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Northeast Ohio Sportsman Show set for Jan. 20-22

Art Holden
·3 min read
This year's Northeast Ohio Sportsman Show will be Jan. 20-22 at the Mount Hope Event Center. The show features 170 vendors and seminars on hunting and fishing. Master Maine guide Troy White tells Randy Lombardi and Eric Schwartz what his six-day bear hunting trip includes. White was an exhibitor at the show last year.
This year's Northeast Ohio Sportsman Show will be Jan. 20-22 at the Mount Hope Event Center. The show features 170 vendors and seminars on hunting and fishing. Master Maine guide Troy White tells Randy Lombardi and Eric Schwartz what his six-day bear hunting trip includes. White was an exhibitor at the show last year.

The 14th annual Northeast Ohio Sportsman Show will run Thursday, Jan. 20-Saturday, Jan. 22, at the Mount Hope Event Center.

Started in 2009 by Wayne Miller, then the owner of Kidron Sports, and taken over a year later by JW Promotions, the show has weathered snowstorms and frigid temperatures, as well as last year’s COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

“We were down about 35-40% last year in attendance, but we still had a show full of vendors,” said JW Promotions’ Jody Witzky. “I don’t believe people are as worried about this Omicron variant as much as they were last year.”

Witzky’s staff took the temperature of everyone entering last year’s show and had other safety protocols in place, but doesn’t plan on doing screenings this show, saying “there’s no special rules” this year.

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Art Holden
Art Holden

Fishing, hunting seminars along with 170 vendors

What Witzky does have in place this year are 170 vendors and a full schedule of hunting and fishing seminars. And, this year there will be a “Hawg Trough” for the fishing speakers to enhance their talks after problems with the oversize fish tank last year.

The always-popular Dan Armitage will do kids fishing seminars all three days, Jim Vitaro will talk on bass fishing and Doug Stewart on saugeye fishing. Also, Nate Boldman, from Nasty Nate’s Baits, will talk about bluegill and crappie fishing.

On the hunting stage, the father-son combo of Fred and Greg Abbas headline the speakers as they will cover deer and turkey hunting, offering unique perspectives of their innovative tactics.

David Hershberger will discuss forest and whitetail management, and Randy Flannery, a Maine outfitter, will give a talk on “Ultimate Whitetail Stalking and Tracking,” his proactive approach to tagging a bruiser buck.

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Rob Robincheck of Cutco Rob and Helen Mullett talk kitchen cutlery at one of the display booths at the Northeast Ohio Sportsman Show last year. This year the show will be held in Mount Hope on Jan. 20-22.
Rob Robincheck of Cutco Rob and Helen Mullett talk kitchen cutlery at one of the display booths at the Northeast Ohio Sportsman Show last year. This year the show will be held in Mount Hope on Jan. 20-22.

Also on the hunting seminar stage will be waterfowl guide Chris Skrant.

The seminars, which alternate on the hour, will all be held in the upper building.

Boat dealers and chargers, elk, moose and bear hunts

On the main floor, Witzky has four boat dealers coming to this year’s show, including Parma Marine, which is one of the show’s sponsors. Detweilers Outboards, Styro Innovations and Vic’s Sports Center will also have watercraft at the show.

Need to book a Lake Erie fishing charter, there will be plenty of opportunities to do that at the show, as well as out-of-state elk, moose and bear hunts.

“I think we have outfitters from Texas, Florida, Colorado, Wyoming and Maine,” said Witzky. “We’ve got a good variety.”

All the local outdoor shops will be there, as well as for the first time, Cabela’s.

Another first-time NOSS vendor is the Creston business Bearded Butcher Blend Seasonings, which not only have all the fixings to make wild game taste better, but will also talk hunting with visitors.

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Antler scoring on Saturday

On Saturday, the Buckeye Big Buck Club will be scoring antlers 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m., and Witzky says he’s in talks with the BBBC to run a contest next year, giving out prizes to the biggest racks brought to the show.

Mike Marks and Steve Canterbury listen as Marshall Marks explains how his 360-degree hunting blind works during the 2021 Northeast Ohio Sportsman Show last year. It will be held Jan. 20-22 this year in Mount Hope.
Mike Marks and Steve Canterbury listen as Marshall Marks explains how his 360-degree hunting blind works during the 2021 Northeast Ohio Sportsman Show last year. It will be held Jan. 20-22 this year in Mount Hope.

One of the booths not to miss is Kaby Lodge, an Ontario, Canada, fishing outfitter. The lodge will give away a fishing package for two to some lucky show attendee.

As always, parking is free at the Northeast Ohio Sportsman Show, while the cost to enter is $10 for adults, with children 10-under free. Show hours are 2-8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 20; 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21,;and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 22.

Outdoor Correspondent Art Holden can be reached at letsplabal@yahoo.com.

Nicholas Phillips and his grandfather, Paul Phillips, check out fishing equipment at the 2021 Northeast Ohio Sportsman Show, slated this year for Jan. 20-22.
Nicholas Phillips and his grandfather, Paul Phillips, check out fishing equipment at the 2021 Northeast Ohio Sportsman Show, slated this year for Jan. 20-22.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Mount Hope Event Center sets up for Northeast Ohio Sportsman Show