Great Lakes Bass Fishing Forum

It's HERE ALREADY!! The 2009 Ultimate Fishing Show Detroit (well, in Novi Michigan at the Rock Financial Showplace)!!

Michigan's BIGGEST Pure Fishing Show!

This show is all about fishing tackle, fishing trips, fishing boats and features:  Lake Ultimate, Trout Pond, Seminar Stages, Walleye Fish Fry and more.  Detroit is the largest freshwater fishing market in the U.S.  ...and now it has the Ultimate Fishing Show in the BEST suburban expo center! And some of the best bass tackle under one roof you'll see all year including your first chance to BUY the brand new Xtreme Bass Tackle Great Lakes Perch tube!!

2009 Dates & Times Thursday, January 8 Friday, January 9 Saturday, January 10 Sunday, January 11

2pm - 9:30pm Noon - 9:30pm 10am - 9pm 10am - 5pm

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Admission (Public) Adults:  $10 Children (6-14):  $4 5 & Under:  Free **Box office is cash only

   
Click below for a $2 off coupon (Valid Thurs. & Fri. Only) from the ShowSpan web site (http://www.showspan.com/)
Would you like a discount coupon? Click here! (http://www.showspan.com/Coupon.aspx?showcode=UFD)


NEW FOR 2009 - Xtreme Bass Tackle - Great Lakes Perch^tm

It took two years of product development effort, but now the new, Great Lakes Perch^tm tube has become a reality.  This is the most complex tube design yet to come from Xtreme Bass Tackle and this bait follows in the footsteps of solid producers like: St. Clair Crayfish, Erie Goby, Great Lakes Craw, Firetiger and more...  This natural tone design will have to be seen at the Xtreme Bass Tackle booth (#2251) because words alone are not enough to describe it.  Available in a 2 1/2" drop-shot tube, 4" and 5" tubes.

NEW FOR 2009 - Xtreme Bass Tackle - Slither^tm  4" Skirted Twin Tail Grub

This color is sought after by anglers in Canada and the U.S., and now it's available in a skirted twin tail grub.  This new bait completes the triangle of steady producing natural colors for your tackle box: Canadian Mist, Formula G3 and Slither.  Take this bait inland or out on the Great Lakes and enjoy the consistent bite you will get from a bait color that has been tournament tested for years.

NEW FOR 2009 - Xtreme Bass Tackle GOING RETRO! - Light Erie Green^tm  2 1/2" drop-shot tube, 4" tube and 5" tube

This blast from the past is being brought back and produced in limited quantities for 2009.  Along with Canadian Mist, this was one of the "go to" baits before the explosion of the custom laminated tubes.  The light plastic with small chartreuse flake will give you a different bite than anything else in the tackle box.

NEW FOR 2009 - Up to 12 more Combat Fishing Marked Maps^tm

If you thought the Marked Map Series covered the Lake and river system before, wait until you hook up with the new Marked Maps for 2009.  More Lake coverage, more river coverage, more U.S. and more Canada.  Come to the 1:00pm Seminar on Friday to see what's new and go over it with Capt. Wayne and guest speaker, Bob Mann Sr. from Windsor, Ontario.

NEW FOR 2009 - Go fishing with Capt. Wayne

Stop in at the Xtreme Bass Tackle booth to book a guided trip on Lake St. Clair or other inland waters.  I specialize in smallmouth bass but there are seasonal opportunities for numbers or size in largemouth too.  Are you looking to sharpen your tournament skills?  My Tournament Tune-up is a great way to get personalized instruction and shore up your game.


NEW FOR 2009 - Combat Fishing Invitational tournament trail

Have you always wanted to fish a bass tournament but didn't have the equipment or experience to compete?  Now you can by fishing a "live" tournament with Capt. Wayne and the Combat Fishing staff.  We offer to take you out for a full day of competition as a guest matched with an experienced tournament bass angler and fish against the other members of your party.  This is no test, it's the real thing because at the end we will weigh in your catch to determine who gets the top cash prizes.  Parties of 6 - 10 anglers are welcome, no experience necessary.

