Greater Niagara Fishing Show - Summary & Next Steps

[salmonella]

LOTSA & The Greater Niagara Fishing Show want to thank all of the members of LOU that attended and supported the show along with the many positive comments we received.

 

This year we had best and largest collection of Lake Ontario oriented Exhibitors that we have ever had. Many of the biggest Manufacturer names in the Great Lakes Fisheries were present and were very pleased with the interest and the questions they received from the attendees on their products. We also had the most Lake Ontario oriented Retailers we have ever had with the majority of them selling the products that we were looking for at good show prices. This was evident by looking at the stuffed bags many attendees were walking around and the common complaint we heard that they didn't bring enough money.

 

The Salmon School provided 150+ individuals with a 6 hour class of details on the topics that were most important to the attendees. It was evident right from the start that Pete Alex, Pete Lahosky and George Freeman had put a lot of time into creating this custom class for us. They delivered the details on topic after topic that we were looking for in a manner that everyone in the room could understand and use to put more fish in their boats this year. The input we received both verbal and from the surveys is that this one was one of, if not the best ever. I want to publicly thank each of them for terrific job they did for us. I also want to thank the many LOU members that help spread the word on the school and attendee themselves.

 

The Quality and Quantity of the additional Lake Ontario specific Education offerings was second to none of any show in the Great Lakes. Over 30 Seminars were offered on Big Lake Salmon & Trout Trolling, Tributary Fishing and Marine Electronics / Boat Rigging. These seminars ranged from those targeted at beginners just starting out all the way through those targeted for the Tournament guys.  Best of all they were delivered by local and regional experts who know our waterways AND they were all free with admission to the show.  

 

This is the first year the Sunday LOTSA Marketplace did not sell out. Many of the guys in LOTSA and Captains who used to bring their used gear to sell and support us just don't have much left after 9 years of this show.  We opened it up to non-members this year and dropped the table price but were still barely able to fill half of the available tables. When we started the show, the used big lake fishing tackle / flea market arena was a niche that we filled but is now available through a number of clubs and organizations throughout WNY and around Lake Ontario. This change is never more obvious than looking at the "Classifieds" on LOU where many of us buy and sell though out the year without ever leaving our home. Not to mention the change that EBay has made to our buying processes. We aren’t sure what the future holds for the LOTSA Marketplace but please know that if we can’t do it right, we won’t do it going forward.

 

When we started the show 9 years ago, we had 4 goals in mind:

1.      Provide the main source of funding for our Pen Rearing Project

2.      Provide a full day high quality Salmon Fishing Class

3.      Provide opportunities for Kids to get started with Fishing

4.      Provide some relief for “Cabin Fever†by having a Fishing social event in the middle of the winter.   

 

We feel that we have accomplished these goals every year however there have been many changes to the show over the years based upon the input from the attendees including:

 

1.      Resolve the overcrowding issue

2.      Not enough openings for the Salmon School

3.      Not enough parking

4.      Issues with Food & Drinks

5.      Need to expand it to be a 2 day or more show

6.      Need more Hotel and Restaurants near by

7.      Not enough LO big name Manufacturers

8.      Not enough LO specific Retailers

9.      Add some Hunting

10.  Add some Walleye, Bass Perch, Ice Fishing, Fly Fishing, etc

11.  Add Boats & Marine Electronics

 

We will now work to resolve the LOTSA Marketplace issue one way or another. However, the big issue we have to resolve is getting the word out on what this Show now is so that we can get more Fishermen to attend. In order to continue to attract top end Fishing Exhibitors and Educators, we need to show them there is enough interest from the local fishing community by attending the show.  We are blessed to have probably the best diverse Fishery of anywhere in the country which many thousands of Anglers enjoy that live within a 2 hour drive of the show. The show also fills a “niche†as a “Hard Core“ Fishing Event which differentiates it from the other shows. We just need to raise the awareness that it exists and is worth while attending.

 

The show is no longer the “LOTSA Show†but the “Greater Niagara Fishing & Outdoor Expo†of which LOTSA is a large component of it.  The show in 3 years has become the largest Freshwater Fishing show in NYS and the largest on Lake Ontario. Over the next two months as your waiting for the open water fishery to begin, please check out the show web site (www.niagarafishingexpo.com) “Top Attractionsâ€, “Exhibitors†and “Education†to see the size and scope of this past show and consider attending / helping spread the word for the 2017 show next January.

 

If you have any specific ideas on how it can be improved, please message me direct on here and I will pass it along.

 

Thanks again for all of your support.

 

Joe Yaeger – LOTSA President  

[Legacy]

[Traveling Circus]

I attended this years show and enjoyed 2 of the one hour seminars, along with visiting many vendors on the floor..... overall I thought the show was very good. The only improvement I can recommend would be to have the detailed seminar schedule available more in advance.... and as luck would have it, one of the seminars I was most interested on Friday, was cancelled. 

 

Thanks to all who made it possible. Looking forward to next years show.

[times two]

Thanks Joe for all your efforts to continue to improve the show.

 

As we talked about, I don't know how you draw more traffic, but I can tell you (again) that

I was disappointed with the lack of coverage our local paper had.

 

John

[fishkiller16]

Anyone who didn't make this show sure missed out on the great deals and great educational seminars. We at Ultimate Outdoors of WNY want to thank all of our loyal customers and the many new customers we acquired over the 3 days of this great show. Already looing forward to next year!!

[bloodruntackle]

We at Blood Run Tackle would also like to thank everyone who visited the show, and we greatly appreciate your support and business.   Being from Michigan, we are spoiled with fantastic fishing opportunities and enthusiastic hardcore salmon/walleye/steelhead/ice anglers who participate at our multiple shows each year.    The Greater Niagara Show is quickly becoming a similar event, and we encourage everyone to come out in future seasons to learn and share information with fellow anglers, and to cash in on some fantastic deals on new tackle/gear.

 

See you all again in 2017!