Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Great Finds from the Toronto Spring Fishing & Boat Show 2012

(Rob Edwards, Dustin Lemmon, Jim Van Ryn)


Well, thus ends another year for the Toronto Spring fishing and Boat show. Im not privy to how well the event does, but I will tell you that there was some great traffic moving through that building, and some great purchases to be had.. If you know where to look.

If you attended the show I hope you got the chance to drop by the VRX/Dobyns booth, if not you missed the chance to handle some serious rods, and of course pick of some great Rod Glove products to protect your gear. Us Dobyns guys were kept pretty busy, these rods are really building a reputation in the market, and this show really proved that. I got to meet a lot of great people this weekend,  there was a ton of interest in not only the Dobyns series of Rods but of course, Numa Optics,  tuff as nails sunglasses really built for Anglers and Hunters. If you missed your chance to see them up close and personal this past weekend, be sure to drop by a local retailer and check them out. .. In the GTA head over to Pro J's and/or Fishing World, and if you are in the Ottawa Market be sure to check out Paddletales.

When not working in the booth my focus was on finding some killer deals and steals.. new frogs, and some gear to help me on a Lake Erie Trip coming up this May were also on the top of my mind. 

One booth that caught my eye right off the bat was Vok fishing, set up with the Ultra Tungsten team, VOk fishing had a very cool selection of Frogs on display. With super soft bodies and some crazy color options, I had to pick a few up (review to follow). These frogs are priced right at $6.99 and $7.99, they come in 3 sizes including a tiny frog even smaller then the one made by Live Target. These frogs come in two styles, the Croaker and the Samurai. I love the croaker color selection, but for some reason the hooks are set a bit to far in for my liking. So In my opinion the Samurai is the way to go.

(the Croaker Frog & The Samurai Frog)

Next up was a mouse I had been eyeing on a couple of my last orders with Tackle Warehouse, and when I saw in up close and personal at the show, I could not resist. The MLT Rat N Rat, caught my eye due to the tiny blades that have been adding in place of rubber strands for feet. It comes in some great color options and will do battles with my Live Target mice for time on the water. These little blades will improve the baits ability when fishing pads and open water alike. They are small enough to not get in the way when the fish takes it, but big enough to give some flash in the water.



OSP is a company that I know very little about, it is not readily available in my market so it is hard to get a gauge for the product quality and selection. At the show I was able to handle some of their unique soft plastics and fell in love with the "Do Live" stick (or Olive stick as I was calling it. This thick worm/senko style bait has a large profile and a great finesse tail.. when the package is open you get the very familiar scent of what one can only call "power bait". Im hoping this is one of my secret weapons this season (although the color selection was a bit lacking)



These are just some of the cool finds I had while walking the floor at the Toronto Fishing and Boat show, many other companies were releasing some great products and product lines at the show.

 I spent most of my money at the Bass Magnet lure booth, a great bunch of guys and some very cool new products on the shelf. Be sure to check out their new alabama rig, and swim-bait series called "Shift'r Shad. They also launched a great drop shot bait called the "twitch". Like always I fell in love  with their tube selection, some great new colors added again this season.

I had a blast at the show this year, if you missed it, be sure to mark the date on your calendar for next year. There are some great buys to be had, and a ton to learn at the vaious seminars and booths.



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