annual Houston Fishing Show at George R. Brown Convention Center.  Tony and I were both able to attend; unfortunately, due to our schedules, we had to attend separately.  We also had different approaches:
Tony = work
Crystal = play


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This was Tony’s view of the show, as he arrived the day before in order to help set-up the Hook Spit booth.   There wasn’t much booth shopping for him in his two days at the show.  As a matter of fact, he didn’t even get to see everything since he was busy assembling shelves and such.  This is how Tony is.  He would rather move an entire house full of furniture than sit still.  Because of this, most of his time off work (when he isn’t fishing) is spent helping somebody else.  Don’t worry- he managed to make it home with a few packages of lures from Michael Bosse at Down South Lures.
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He was also able to grab the much-talked-about Line Cutterz Ring .  He won’t have to bite off the line with his teeth anymore, so I view that as a plus.  I, too, planned on getting a Line Cutterz Ring, but I will be waiting until they release the colored rings.  I believe they have talked about releasing the product in bright green, blaze orange, cobalt blue, steel gray, and pink.
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I was jealous that he got to check out the show before it even opened, so I texted him from work and asked him to bring me something fancy.  That, he did!  Later that evening, I spent a good 10 minutes practicing my casting skills while lying in bed with my brand new Hook Spit  Hot Stix Rod.  I can’t wait to put this rod to work on the water.  Again, Tony didn’t walk away empty handed, as he was finally able to get Hook Spit's TNT rod that he has been eyeballing for over a year.
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I finally was able to get to the show on Saturday afternoon with our friends Josh and Jenai.  Jenai is responsible for the amazingness that occurs at MommaShark.com
My goal was to snag some lures and jigheads while checking out the new Wilderness Systems ATAK . No such luck on sneaking a peek at the ATAK.  I guess I will have to live vicariously through the short video clips and pictures on the Wilderness Kayak Fishing Facebook page.  I was also hoping to be able to get some Hook 1 accessories for my yak - specifically wanted to check out the Conseal Kits and bungee cording, but Hook 1 didn't have a booth at the show this year. No worries since I can order online.

Plugging away, MommaShark introduced me to Reel 'em In Lures, and I promptly grabbed four bags when I found out they were made in TEXAS! The owner and creator, Clint, of Reel 'em In Lures assured me that I couldn’t go wrong with anything remotely close to chartreuse.   


I made my way to Down South Lures to meet Michael and stock up on more lures (just in case Tony isn’t in the mood to share).  Michael was a super nice guy - he even returned the utility knife Tony had left in his booth earlier in the week, so it’s really good to know that there is no thievery going on over at Down South Lures.


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On to the next stop- I had to meet Vance and the rest of the Line Cutterz crew.  Even though they didn’t have the colored rings yet, we couldn’t leave without doing the signature Line Cutterz pose.  They had some great decals that will look great on the yaks, marine-grade and everything!  We also learned that this little-line-cutting phenom has sparked more than a local interest.  Apparently, even people in Japan have heard about and are interested in getting this sucker in their hands. (I promised myself I would not insert a cliched Beyonce ring comment here- you’re welcome.) These guys were awesome, and I can’t wait to see how this product explodes (globally, not literally).


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There were so many booths, I was overwhelmed; however, it was clear who was the star of the show.  The Hook Spit booth was so packed, you could barely reach for a shirt without bumping somebody else.  I was extra-appreciative that everyone there seemed to be wearing deodorant.  Here, I took advantage of the sale on hats and performance wear.  I even salivated over a few rods (sorry about that).  Wade, the owner of Hook Spit, even took the time to pose with us for cheesy pics and answered some of our questions about the Deep Sea Divas fishing tournament this summer.  I’m really glad they did so well at the show and can’t wait to visit their store in League City next week to get a new reel for my Hot Stix rod.

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Who knows? Maybe you’ll see a Coastie Culture booth at the show in the next year or so.

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