Thousands shed ‘winter blahs’ at 7th annual Sportsman’s Show

PRESQUE ISLE – Organizers for the Presque Isle Fish and Game Club’s Sportsman’s Show called the seventh annual event a booming success.

More than 4,000 people attended the weekend event at the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Wieden Hall, according to Nick Archer, the fish and game club’s public relations officer.

This is the club’s fifth year hosting the event at the university, Archer said Sunday.

Highlights of the event included a live black bear, eagle and great horned owl from the A.E. Howell Wildlife Conservation Center in Hodgdon, which rehabilitates injured animals to return them to the wild; a Maine Winter Sports Center laser shooting range; moose- and waterfowl-calling contests; and a tank full of trophy brook trout.

The show is a celebration of spring focusing on the traditional outdoor experience in Maine and a chance for residents to break out from “the winter blahs,” Archer said.

Approximately 50 exhibitors from the United States and Canada, including Maine Guides, trappers, outfitters and businesses associated with hunting, fishing and outdoor recreational sports, took part in this year’s event.

Proceeds from the show are used as scholarships for youth to attend the Maine Conservation School in Bryant Pond. The club raised $3,000 in proceeds last year, and is expecting to bring in even more from the seventh annual show, Archer said.

The extra money the club receives this year will help it to offset the increased cost of sending youth to the school, from $200 to $400 per person.

Organizers weren’t the only ones who felt the show really took off this year – attendants and exhibitors alike felt this year’s show was a success.

Dave Henderson, president of the Star City ATV Club Inc., said Sunday that his club had passed out lots of local trail maps, educated residents about the sport and even garnered 25 new club members during the show.

“It’s a great way for us to educate people about the sport,” he said. “And educating them about sticking to the trails helps us to keep good relationships with local landowners.”

Ray LeBlanc took his son Tyler, 2, to the event to get out of the house and check out all the animals – Tyler loved seeing the bear – but even he learned a few new things.

“I work in the woods industry,” he said, “so I came to get a broader view of who’s out there in the industry and what’s going on.”

Providing information about outdoors-related businesses and activities is just what the Presque Isle Fish and Game Club was hoping to do.

“We just want to get people excited about the outdoors,” Archer said.