NEW FOR 2009 - Capt. Wayne's - Smallmouth Confidential^tm book

(http://www.greatlakesbass.com/images/smconfcvr260.jpg)

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This book is for the smallmouth bass angler who wants to increase his skills.  Research techniques used by Capt. Wayne for over a decade are now made available to you.  How to define and take full advantage of "Logistical Spots," narrowing down patterns in a "Broad Dispersal Zone," and "Eliminating Water" are just a few of the information packed chapters.  The cover graphic was done by local phenom Bill (Mac) McElroy of Scales & Tails national fame and the introduction is by fishing information warrior, Brian Gaber of www.electronicguideservice.com.

Capt. Wayne's seminar schedule:

Thursday Jan 8, 4:00pm  Smallmouth Confidential seminar - Guest speaker, Dan Kimmel - Dan partners up with Capt. Wayne to reveal bass fishing techniques that identify the most productive water and eliminate the least productive.  The information is from the new book by Capt. Wayne Carpenter, "Smallmouth Confidential."

Friday Jan 9, 1:00pm Marked Map Series 2009 - Guest speaker, Bob Mann Sr. - Bob, finalist from the Last Cull TV show, partners up with Capt. Wayne to roll out the new Lake St. Clair Marked Maps for 2009.

Friday Jan 9, 4:00pm Smallmouth Confidential seminar - Guest speaker, Bob Mann Sr. - Bob partners up with Capt. Wayne to discuss research techniques to find smallmouth bass and understand their behavior. The information is from the new book by Capt. Wayne Carpenter, "Smallmouth Confidential."

Saturday Jan 10, 5:00pm Smallmouth Confidential seminar - Guest speaker, Bob Mann Sr. - Bob partners up with Capt. Wayne to discuss research techniques to find smallmouth bass and understand their behavior.  The information is from the new book by Capt. Wayne Carpenter, "Smallmouth Confidential."

Sunday Jan 11, 1:00pm Smallmouth Confidential seminar - Guest speaker, Mark Frickman - Mark partners up with Capt. Wayne to discuss bass fishing research techniques that define what a "high percentage" bait is for you.  The information is from the new book by Capt. Wayne Carpenter, "Smallmouth Confidential."

For full seminar schedules from the pros and top anglers like Kevin VanDam (http://www.kevinvandam.com/), Mark Martin (http://www.markmartins.net/), Mark Romanack (http://www.fishing411.net/), Babe Winkelman, Marcel Veenstra (http://www.marcelveenstra.com/), Gerry Gostenik (http://www.greatlakesbassfishing.com/), the NBAA pro staff, David A. Rose (http://www.wildfishing.com/), Lance Valentine (http://www.walleye101.com/), Hall of Fame Legend Bob Brunner (http://www.michiganmuskiebob.com/) and so many more, something for everyone, visit the Showspan Speakers and Events page (http://www.showspan.com/UFD/Seminars.aspx).

Xtreme Bass Tackle Contact Information:
Capt. Wayne Carpenter
P.O. Box 275
Clawson, MI  48075
TOLL FREE (877) 485-2223
email: wayne@combat-bassfishing.com
website: www.combat-bassfishing.com
store: http://stores.ebay.com/Xtreme-Bass-Tackle

Thanks Dan for including all of that.

The packaging party is over and we are ready to fill the Xtreme Bass Tackle booth at the Rock Financial Showplace starting on Thursday this week.  Once you see the display I think you'll agree that this is the most complete and exciting roll-out of products ever from my company.  As always there will be tournament experienced staff to help at the booth and please feel free to get involved in one or more of the five seminars I'll be doing.  With a tool like the new Smallmouth Confidential book even the tough questions can be answered or at the very least, a research technique laid out to get to the answer once the water softens up.  We are very fortunate to have Dan Kimmel, Bob Mann Sr. and Mark Frickman as guest speakers this year.

The book, Smallmouth Confidential, turned out as good as I expected it to be and a little better in some respects.  The chapters go like this:

• Logistical Spots
  Broad Dispersal Zones
  The 10% Solution
  Eliminating Water
  High Percentage Baits
  How to Collect and Analyze Data
  Prelude to Reactive Logic
  Reactive Logic
  Quick Hookups

The first part of the book takes you through research techniques I've used for over a decade to reduce the big water into productive zones.  Eliminating dead water, identifying the type of spot you're fishing, how to handle big areas with high concentrations of bass to extract the best weight and what's important and what's not when gathering fishing related data for future use are covered.  After getting through the research related nuts and bolts, the next step is to enter into the world of "Reactive Logic."

