Patrick Durkin

For USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Madison long has been home to statewide high school tournaments, as well as the host of Wisconsin’s largest consumer shows for hunters and anglers.

That tradition continues Feb. 26-28 when Madison’s Alliant Energy Center plays host to the Wisconsin Fishing Expo, the Midwest’s largest consumer-based fishing show. It features about 200 manufacturers and exhibitors, 20 fishing seminars over three days, and total attendance of about 20,000 anglers from across the state, as well as Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota.

The show’s name probably has a familiar ring for fishermen who regularly attended the venerable Madison Fishing Expo over the past 30 years. But the nonprofit group that ran the event since its 1985 debut held its final show in February 2015. Soon after, it turned over all operations to the event’s longtime marketing partners, Bast-Durbin Advertising of Slinger.

Dan Durbin said he and co-owner Jeff Bast are taking a statewide approach with the Wisconsin Fishing Expo. After all, the Expo’s net proceeds always funded conservation efforts for waters statewide, not just in Dane County. Likewise, the Expo draws anglers from across the state, and people regularly drive to all parts of Wisconsin to fish.

Although Dane County leads the state in annual resident fishing license sales, including 31,718 in 2014 (the most recent data available from the Department of Natural Resources), the state’s central, east-central and southeastern counties dominate the state’s top 20 for license numbers. Not surprisingly, those counties traditionally send the most anglers to the Expo.

“When we studied the Expo’s audience over the years, we learned it was nothing unusual for people to drive three to five hours to get there,” Durbin said last week in an interview. "A lot of them treat the three-day trip as a mini-vacation. And because the state wrestling tournament is usually going on that weekend, a lot of those folks always stop in.”

The Expo always has been designed as a family attraction, with events and seminars geared toward children, youth and beginning anglers. To attract even more young anglers, Bast and Durbin are distributing 100,000 discount coupons to sports clubs statewide. Otherwise, the admission price is $10 for anyone 13 and older. Kids 12 and younger attend free.

Bast and Durbin have worked with the Expo for the past 20 years. Durbin said they will continue to provide free booth space to many nonprofit fishing and conservation organizations such as Muskies Inc., Trout Unlimited and Friends of the Yahara River Headwaters. These groups have relied heavily on the event for fundraising efforts.

“The nonprofit fishing clubs are what built this show, and the reason we were able to acquire the Expo is because we won’t cut the nonprofits loose,” Durbin said. “Most attendees come to the Expo motivated to buy fishing tackle, but they like the idea that they’re also helping to fund conservation programs. We plan to continue those efforts.”

Make no mistake, though: Anglers attend fishing shows mostly to see new products and hunt for special show-only discounts. Among the companies exhibiting at this year’s Expo are show newcomers like Stren, Trilene, Berkley, Garmin, Fenwick, Shakespeare, Gamakatsu, Ray Marine, Carrot Stix and many other vendors absent from previous expos.

“We’ve been working with sales reps from Pure Fishing, Fenwick Abu Garcia and other brands to introduce new products at the Expo that people won’t see until late March or April at the large retail stores and sporting goods shops,” Durbin said.

Among the Expo’s seminar speakers are “Bro,” Joe Bucher, Pete Maina, John Gillespie, Tommy Kemos, Rob Manthei, Eric Haataja, Marianne Husky, Bill Karch, Bill Schultz, and Patrick and Jerrad Kalmerton. As part of the seminar series, several speakers will participate in “Muskie Friday,” which features three presentations and a roundtable format so attendees have more direct access to the experts.

The Kalmertons, who operate Wolf Pack Adventures out of Sheboygan, offer fish-guiding services from southwestern Wisconsin to Green Bay, including charters for salmon on Lake Michigan and walleyes on Lake Winnebago. However, they’ll conduct panfishing seminars during the Expo to help people catch crappies, perch and bluegills during summer.

“Everyone thinks panfish don’t bite during summer, but they still need to eat,” Pat Kalmerton said in an interview.

The Kalmertons’ first seminar will be at 1 p.m. Feb. 27 to discuss how to fish crankbaits for suspended crappies on Winnebago and other large lakes. When walleyes don’t bite, the Kalmertons often slow their boat, attach smaller crankbaits and troll large flats with their lures running 5 to 8 feet deep.

“When you find suspended schools of crappies in late May and June, you can get some really nice fish over deep holes,” Kalmerton said. “We’ll find them over the top of weed beds. The secret is to not run your boat over the top of them. You need to get your lures out away from your boat. Any small crankbait with a fast vibration can work.”

Their second seminar will be 11:15 a.m. Feb. 28 to discuss how to catch “dormant” summer panfish. “Sometimes you need to use ice-fishing techniques to get them, like straight lines deep down off the side of your boat,” Kalmerton said. “The bigger bluegills move out of the weeds and suspend in deep water to stay cool. They’re out there feeding mainly on small minnows, but they’ll still hit worms. Small plastics work, too.

“And if you’re looking for perch, the secret is to stir up the bottom a bit by bouncing something heavy up and down like the old-timers used to do. One of our favorite lures for perch is a small spinner rig with beads and a weight. Just work it off the bottom as you’re drifting. That can be real effective.”

The Wisconsin Fishing Expo runs from 4-9 p.m. Feb. 26, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Feb. 27 and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Feb. 28.

Top 20 counties for fishing licenses

County Sales

Dane 31,718

Waukesha 27,785

Brown 27,642

Milwaukee 27,317

Washington 24,748

Outagamie 20,089

Marathon 18,698

Winnebago 18,655

Oneida 15,821

Rock 14,823

La Crosse 13,997

Waupaca 13,357

Chippewa 13,333

Racine 12,928

Wood 12,708

Portage 12,495

Sauk 12,421

Barron 12,190

Fond du Lac 11,948

Sheboygan 11,438

* These sales figures are for 2014. The DNR has not compiled license-sales data for 2015.

Patrick Durkin is a freelance writer who covers outdoors recreation in Wisconsin. Write to him at 721 Wesley St., Waupaca, WI 54981; or email at patrickdurkin56@gmail.com.