To me, January is a very interesting month. We’re finished with deer season, and most of us haven’t fished very much in a while, except for maybe a little striper fishing. It is the month when I get back in my bass-fishing mode, when I do a lot of preparation for the spring. It’s when I put in brushpiles, when I start to prepare myself mentally, when I get my tackle ready.
And it’s when I do most of the purchasing I do. Most people think that bass pros only use stuff from their sponsors’companies, but let me tell you, that’s not true. I’m out there to make money, and I’ll use whatever is out there that gives me the best chance to catch fish.
So January is a month when I pay close attention to shows: boat shows, fishing shows, in-house shows at boat dealerships and the open houses that a lot of businesses have.
January and February are the months when all the newest tackle, baits and electronics become available to the public. I went to the ICAST show in Orlando last fall — a show where dealers come and look at all the products manufacturers will have out the next year. I’ll tell you, it amazes me how people keep coming up with great ideas and products that, when I saw them, I said to myself, “I’ve got to get one of those,” — whether it’s one of my sponsors’ products or not.
Pfleuger, which is one of my sponsors, has a new spinning reel out that I love, and if you know me, for me to love a spinning reel, it’s got to be great. It’s called the “Arbor,” and it won a best-in-show award at ICAST. It’s got a big spool, but a small profile body. In the past, to get a big enough spool to make the kind of casts we need to fishing bass tournaments, you’ve had to get a reel with a bigger profile or go to a saltwater version, but this reel has a spool that carries the amount of line we need, but the body of the reel is smaller and much easier to fish.
But that’s just one of the new products that are out. You can see all kinds of things at shows in the next month or two. Visit a few of them, see what the dealers are offering, compare prices and decide what you really need to have.
Because of the state our economy is in, I think a lot of dealers may be having their own open houses instead of going to big shows, because going to a show costs money. With gas prices a lot better off than last year, you can afford to drive to several of open houses or dealer shows, where going to the big boat and fishing shows to see everything under one roof was the way to do it the last couple of years.
The other thing about the economy right now is, the buyer is the one who is going to benefit. It’s a buyer’s market, and all of my sponsors are telling me that, whether they’re in the fishing market selling Buckeye mop jigs or Evinrude outboards or Triton boats, or they’re somebody like Advance Land & Timber, selling property. People are out there buying because it’s such a good opportunity for the buyer to get maybe the best deal they’ve gotten in years or will get in years to come.
We really need to be smart with the way we spend our money, but it is a good time to buy something, if you do your homework and really look for a good deal on something you need. It’s a major investment, whether it’s a $300 rod-and-reel combo or a $40,000 bass boat, and you need to be smart, but this is the time to buy it. You know, when everybody was selling boats a couple of years ago, when a dealer would go to a show and sell 40 boats, they weren’t really having to push to sell boats the way they will this year, and that’s good for the guy looking to buy.
Also, be sure and ask about any 2009 products they still have. You don’t have to be an economist to know that if a dealer has a 2009 boat or outboard in his showroom, it’s been there a while, and he’s really looking to sell it, so you should be able to get a good deal.
So whether it’s the Columbia boat show or the Palmetto Sportsman’s Classic, or whether it’s just an open house at your local dealership or tackle shop, make a point to go and see what’s out there. I do, and I’m always amazed at what I can find and how good a deal I can usually get on it.
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