Reactive logic is a term I used as a guide through those elements of the tournament game that are highly personal and apply solely to our ability to make sound tactical decisions.  It's the difference between being trained by the bass to react and pressing forward with a complete set of knowledge, skill and a "real time" read on the conditions to make accurate adjusments and get the best bite possible. 

This book can lay a solid foundation for new personal growth in the upcoming season for any angler at any skill level.

The new tube, Great Lakes Perch, is a must see.  This bait takes us in a new direction toward matching what we see in the environment with a complex bait design.  It's not just another pretty bait.  I really thought we hit the high water mark with the all-time most successful first year release of St. Clair Crayfish but I was wrong.  Everyone who has seen this bait for the first time has the same reaction and starts talking about every body of water where they "know" this bait will get the job done.


Reaper Products Flashtail Drop-Shot Tubes

This is a new product line I picked up that will stun drop-shot anglers and attract bass succeptable to the drop-shot technique.  I've included a photo of just one of these baits with this post: Purple Melon Flashtail.  Here are the names of the eight new flashtail drop-shot tubes from Reaper Products you will see at the show:

Purple Mist
Blue Mist
Bleeding Mudpuppy
Flash Minnow
Golden Melon
Golden Mudpuppy
Purple Mudpuppy
Purple Melon

Bob Dunlap, owner of Reaper Products is the designer of the original Emerald Shiner laminated tube which has been a staple of anglers for well over a decade.  His accomplishments and influence on the industry reaches far and wide.  He has been a good friend and steady hand in the development of my designs.  Year after year he has insured that the new Xtreme Bass Tackle releases are clear and accurate for color and on time, so that you see them first at the Ultimate Fishing Show in Novi.

Geesh Dan, can you butter up Wayne any more...LOL....Just kidding Wayne....see you at the show on Sat & Sun.

I look foward to seeing you there.  Yup, no doubt Dan can lay it on thick but in this case, I don't think anyone will be dissapointed with the results.  We just set the booth up and it looks good.  A lot of the major tackle guys are there including one we see when we go outstate, Mac.  The guy pours plastic all winter then has a great layout of bins.  Grandt Rods is there, KD Outdoors, Lakeside, Lunch Money and more.

Do stop by the Grandt Rods booth. 50 feet of display with over 2500 rods. The new Stealth Series has to be seen. Also just released the TiTech Series all titanium blank. All rods made in the USA and have a Lifetime Warranty! Grandt makes his blanks as well. You want high tech quality American Made products, these are it. Jim Grandt blows my mind every year. I field tested the prototype Stealth bass and walleye rods last summer and now they are here.
This will be Grandt Rods only Michigan show this year. Novi is the place to get the finest fishing rods on the planet. Grandt Rods delivers. Come by and let me show you these awesome fishing rods.

Wags

I had an awesome time today! Got to talk to wayne a little and get a hold of those great lake perch drop shot tubes.The weather forced me home early.  :(

Also got some stuff from from Mikes RX baits booth as well.He made me go broke after that...lol.

Next time I'll promise to pick up some from nemesis stuff.Those cranks caught my interest.


Great meeting some of you & Hope you guys make it home safe!

Save some for me......OH BY THE WAY....6 inches of snow as of 3:50pm.   Might be a fun drive in the morning....lol

well the weather looks bad for a drive to novi tomorrow, we are still going to try to make it but it doesnt look good. In case we do make it there save me some of those Xtreme perch tubes, and is the C-flash cranks being sold at any of the booths and if so do they have a large selection?

 Me and TCOOK will be there come hell or high water..if you cant DODGE it...RAM it..-skeeterman-

 TCOOK, I was there today and Mikes RX Baits had some today,I think. Waynes perch tubes are awesome .

Quote from: TCook on January 09, 2009, 05:46:15 PM
well the weather looks bad for a drive to novi tomorrow, we are still going to try to make it but it doesnt look good. In case we do make it there save me some of those Xtreme perch tubes, and is the C-flash cranks being sold at any of the booths and if so do they have a large selection?

Yes - Mike's Rx Baits.com has a decent selection of them at the show. He's on the main back aisle of the room near the NBAA stage C. Make sure and say thanks for supporting GLBass.com if you get a chance - thanks.

