By Steve Weisman
Here we are moving toward the end of October and just getting into the pheasant season, and we already have ice anglers getting excited for their season on the ice. With this anticipation comes all kinds of ice fishing expos. Here in the Iowa Great Lakes area, we have three different ice fishing expo opportunities. Be sure to mark these on your calendar: Stan’s Bait Shop (Saturday, November 6); Kabele’s Trading Post on Saturday, November 13; and The Hook Up at Oak Hill Outdoor on Saturday, November 27.
Stan’s Bait and Tackle
Kicking off the pre-ice fishing opportunities in the Iowa Great Lakes will be the Ice Kickoff and Fish Fry at Stan’s Bait and Tackle on Saturday, November 6 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pro staff will be on hand throughout the day, and the Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club will be holding its annual fish fry from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. A couple of specials include buying a bucket and getting 10 percent off of whatever can be stuffed in the basket (excluding electronics and gift cards), and 20 percent off any clothing (excluding ice suits).
Jeff Johnson, store manager, is excited for this year’s Ice Kickoff. “The shop is filling up with lots of new ice fishing equipment. We invite people to come in and see all that we have to offer at Stan’s! It will be the perfect time to visit with pro staff, to see all of the new products for this year and enjoy a great tasting fish fry provided by the Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club.”
Kabele’s Trading Post
Since 2012, Thane and Tanya Johnson at Kabele’s have put together a pre-ice extravaganza they call Shop With the Pros at Kabele’s! This year’s event is set for Saturday, November 13 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., but it comes with a new and exciting format.
According to Tanya, “We are changing things up a bit and our Shop With the Pros will be the Kabele’s FISH & HUNT EDITION! Not only will we have incredible ice fishing promotions, we will also have firearm and ammunition promotions as well. This spring we added a HUNT section to our store and wanted to offer some excitement around that area as well. This has brought many new customers in the door, and we can now offer our current customers even more options with us in one shop!”
Several ice fishing pros will be on hand including Dave Koonce from InDepth Outdoors, the husband/wife duo Dusty & Carol Rodiek out of South Dakota and also Shantel Wittsruck out of South Dakota.
John Grovesnor, local fishing guide, will represent several products that Kabele’s carries from Otter to Rapala to Striker as well as his own line of ice rods. Tanya notes, “Many like to see if they can snag a couple of his secret tips and techniques as well. Garmin will also have representation and much more!”
Squealers on Wheels will have its food truck on site from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.!
Customers will want to stay all day because the big drawing is at 3 p.m. for the $1,000 shopping spree plus many more door prizes!
Kabele’s will also offer Advance Pricing again this year to allow people who are not able to make it to our event on just the one day, so people really have a little more time and opportunity!
The Hook Up
The Hook Up is excited to offer its 2021 Iowa Ice Show from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, November 27. According to Ryan Hale, Tackle Manager at the Hook Up, “This will be the perfect time for ice fishermen to come in and check out the latest ice fishing products from top manufacturers!”
The venue will allow for manufacturer representatives to spread out and give plenty of room to display the latest in ice fishing products. “We will have reps on hand from S2B Ice Anchors, Graff, Roadside Minnow, JT Rods, Clam Ice Shack, Rapala, and Otter along with others to answer questions and provide demos on their products.”
In addition, Hook-Up staff, area guides and ice fishing experts will be onsite to answer any questions you may have!
At the same time, Hale notes, “We will have special in-store specials just for the day of the Iowa Ice Show.” Complimentary coffee and hot chocolate will be available all day!
