My nephew Chris Morgan (Team Sanchez) and I attended yesterday. Big disappointment. There were just 2 fishing booths. Point Jude and 9ER. I spoke with Joe at around 1:00 PM and he had not sold 1 lure all day. Seems like it was all pleasure boat guys with no fishing interests. 9ER did have some really good bargains on soft body shads and we did register for the Striper Cup at the OTW booth but other than that it was a waste of our time.
Saw some great boats though. If you had $300K there is a 34' Regulator CC with twin Yami 350s that is just the balls. Sweet boat but who has $300K in this economy?:smash::fury:

RI boat show is a joke. Only reason to attend is to be around some boats in the cold of January, and to buy your New England Saltwater Fishing Show tickets from RISAA at a discount. Oh, and every 2 years, renew your On the Water subscription, and get a free lure. Hint, buy your tickets online to save $2, and park on the street and feed the meter instead of paying $10 parking at the Westin. You should be able to whip through there twice in about an hour.

I popped in quick on Saturday, pretty much a pastel pants wearing type of boat show. Prices are insane.

Like you said Paul, two tackle vendors.

Does bring us a ton of business to the restaurant, but not sure who they think their target audience is.
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I like pastel pants

I like pastel pants

I would too if I had that much invested in the belts with all the whales on them lol
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I went too. Pretty disapointing. but i did get some good info on some electronics. The Lowrance guys narrowed me down to the HDS7 unit. Ill be picking it up next week.

Also the more I see the Sailfish CC's the more I like them.

And that 34 regulator had me fully torqued

Also the more I see the Sailfish CC's the more I like them.



I thought the Sailfish CC's were priced pretty well compared to a lot of the other brands at the show. The storage in the console on the 20' was really disapointing, though.

Overall, I didn't think it was a good show. Why do they have so many of those damn pontoon lake boats there? Are they more popular than fishing boats?

The bast events are the local shop and club "surf days"...

These big expo center shows are really getting pretty bad. Except the rissa show which is great (for now)

speaking of risaa..i missed last two years but been asked to speak this year..is it still as cool as it used to be?
You have to remember we have nothing in NY to compare it to other than these one day flea markets. I remember first year I went to risaa it was like "wow" that is a LOT of stuff

speaking of risaa..i missed last two years but been asked to speak this year..is it still as cool as it used to be?
You have to remember we have nothing in NY to compare it to other than these one day flea markets. I remember first year I went to risaa it was like "wow" that is a LOT of stuff

I liked RISAA last year, there's still a ton of stuff

MSBA was terrible.

Yeah RISAA is still a good show, decent deals to be had.

Sunday is a good day to talk down prices on some items.

Usually a good turn out of plug builders and shops.

Get to see some stuff that's normally available locally too.

I think the boat shows need to focus more on where the are showing.

Pontoons boats are a big deal in NH and states with larger bodies on water, 90% of our local RI waters have a 10 horse limit.
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zeno... i spent 5+ hours at rissa without seeing any seminars, and I still felt rushed...

I liked RISAA last year, there's still a ton of stuff

MSBA was terrible.

I like the RISAA show also. I don't go for personal reasons. I was a working member of RISAA for many years and worked the show, the meetings, etc. The show does have a ton of stuff but I don't need much and what I do need I buy from Mike at CC tackle or Scotty at Salty's. Just became disappointed with some of the politics in the organization.

Little Big Town - Pontoon - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0O0nzkESTI)

While the responses so far feel the Providence show was not up to par with their standards, we must remember the view from which we are making this statement. Is the Providence Boat Show even directed at our group? I would guess that S-B is made up of mostly surf and boat fishermen that target striped bass and at least 99% of us have an above-average fishing knowledge. That is not the target audience of a boating show. While a show like this may not appeal to most members of S-B, if they were not successful then there would not be similar shows up and down the coast year in and year out. The Boston Boat Show lasts over a week, the CMTA boat show in Hartford expanded from 3 days to 4 this year due to increased attendance, the NY Boat Show was extremely well attended, the Atlantic City Boat Show is a 5 day event, and so on. I did not attend or have a booth at Providence, and I am in no way associated with it, but sometimes we forget (and I am guilty at times) that we are such a small, niche market. That is why shows like RISAA, MSBA, the flea markets, etc. are far more appealing to us as they cater more towards our directed interests. You are not going to find me logging on to WELCOME TO TOMATOES.COM (http://www.tomatoes.com) and complaining about how boring the Hartford Tomato show was last week… :uhuh:

Toby beat me to it. You don't go to a car show to buy a moped either :)
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X2 or x3
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All a matter of perspective right. I was told today that one dealer with a large display took 3 deposits at the show with a handful of very good leads with sea trials. According to him, the "best" show in 10 years.

So I make one friggin' point and everyone is all over me. Listen, LAST YEAR there were 10 or 12 booth selling fishing plugs, and gear. THIS YEAR, there were only 2. MY POINT? The show has changed it's format. Period.
Man, spring cannot come too soon. You guys are all getting cabin fever.:fury:

Sorry Paul, my intention wasn't an attack on you just an observation after several responses. :love:

I have never been to this show so I do not have perspective from year to year, but I personally stay away form anything listed as a boat shows unless forced to work it. I have a feeling that a few of this year's shows will be a bit different than years past. I know the Worcester show is now going with a new promoter and it looks like a lot of the old stand-bys for that show have not signed on this year.

Sorry Paul, my intention wasn't an attack on you just an observation after several responses. :love:

I have never been to this show so I do not have perspective from year to year, but I personally stay away form anything listed as a boat shows unless forced to work it. I have a feeling that a few of this year's shows will be a bit different than years past. I know the Worcester show is now going with a new promoter and it looks like a lot of the old stand-bys for that show have not signed on this year.

Toby, no problem. Your points made were all valid. Just thought I should substantiate my position.

We love you palasades paulie :love:
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You are right Paul. It is an odd show, and has changed a lot over the years.
*lack of fishing gear
*not a single legit sailboat
*more pontoon boats on display than I have ever even seen floating in RI
*3 regulators on display, but not one contender or other nice higher end big name center console
*Hardly any electronics booths compared to years past
*SOOO many non boating vendors...

Anyway, I still went and took the family. Got to chat with Charlie from Northcoast who is a great guy, and look at some nice new boats. Also looks like I will be repowering this winter and met some great guys from conimicut marina in Jamestown. Better than sitting at home, thats for sure.

You are right Paul. It is an odd show, and has changed a lot over the years.
*lack of fishing gear
*not a single legit sailboat
*more pontoon boats on display than I have ever even seen floating in RI
*3 regulators on display, but not one contender or other nice higher end big name center console
*Hardly any electronics booths compared to years past
*SOOO many non boating vendors...

Anyway, I still went and took the family. Got to chat with Charlie from Northcoast who is a great guy, and look at some nice new boats. Also looks like I will be repowering this winter and met some great guys from conimicut marina in Jamestown. Better than sitting at home, thats for sure.

Your last sentence sums it up. Better than sitting at home.
I'm stoking 2 wood stoves today. 72 inside 9 outside.

...There were just 2 fishing booths. Point Jude and 9ER. I spoke with Joe at around 1:00 PM and he had not sold 1 lure all day. Seems like it was all pleasure boat guys with no fishing interests... :smash::fury:

If I were a tackle dealer, this makes for an easy business decision. Do I pay for a booth, pack gear, bring it to the show, spend my time there and generate how many$ ??