Wayne's there.
Grandt Rods are there.
Mike's Rx Baits is there.
And Nemesis is there in the KD Outdoors booth.

A big thanks to Ralph at Wonderdland for hooking me up with some tickets. 

From about noon till close I'll be there.  Stop by the Xtreme booth and say howdy.

I was there Thursday nite.  Being one of the 40 attendees at Wayne's seminar, it was better than last year.  Nice job Wayne.  I wish I could have made it there Friday. 

Snowing like crazy right now at 1250 hours on Saturday......but my son and I are still going to the show.  Have 4X4.........will travel.  I am just worried about the other knuckleheads  :P  that are driving like  :P wingnuts in this stuff  :P.  See you all at Wayne's seminar at 1700hours.

BD         ;D

Quote from: UAWBigDog on January 10, 2009, 12:50:15 PM
 

I am just worried about the other knuckleheads  :P  that are driving like  :P wingnuts in this stuff  :P. 

BD         ;D

hey BD the Knucklheads were out in commerce.  i was planning on going after my son's swim meet.  on the way home he got nailed in his cavilier.  looks like the car may be toast but he is ok.  spent the afternoon getting him and the car home.  maybe next year.

I drove down from Mason on friday to wander around for a while and watch some seminars.  We checked out one of Wayne's seminars and like always, its was entertaining and informative.  We then headed over and watched KVD on the pond.  That was also neat.  I am impressed every year at just how much better the Novi show is then the Lansing show.  Not only is it bigger with way more vendors, it is also much more geared towards fishing particularly bass fishing.  The Lansing show just continues to go downhill every year, but I will probably still keep going.

-Ryan

Quote from: dartag on January 11, 2009, 07:49:08 AM

Quote from: UAWBigDog on January 10, 2009, 12:50:15 PM
 

I am just worried about the other knuckleheads  :P  that are driving like  :P wingnuts in this stuff  :P. 

BD         ;D

hey BD the Knucklheads were out in commerce.  i was planning on going after my son's swim meet.  on the way home he got nailed in his cavilier.  looks like the car may be toast but he is ok.  spent the afternoon getting him and the car home.  maybe next year.

Glad to here Junior is ok dartag.  :)  The car can always be replaced.   My wife had a Cavalier when I met her.  She totaled hers too.  That's when I got her into a Dodge.  That was about 25 years ago.  She's been mine ever since.........I mean my wife not the Dodge.  8)

BD             ;D

Quote from: Ryan on January 11, 2009, 01:17:39 PM
I drove down from Mason on friday to wander around for a while and watch some seminars.  We checked out one of Wayne's seminars and like always, its was entertaining and informative.  We then headed over and watched KVD on the pond.  That was also neat.  I am impressed every year at just how much better the Novi show is then the Lansing show.  Not only is it bigger with way more vendors, it is also much more geared towards fishing particularly bass fishing.  The Lansing show just continues to go downhill every year, but I will probably still keep going.

-Ryan

If I were to rate the shows:

1 - Grand Rapids
2 - Novi
3 -
10 - Lansing......lol

Despite the bad weather Saturday, I was able to get to the show and see some of the sights.  It was good seeing everyone I haven't seen in a while and (finally) meeting some of the other members from the site.  I was able to pick up a few discounted crankbaits and a couple Sebile magic swimmers to repaint.  I wish I had gotten there on Thurs.  It sounds like most of the really good deals were snapped up then.

Unfortunatly mother nature decided to unleash a winter storm sat and made the long drive from the west side a real bad idea  >:(. Sounds like we missed out on alot of bassbaits, beer, and melonies. Would of been nice to meet up with some of the members here but that will have to wait until the next show.

T

nice censorship there Kimmel (melonies) LOL.

Had a good time at the show.  All 4 days ( 5 if you cant setting up Wed night ) were a little different for us but it was a good time.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and shot the shoot with us.  It was good to see you guys and gals and it was nice to meet some new people.

We got to meet a bunch of our customers in person which was very cool.

