A popular attraction for most of the Sports Show's 81 years, the trout pond is so big that it's called 'granddaddy'
A statewide survey a couple years ago declared Lake Michigan as Wisconsin’s most popular fishing destination.
With all due respect to the Great Lake, a temporary fishing hole in West Allis will draw more anglers per acre over the next several days than any other in the state.
The trout pond at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sports Show will host several thousand patrons from Thursday to Sunday, according to venue designer Jim Hill.
It is the ambience? Twin peaks of faux granite rise to the north and the scent of corn dogs hangs in the air.
Is it the timing? Winter hasn’t quite lost its grip and, for many of us desperate for some open water angling, this is a bona fide spring break.
Is it the tradition? The show has had a trout pond for most of its 81 years; an estimated 1 million anglers have dipped a line in the indoor water. Who doesn’t like to return to familiar, fish-filled water?
More: Traditions renewed: Sports Show offers special opportunity to gather again
Fisheries managers often express trout populations in number of fish per mile of river.
We count our trout a bit differently around here. The show’s trout pond will have an estimated 5,000 trout in 7,500 gallons of water.
That’s a little more than one trout for every two gallons of water. That’s a “honey hole.”
It’s also no secret: You’ll find it listed among the hundreds of Wisconsin waters on lake-link.com. Seriously.
Hill of Asheville, North Carolina, travels to Wisconsin each year to set up the liquid attraction.
He’s a professional trout pond wrangler – that’s somewhere between an amusement ride supervisor and a fishing guide. As owner of WNC Mountain Trout Fishing Inc., he offers the fishing experience at about 20 events a year: company picnics, sporting goods store events, church picnics and sports shows from “Texas to Maine and everywhere in between.”
Nowhere is it bigger than Milwaukee.
In fact the Milwaukee show is the only one at which Hill said he uses his “granddaddy” trout pond. It’s so big he leaves it in southeastern Wisconsin year-round.
The pond is 14 feet across and 72 feet long. Its ends are curved; if you froze it, it would be a perfect hockey rink for toddlers.
The vinyl liner and wooden frame holds about a lap-pool full of fresh water.
Yes, “leak” is a four-letter word.
“You just glue it best you can,” Hill said. “Outside shows are nice. Never worry about a little water dribbling out.”
The Sports Show trout pond has another distinction: It’s the only site where anglers have fallen in, according to Hill. That’s right, anglers.
One was a teenage boy who simply leaned too far forward trying to coax a distant fish. He got wet to his knees.
The other was a 50ish man whose ample physique caused a loss of balance and resulted in a full-body splash down. “He floated half the pool before we got a hold of him,” Hill said. “Someone hooked his wallet.”
Don’t get any ideas: Fish can’t be subdued by cannon ball. Or snagged.
The rules state: Anglers must hook fish in the mouth and must use the lure or bait provided.
A few bucks and a ticket earns you a few minutes of fishing. No license is required. And if you care to, you can flaunt that fact to a Department of Natural Resources warden.
It’s the Sports Show. Sense of humor is mandatory.
Tanker trucks will show up on the eve of the show and pump some of Wisconsin’s finest water into the pond. Then a truck from a trout farm will pull up the first morning of the show and transfer about 5,000 trout to their new, temporary quarters at State Fair Park. The population will be augmented later in the show, too.
The fish will be mostly about 12 inches long. But some bigger trophies are usually also included.
In 2006 a 10.5-pound rainbow tempted anglers all show long but wasn’t caught. They named the fish the “Milwaukee Bruiser.” One of its offspring may be back this year, as big or bigger than the legend.
Over the four days of the show, Hill sincerely hopes there will be as much catching as fishing.
As proof, he often baits the fishing rigs with Uncle Josh Pork Rind made right in Fort Atkinson. “That’s a fish catcher,” Hill said.
If the catch rates fall off, he’ll switch to other baits, including corn kernels.
As they have for decades, long lines will form outside the stockade fence around the trout pond. Every few minutes, a new group of anglers will surge in, grab a simple fiberglass pole and stake a claim along the water.
A trio of wood duck decoys bobs in the pond; silhouette cutouts of pine trees, dogs and anglers adorn the center.
No, it would never be confused with the Brule River.
But the water is clear and cold and the trout are real and feisty.
Among significant life events, no one really knows how many kids have caught their first fish at the Sports Show. And how many have returned home from the show and eaten their first delicious, self-caught meal.
Here’s to many such firsts – and just as many happy returns – this year.
If you go
What: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sports Show.
When: Thursday, March 10 through Sunday, March 13.
Where: State Fair Park, Wisconsin Exposition Center, S. 84th St. and W. Greenfield Ave., West Allis.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday close at 5 p.m.
Tickets: $12 at the door for adults, $5 for children ages 5 to 17, free for children under 5.
Parking: $10.
Website: https://jssportsshow.com
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Popular trout pond returns to Journal Sentinel Sports Show March 10-13
