Ultimate Fishing Show Chaos
I didn't really know what to expect out of the Ultimate Fishing Show this year. We had no ice and no cold weather in the forecast. Everyone was back out in boats. Would we get a big crowd? Would people actually still buy ice fishing equipment?
I was going to be there manning the Clam Outdoors section so we were going to find out. I got up there Friday night after work and it felt like the entire “ice fishing” portion of the show was feeling the effects of no ice. Saturday however was like nothing I'd ever seen there.
There were so many people. We've got a large area but I heard the isle ways were just shuffling through. Checkout lines were crazy and there were a lot of Clam suits and new Clam XT shanties heading to new homes. It's getting late in the season and I'm sure you'll see some deals popping up on suits (check with ClearH2O Tackle). So here's a brief run down on the Clam motion float suits going from the least expensive to the most expensive. By the way I’ve had them all and I’d have to say the defender is my preference.
Rise - This suit provides the best range of movement and that is one reason why I’m wearing the rise parka this ice season. It’s plenty warm with 100 grams of insulation and waterproof/windproof. It’s the baseline Clam motion float suit and the best option if you fish out of a shanty 100 percent of the time.
Defender - The Defender is built tougher with a 600 denier fabric. It’s stiffer but if you spend a lot of time kneeling on the ice while hole hopping you will appreciate that. I’m sold on the Defender especially the bibs for being in contact with the ice so much. The other feature that I really notice and appreciate with the Defender suit is the magnetic pockets. I much prefer those over the velcro pockets featured on the Rise. If you spend more time outside the shanty than in it the Defender is your suit.
Ascent - The Ascent has the most features of any suit including the retractable tool holder that always gets noticed. It’s the warmest of our motion float suits as both the parka and bibs feature liners to keep you extra toasty. Both liners are actually removable and when I fished out of the Ascent I found they were overkill for me and I removed them. I also am constantly on the move and don’t get cold easily.
It was also interesting to see how many suits people purchased at the show that had no intentions of ever seeing ice. There’s a lot of cold weather walleye and perch fishing on the big water in SE Michigan and they work great in the boat too. I’ve been wearing mine in the boat for all my January fishing on the West Side. I like that I have some flotation on but also never get cold and there is nothing colder than being in a boat in temps around or below freezing.
More on that boat fishing in the next one!