I have a couple funny storys from the show.  Chris had ordred a banner to go on top of our PVC and peg board display we made.  He told the guy we needed a 15" x 4 ft banner and they guy misunderstood him and made a 4 ft x 15 ft banner.  needless to say when chris went to pick it up he was a shocked when the guy brought something that big out.  He brought it to the show anyway not knowing what we were going to do with it.  So after day 1 was over, it was suggested that we take it up to the top of the bleachers on lake ultimate and hang it up.  so we did.  The next morning the show manager met us at our booth early and asked if the giant red banner on the bleachers was ours.  I told him it was and he said "Ok, just wanted to know.  Anyone with oysters enough to put something that big up without permission is ok in my book" and smiled and walked away.  We were half expecting a bill when were breaking stuff down sunday but never got one.  That was cool.

Second interesting story.  Being the marketing genius that i am, i thought it might not be a bad idea to hire a little help in the form of Hooters waitresses.  I had one booked for Saturday but she ended up not showing up.  So we went up with a good sized group Saturday night and i told another waitress what happened and she asked if she could do it on Sunday.  Of course i said yes, and 5 minutes later she came up with her other friend and asked if they could both  come down and they would each take less money to do it.  No brainer.  So sunday we had to very pretty young ladies passing out coupons for us and pulling groups of guys into our booth.  It ended up costing us $150 total to have them both there for 5 hours and we did $80 in sales that day.  So we missed our mark by $70.  What can i say, i truly am a genius.

Either way, we got our name out there in a big way over 4 days.  For a minute there i thought we were going to sell out of all our jigs.  I tied up between 50 and 60 and i think we had 15 or so left so i guess we can say that was a hot item.  And the gobys went fast on saturday and pretty good on sunday.  We only brought about 20 bags of sticks and i think there were only 5 or 6 left so it was a good show for us.

It seemed like KD Outdoors did good, too.  there booth was pretty packed most of the time.  He had some sick deals on rods and reels and tackle.  He was blowing out some ice shelters as well and they were all gone by saturday.  

Terry at Lunch Money didnt get a break for 4 days.  He was slammed non stop.  He had some crazy deals and people were buying like crazy.  

The best part of the show for me was having people come up and tell us how much they like our stuff.  We got a lot of really nice compliments and quite a few pats on the back.  that made me feel good.  

I meant to buy some stuff while we were there but by the time everything was winding down on sunday people were already packing up so Wayne I will order some of those new perch tubes soon.  Mike at Mikes Rx, you will be seeing an order from me and from Chris soon.  And Duane from Tournament Ready Tackle, we will be talking to you a bunch this spring.

Thanks again to everyone who came by and really made doing the show a great experience.

See you at the Wonderland Extravaganza in a couple monthes!

McCarter himself :-\'

P.S.  Chris, post some pictures.

Quote from: TCook on January 12, 2009, 01:50:39 PM
nice censorship there Kimmel (melonies) LOL.

Glad you like it... guess if I was running a forum for a bunch of Harvard mathematicians, I wouldn't need the super sneaky running-in-the-background censorship program, but alas... I'm running a forum for a bunch of bass anglers ;D (I WAS wondering what the hey was a melonie :D )

It was great to talk to everybody there and I apologize to a few people who I saw but didn't get a chance to talk to. Here's our big banner that came in a few hundred dollars over budget hanging at Lake Ultimate:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v412/bender16v/Show.jpg)

and our lovely "helpers" the from the last day:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v412/bender16v/helpers.jpg)

I never did get to walk around the whole show and I missed Wayne's booth but I will be sure to get some of those tubes before the opener as well as some of Terry's Lunch Money color. I got a chance to stop by Mike's and get only one C-Flash and got a couple rods at huge discounts too.

 Well as TCook said what a day, we got blasted over here on the SW side and it was just dumb too even think about making that drive. I wish I wouldve but im glad im still alive. I dont care what anyone says Brian, that was a marketing genuisis idea. Hooters girls cmon. Im sure everyone would much rather see them standing there than me or some other guy! Sorry to Ralph from Wonderland also i know you hooked us up. Ill keep in touch and hit the Grand Rapids show.( good to hear from ya the other night.)The banner priceless!!! Even got KVD in the picture!!!!!-skeeterman-

Hey Chris, send me that photo of the banner with KVD.  That's my boss and his son talking with him.  They might want a copy.

Hey Brian...nice save on the banner!  That is got to be in the top 10....no, at least in the top 5 for all time saves for the crazy stuff that happens getting ready for a show.  That's a hole-in-one with thousands of witnesses and a story to be told for all time.  It's the one that didn't get away!  Kudo's!