Michigan�s oldest-running outdoor show offers new speakers, calling competitions, free ORV safety class, Super Clinics and more March 17 to 20
GRAND RAPIDS – There are many ways to measure the true size of a sport show. Attendance, of course, comes to mind. The number of exhibitors and variety of features are other standards.
Michigan�s oldest-running outdoor show offers new speakers, calling competitions, free ORV safety class, Super Clinics and more March 17 to 20
GRAND RAPIDS – There are many ways to measure the true size of a sport show. Attendance, of course, comes to mind. The number of exhibitors and variety of features are other standards.
Another clue is the breadth and depth of the seminar schedule. At the 66th Annual Ultimate Sport Show, March 17 to 20 at DeVos Place, 303 Monroe NW in downtown Grand Rapids, patrons can take advantage of more than 100 hour-long seminars. Except for a pair of intensive weekend Super Clinics, all are free with paid admission of only $10 for adults and $4 for children aged 6 to 14.
The non-stop instruction by two dozen local and national experts occurs on five separate stages, including Lake Ultimate, a 110,000-gallon indoor lake stocked with live trout. Lake Ultimate speakers will deliver real-time, on-the-water instruction from fully rigged fishing boats floating on the lake.
The five seminar platforms provide show producers with scheduling flexibility and show patrons with a huge spectrum of choice. On average, a new seminar begins every 30 minutes over the four-day event, Michigan’s oldest sport show, which began in 1946 and has occurred every year since.
No outdoor sport show in American can boast a larger or more diverse range of seminar topics.
New speakers and subjects coming to GR
- Ray Eye, America�s best-known wild turkey hunting expert, offers a stunning multi-media presentation called �Chasing Spring� on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Missouri native and former national calling champion has hunted turkeys throughout North America and will surprise patrons with his unorthodox calling methods.
- Marianne Huskey, the only woman competitor in the premiere professional walleye fishing tournament, will present �AIM Pro Walleye Tips� all four days of the show.
- Fred and Greg Abbas, the father-son team have earned the highest respect from deer and turkey hunters respectively. Fred ranks No. 1 among Michigan hunters of trophy whitetails, the only person to enter four record-book bucks in a single year. His seminar is �Manipulating Trophy Bucks.� Son Greg, a six-time Michigan wild turkey calling champion, takes seminar attendees to �Turkey Tech University.�
- Tim Fox is a professional trainer of hunting dogs that point birds. A breeder of top-drawer Llewellin setters, the Kent City native and part-owner of Shooting the Breeze Hunt Club, describes �No Command Training Techniques,� a modified version of the innovative Rick and Ronnie Smith training system.
- Jon Bondy, a full-time licensed guide on the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair for 16 years, explains his specialized techniques called �Jigging for Huge Muskie on the Detroit River.�
- Mike Pittligio is also a muskie-fishing expert whose Lake St. Clair tactics have made him a favorite guide�s guide. �Trolling for Big Muskie� is his topic.
- Doug Samsal is a Bass Pro Shops preferred guide and an expert on southern Michigan gamefish. His seminars are �Casting for Muskies� and �Spring Smallmouth on Lake St. Clair.�
Favorite seminar experts return
- Paul �Doc� Morrow, owner of Back Forty Habitat Solutions, offers tips and techniques for attracting wildlife to private property in his �Habitat 101� seminars. Morrow earned national reputation from Field & Stream magazine as a �Hero in Conservation.�
- Michigan outdoor writer Dan Donarski, author of 21 Days in Africa, will discuss �Unraveling Africa,� his success formula for an African big game safari.
- Richard Holm, a Lake Michigan charter captain from Indiana, offers a new PowerPoint demonstration called �Explaining Lure Color Above and Below Water.�
- Mark Romanack presents dog training demonstrations with his black Lab, Mason. Topics include teaching marked and blind retrieves, whistle commands and hand signals as well as a brief discussion on understanding hunting dog behavior. Mark also speaks on �Open Water Walleye.�
- Denny Geurink is one of America’s top wild turkey hunting experts. He will speak Thursday, Friday and Sunday on “Turkey Hunting in Michigan” and will host the annual Turkey Hunting Workshop on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to Noon by the Grand Valley Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation.
- Expert meat cutters from Country Smoke House in Almont are bringing a whole deer to the Main Stage at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday to show patrons how to properly dress, skin and process the animal.