Greater Niagara Fishing & Outdoor Expo Top Attractions

Anglers of all ages and levels of experience should take advantage of the Greater Niagara Fishing and Outdoor Expo’s huge commitment to Fishing education, focusing on the Great Lakes angling experience in our backyard. This unique "Fishing Academy" will consist of over 100 fishing-related seminars put on by over 50 local and regional experts who fish the World Class angling waters in Western New York and Southern Ontario – starting with the Niagara River, Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. The seminars (held in the state-of-the-art Conference and Event Center of Niagara Falls (NY), a perfect facility for the Academy) will cover such topics as Great Lakes salmon, walleye, bass, trout, musky, steelhead, perch and carp; methods include trolling, drifting, ice fishing, tributary fishing, fly fishing, kayaking fishing; other topics focus on boat rigging and marine electronics. Best of all, the “Fishing Academy” is free with admission to the show! In addition to local experts, some big name headliners will key in on applications pertinent to our waters, such as Matt Straw with In-Fisherman and marine electronics expert Lance Valentine with Walleye 101. Seating is limited and on a first come, first served basis.

Gerry Rightmyer and Steve Schicker are co-hosts of Forever Wild Outdoors Adrenaline Adventures that appears on the Sportsman Channel and they are a welcome addition to the show this year, offering seminars and will promote the show at their booth - a couple of Western NY guys making good. Stop in to seen Gerry's impressive Kansas buck that he took in 2006, currently ranked in the top 25 all-time. Steve is a five time NY State Turkey Calling Champion.

On Jan. 23 of the Expo, Alsheimer will be giving two quality seminars free for attendees - one on Creative Nature Photography and a second on Ultimate Deer Hunting. Alsheimer is a legend in the outdoor world and his insight into whitetail deer is both extremely knowledgeable and thought provoking. If you are a deer hunter and you've never heard Charlie speak, you owe it to yourself to sit in on his seminar. If you own a camera and want to take better pictures outside, there isn't anyone better with the outdoors as a subject.

If you are into fishing, Matt Straw will be someone you'll want to spend some time with. He's around all three days giving seminars and his expertise on angling is phenomenal. He's written for every major angling publication in the country, including In Fisherman, Great Lakes Anglers, Salmon-Trout-Steelheader and more. And he's one of more than 50 speakers for the entire Expo with over 100 seminars on fishing alone with the Greater Niagara Fishing Academy.

Niagara River Anglers kids fishing pond and the Niagara County Federation's air rifle range, some great hands-on fun for the next generation of outdoors enthusiasts. The NRAA pond will give youngsters the opportunity to catch a fish; the Federation's indoor range will teach safe gun handling with pellet guns and give them a chance to shoot at targets.

Lowrance Electronics Pro-Staffer Lance Valentine will be giving some expert instruction on the use of marine electronics. And if you actually own a Lowrance Unit, bring it to the show and receive a free update from Valentine at his booth. You are guaranteed to learn something new when you listen to Valentine on using this important fishing tool.

Ice fishing is getting a slow start this year and it's a great time to get in tune with hard water angling - whether you are a beginner learning more on how to get started or an expert learning to expand your ice fishing knowledge. There's plenty of stuff for the kids, too, in the way of ice fishing activities. Scott Brauer will have a huge display of ice fishing gear and Mike Smith from the Clam Corp. will be on hand to answer ice fishing questions, too. Tim Thomas from the NY State Pro-Am Ice Tournaments and Winter Classic will be offering information on his new fishing competitions.

Attention Canadian Fishing and Hunting Enthusiasts! The Greater Niagara Fishing and Outdoor Expo is just around the corner, set for Jan. 23-25 at the Conference and Event Center Niagara Falls - just a cast away from the Rainbow Bridge. This year's Expo has a huge focus on education, with more than 60 speakers presenting over 120 seminars during the three day event - the largest educational three-day show of its kind on the Great Lakes! Come on over to see what's going on and take advantage of the "Canadian money at Par" option at the Ticket Booth for getting into the show - set at just $8 and at the food Concessions within the show. In addition, kids 10 and under a free and we are located within 5 miles of the Niagara Fashion Outlet mall if you want to bring the rest of your family for some great shopping. Focusing on both the Canadian and US portions of Lake Ontario, the Niagara River and Lake Erie as part of the Greater Niagara Region Fishing Academy - as well as Western New York hunting opportunities and other outdoor activities. This is one show you won't want to miss!

