Local show joins busy winter lineup

Ken Perrotte's outdoor column

Date published: 2/8/2007

WINTER IS "show time" for outdoor enthusiasts afflicted with cabin fever. Almost every weekend sees some outdoor-related extravaganza within 100 miles or so of Fredericksburg.

Outdoor impresario and Louisa County resident C.C. McCotter isn't afraid to wade into this crowded field. He hopes the Fredericksburg Outdoor Show becomes a regular offering in the winter lineup. The show begins tomorrow and runs through Sunday at the Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center.

Produced by Ballantine Management Group, the show represents an expansion to a larger venue of the Woods and Waters Hunting & Fishing Flea Market Show that has been held for the past two years.

McCotter is executive editor of the Woods & Waters publication seen in many regional tackle shops and sporting goods stores. He also runs a Lake Anna fishing guide service and is an outdoor writer whose work is carried in weekly papers.

McCotter has assembled several regional tournament anglers and guides. A full schedule is available at bmgevents.com. Topics include: Pitchin' & Flippin' with Rob Grike; Top Finesse Tactics with McCotter; Tidal River Tactics with Capt. Karl Bunch; Early Spring Bass Tactics with John Hutchens; Fishing Chickahominy Lake with Art Conway; Family Fishing & Fun on New River with Paul Moody; and Fishing Soft Plastic Stickbaits with Mike Gilpin.

Bunch is a field editor for Woods & Waters, while Grike is an associate with McCotter's Lake Anna guiding operation. Conway is a biology professor at Randolph-Macon College who also operates a local guiding service.

McCotter said the Hawg Trough Bass Tank, featuring fish from Lake Anna, should be a big draw. He also thinks the trout pond will be a hit.

Scheduled seminars are heavy on fishing with the exception of retriever dog demonstrations by Jack Jagoda and an indoor archery shoot staged by the Manahoac Bowmen.

"We will have three golden trout. If someone catches one of them and releases it, they will get a special prize," McCotter said. "We will also have trout pond tournaments for adults and kids. The Bass Federation will also provide a Kids Corner Activity Center and Kids Casting Contest."

February is a competitive month for outdoor shows. One Northern Virginia show folded operations a couple years ago. But, an estimated 8,000 people visited Bassarama in Richmond last month.

Follow us on

Date published: 2/8/2007