The 2016 Game Fair

August is in full swing! Few festivals or events get me as excited as the Game Fair. Game Fair takes place the second and third weekends in August at the Armstrong Ranch Kennels, in Ramsey, Minnesota (just outside of Anoka). Game Fair is great event which is both dog and family friendly. This was their 35th year! If you have any interest in the outdoors, this is one fair worth your time.

Be it waterfowl, pheasant, deer, turkey, fishing, art, cabins, atv's, ice fishing, puppies, dog agility, retrieving trials, bow fishing, hunting trips, boats, shotgunning, archery, or sling shot, Game Fair has it all, and more. It's a an absolute joy to spend a day at the Armstrong's. You'll see families pushing strollers, munching walleye fingers, and walking any number of dog breeds. For the savvy shopper, you can often wheel a few deals here and there as well. Game Fair is my fall hunting kick-off. The Autumn Pre-Season, if you will.

My inner Austrian was tugging at me, and organization was a key component of my Game Fair work. I was on the look-out for any deals on slotted-decoy bags. I've an assorted collection of differing bags, but haven't found the right solution to my limited space vehicle. In addition, as much fun as I have in touching up old decoys, anything that can spare me a few hours is welcomed. If these coveted purchases can spare me and the duck my artistic touch... perfect!

Arriving near Ramsey, a decided to support the local Lion's Club and park at their lot. They shuttle folks via bus to the actual Game Fair site. You are apt to run into a collection of folk, all in jovial moods. Dogs, kids, shotgun cases, bows, and camouflage abound. The ride is not long, and this morning, there were folk standing in the aisle. The bus driver joked about how this is the kind of thing you could never do during school.

I opted not to take Calvin this year, as I only had a limited time, and wanted to hit the booths hard. We brought him last year, and navigating a ninety-five pound golden retriever through hundreds of booths in a two-hour period felt like a stretch. My children promised to take him to the Kinni for a dip after lunch.

Upon arriving, I got off the bus, made my way to the ticket booth, and produced my coupon. Two bucks saving is two bucks! Entering the fair, is a touch like walking into Disney or Valley Fair. Folk, just sort of move slowly, look about, and try to take it all in. A family with a Brittany pup was discussing who was going to wear the official ticket, thus proving they had their dog here legally. A boy of about five years won the honors. He promenaded proudly through the first displays of snowmobiles, atv's, and raffles.

This entry isn't meant to be an official commercial by any way, but I hope to convey that at Game Fair, you often get to meet the developers, owners, and their families. Most are quite warm, informative, and happy to share their story. I find it to make for happy shopping.

I stopped by a booth of folks selling a variety of travel and hunting bags. I'd purchased a large duffel from them last year, for a negotiated price, and wanted to tell them how well the bag has held up after one season. This elderly couple were all a smile, and they had a few new bags to show. I asked about slotted decoys, and they were not carrying them. I shook hands with the owner, took his card saying, "If you do, I'll be back next year."

His reply made me smile, "Until then. See you next year Steve!"

Next I popped by the good folks at Clam Outdoors. They had the best deal of the fair last year. I will away my time away from the marsh and trout streams in the winter months by ice fishing. I was in need of replacement bibs, and the Boy needed a waterfowl jacket. Clam had their ice armor jacket in Max-5 Camo, water and windproof for Fifty bucks. It wasn't a wading jacket, but the price was right. Not my favorite duck jacket, but it works for the Boy, and is great on the ice!

This year was lacking some, although there were great hats and gloves for a reasonable price. They were trying to sell augers, but I didn't see any takers. Maybe a touch early fellas.

I had a couple of side missions this year, as my wife asked me to pick up another can of JD's salsa mix, and a business card of the trail-mix/nut booth. I found the good folks at JD's and bought another can of their hot mix. We picked one up last year, and are just running out of it now. There's no doubt we saved a great deal of money buying diced tomatoes and adding a scoop of their mix. The salsa is delightful! I met these folks a few years back at the ice fishing convention in St. Paul! I'd put-off buying their product a few times, but never again. Definitely worth looking at.

The nut lady, (no pun intended), worked devilishly hard to sell me her wares, claiming it'd be perfect for that uncle nobody knows what to buy. "What do you think he'd rather have for Christmas, that goofy tie, or some tasty trail mix?" I have to admit... said uncle would definitely put down the mix. I assured her he would, but it was my wife who wanted to take a closer look at the goods. She was hoping I could grab a card. The folks at Simply Nuts & More will be having a visitor to their website tomorrow, and an order promptly. Maybe said uncle will have a happy holiday yet.

With my secondary objectives handled, it was time to get back to the primary. With my constitution full, and my focus centered... what's this? Sweet! The Minnesota Decoy & Wildfowl Carvers were giving demonstrations. I sat back and took it all in. Nothing would make me prouder, than carving my own set of blocks, and taking a wily late season mallard, or migrating blue bill over them. I didn't see any trout, but they had quite the crappie! I think a dremmel tool may be on my holiday wish list.