Blood Run Tackle in conjunction with Colville Outfitters will be offering free linewinding at the Greater Niagara Fishing Expo January 23-25. Bring your own reels down to get stripped and re-filled with fresh Sea Flee Monofilament, Cadence Trolling Braid, Walleye Copper, Salmon Copper, Stainless Trolling wire, Steelhead Floating mono, Ice Line and more! New reels will also be sold at the show, so you can buy them and have them filled while you wait.

The Lake Ontario Trout & Salmon Association (LOTSA) will be holding their eighth (and largest ever) annual “LOTSA Marketplace” within the Greater Niagara Fishing & Outdoor Expo on Sunday January 25^th.   The “LOTSA Marketplace” is a “Show within a Show” and will be held in a separate room from the Exhibitors in the Event Center. It is targeted at Trout, Salmon and Walleye fishermen who have “cabin fever” at this time of the year. The Marketplace will be filled with over 60 tables of Charter Captains, Fishing Manufacturers, and Tackle Shops, etc. exhibiting and selling both new and used fishing gear at show bargain pricing. Charter Captains will be available to speak with anyone looking to book a charter trip. Free drawings for fishing related door prizes will be made throughout the day from gear donated by Businesses in the Marketplace. With our excellent spring fishing right around the corner, this is a great opportunity to obtain the right information and gear to insure more fishing success in 2015.   
 
The show is also the major source of funding for the LOTSA Trout & Salmon Pen Rearing program at Olcott, NY. This Pen Rearing project has successfully reared over 600,000 Trout & Salmon since the project's inception. Each spring, the DEC delivers baby Trout & Salmon to the pens at Olcott where they are fed and nurtured for weeks by volunteers until they are ready to be released. This ensures greater survival of these fish and when they reach maturity, helps them to return to this location to spawn in the fall. This project takes a significant amount of man power and money to run. The typical pen costs over $1,400.00 and requires ongoing maintenance year after year. This all volunteer effort every year is a big reason for the superb fishing experienced throughout the year along the Niagara County shoreline.
 
 
Admission is free to the LOTSA Marketplace for anyone who attends the Greater Niagara Fishing & Outdoor Expo on Sunday. More information on the LOTSA Marketplace is available at www.LOTSA1.org 

 
On Saturday January 24th the Lake Ontario Trout & Salmon Association (LOTSA) is once again hosting it’s Salmon School. Capt Greg Gehrig (Top Gun-Oswego), Capt Mark McClutchey (Diabolical- Michigan and Salmon Showdown fame) and Paul Czarnecki (Free Spirit-Oak Orchard) will be putting on what we consider to be the most comprehensive, educational information packed seminar ever presented at the LOTSA Salmon School.
 
They will be teaching the Attendees on how to get a better understand Lake Ontario and we will be intensively covering their favorite techniques. Each Instructor  brings a "specialty" to the class which they will be sharing with everyone. Capt Greg will share his "tournament famous" downrigger programs. Capt Mark will be sharing his deep water meat fishing techniques that have made his team Michigan's biggest tournament threat. Capt. Paul  will be sharing his knowledge of reading water, temp graphs and currents as well as his techniques and methods for running multiple "junk lines"--like lead core and copper. This seminar will cover EVERYTHING from deciding where to start, what to start with and how to run it all the way down to playing and landing your fish.
 
If all that wasn't enough to get your attention, a truly impressive gift package will be provided to everyone in attendance. This package will include actual tackle and baits we use and talk about as well as incredible deals for more tackle from our amazing sponsors.
 
Admittance to the Salmon School is pre paid only with a deadline of January 18^th to purchase a ticket. See www.LOTSA1.ORG for the School details and registration.