William C. Phillips III

Sportsmen packed the SIU Arena this past weekend to learn new methods for luring the big fish and training retrievers at the 12th annual Spring Sports and Recreation Show.

Marilyn Baker, special events manager for the SIU Arena, said the recreation show is popular, and people come from all over the Southern Illinois area to attend the event.

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The show has 55 exhibitors and we are expecting 10,000 people this year, Baker said.

Baker said the most popular attraction of the show is the Hawg Trough, a 5,500 gallon aquarium filled with fish to demonstrate new lures.

Steve Rector, Hawg Trough demonstrator from Indianapolis, said the tanks were invented so people can see what the bait is doing in the water.

Rector believes the most important aspect of the show is getting the children involved.

The biggest thing is to get the children involved so they can keep the sport going and learn that respecting fish and lakes are important, Rector said.

Cyril Brown, a boat exhibitor, said the Southern Illinois area has thousands of acres of land that is good for fishing.

April is one of the best times of the year to catch fish, Brown said. We have one of the best lakes in our back yardCrab Orchard.

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Fred Washington, owner of Cotton Mouth Lures, said the challenge of out smarting the fish is what interests him most.

You have control over the boat and fishing rod but not the fish, Washington said. It’s like dealing with an unknown.

Rector agreed and said fishing can be full of excitement.

The most appealing aspect of fishing is the thrill of the catch and the big fish that always gets away, Rector said.

Washington said he uses a pee wee, a mini jig, or a four inch lizard as bait to catch fish.

Fish seem to be attracted to these baits and that mini lizard has won a lot of Bass tournaments, he said.

Dan Callahan, SIUC baseball coach, said he attended the show to check out the new boats and fishing equipment.

I am intriguied by the new equipment, Callahan said. I was curious about the show, and looking at these boats make you wish and hope someday to maybe own one.

Fish were not the only victims, as retriever dogs were displaying their hunting skills, showing how they find ducks.

Chuck Leonard, Marion president of Southern Illinois Hunting Retrievers, said training dogs is based on repetition.

Training dogs is like building a motor or riding a bicycle, Leonard said. Anybody who has patience and 15 minutes a day can train a dog.

Leonard, who has been training retrievers for 5 years, said dogs are intelligent.

They learn hunting from their instinct, and the more you take them hunting, the more their hunting skills develop, he said.