I tore myself away from these good people, and continued my quest. Turning a corner and heading for the lake I stopped to take in the dog agility competition. Happy dogs make for proud owners, and smiling families. Those pooches really put some love into their work. This photo was taken from the Game Fair Website, www.gamefair.com

Not far from the agility field, I stopped by to admire a golden puppy. This little lady was five or six weeks old. She was being kept in an infant stroller, and couldn't stay awake long enough for a good shot. Last year, B-man had his heart set on a pup. I took this photo thinking of him.

I finally made my way to Waterfowl Hill. It's past the main food booths, and boats. It was a test, but kept walking. Waterfowl Hill is dedicated as the name says. It is all things waterfowl. Call makers, floaters, field decoys, blinds, lanyards, anchors, and more all for the perusal. Better yet, you often get to chat with the owners. The good folks at HardCore were here again. I was fortunate enough to meet Blake Hagemeier and Ryan Breish last year in the lunch line! These are the boys who produce some of the finest waterfowl video I've seen. Check them out at Fowled Reality or YouTube. Blake has quite the eye, and produces some of the best shot hunting of duck and geese I've seen. Definitely need to give a shout out for a fellow teacher!

Those guys took a good twenty minutes out of their lunch break to help me out with field hunting mallards. They had shared their early goose hunt from that morning, and asked about my luck in Western Wisconsin. Great guys, good products.

I didn't get a chance to chat with Blake this year, but Ryan was busy helping customers. They hadn't brought any decoy bags, so I wished him a good season, and looked forward to watching their hunts. He wished me the same.

Finally, I was able to locate slotted decoy bags. I didn't know the vendor, but they said they were a Minnesota company. They had a collection of Avery Slotted Decoy bags, which were 3 x 4's versus my 2 x 6. Definitely a space saver in my hunting car. I cut right to the chase, "What do these run?"

"Those go for $70 normally, but we have the Game Fair special of $65," the salesman replied.

"Hmm... any chance you could cut a deal, being this is the last day and all?"

"Well, how many are you looking to buy?"

With four bags left, I said, "I'd be happy to maybe take two off your hands."

"I'll go $60."

I replied, "That's a lot of gear to take down. If you can do better, you've got a deal," and I began walking away.

The guy said, "$55", and I kept walking. "Alright, $50." I walked home with two sweet new slotted decoy bags! I must give credit to the Good Doctor, as I learned this method from him through many a dealing with scalpers at Twin baseball games. Later, I found the bags in another booth going for $70. Winning!

With the primary and secondary objectives completed, I stopped by for a walking taco (new this year), and sat down to a seminar on late season crappie and panfish. The presenter, Steve Carney, was keen on locating fish with a size 4 rapala, then honing in with the smallest jig you could throw. It can be quite pleasant to munch on tacos and listen to fishing knowledge. Not a bad way to spend time a half hour.

As I left the seminar, I took a look at the boats. Now I have had the same twelve foot Sun-dolphin Jon Boat for 14 years. It has taken me on adventures all over the state. I love my little boat. It's only 110 pounds, and easily is thrown into the tailgate of my truck. I've only gotten a trailer for it a couple years ago. I've no interest in not having my dolphin, but my family isn't getting any smaller. Today, I may have found the next project...

This rig is an upgrade, being longer, wider, and better suited to take the Boy, B-man, Calvin, and the decoys for some fishing or hunting fun. Tis good to dream, and have goals.

I debated heading home, as I'd achieved my objectives. There was still time, so I headed back to Waterfowl Hill. There I took a closer look at a booth previously passed by. The good folks at Fowl Factory have devised a product that caught my eye. I'd seen this product used by a group of hunters in Washington state. I'd even seen the commercials, and sort of scoffed. Seeing the product up close, made me consider. Fowl Factory have developed what I'd call a decoy sock! It isn't neoprene, but something like it, and a 3-d image of a live duck is printed along the sock. You place it over an old decoy, and instantly have a real looking duck. They've even treated them with a waterproofing agent that literally makes it look like water off a duck's back.

I have a collection of old decoys, and am in the midst of repainting woodies, and touching up mallards and blue bills. These decoy socks make any old decoy new... better, because they look authentic. If you decoy head moves, the sock does as well, giving you additional realism. I spoke at length with the owner, Chris Bombardo, of Lonsdale Minnesota. His enthusiasm for his product was evident. This very well could be a great purchase, and really liven up my spread. Chris is also developing more and more species, so I can quickly swap out mallards for blue bills, without bringing the extra dozens of decoys. The socks also eliminate the need for slotted bags, as they are quite durable... but I still like them for organization.

I decided to give them a try. They ship out this week. I've another blog-post in draft regarding decoy line, touch-up painting, and storage. These will add another wrinkle into my bag of questions and tricks this season. Very much looking forward to seeing how it all plays out.

All-in-all, today was a great pregame outdoor tailgate of sorts. I drove home with a smile, and sense of curiosity as to how these products will work out. The Boy was taken by the decoy bags. He thinks it'll save his back as we lug decoys to the woodie hole. If this was the start to the 2016 waterfowl season, I'll call it a success!

There is much to do before September 1st. I plan on sharing the journey as I get things ready to go. It's been a wonderful summer of fishing, but with the cool evening air, and canada geese honking, I'm starting to switch gears in Western Wisconsin.