Sioux Falls Ice Institute

[Herms]

Well this weekend if the Ice Institute at the Convention Center a great show for this area and a start to the season.  Post up what you found that you couldn't live without or what you thought.

A friend and I went to the show last night and there was a LOT of people there more than last year Friday I would say for sure.  Now if you have been to St Paul not near that many people and thank goodness for that. All the big vendors were there which was nice to see.  Clam, Otter, Eskimo, Marcum, Vex, 13 Fishing, Jiffy, Ion, Striker, Aqua Vu, a bunch of permanent shack builders and Dakota Angler had their big spread out.  It seemed like all the big boys had 20% off their listed price which was a pretty good deal overall but no killer sales.

I went there looking for a new flip over and walked out still looking as I was hoping there would be some package deals on a nice otter but wasn't happening unfortunately.  Maybe its just me but it seems like the purchase point for above average gear is going through the ROOF.  For a nicely equipped Otter Pro lodge you are going to drop $1,200 after tax which I just could not pull the trigger on. 

There was also a ton of smaller vendors with jigs, plastic baits, resorts, and gadgets and the such which is always fun to browse.  I picked up a few dozen of the crystal eye jigs and a few other that caught my eye along with some new plastics.  Overall and it was totally worth the $5 to get it and walk around if you are set on dropping some cash this year it will be well worth it for the discount you can get but nothing screamed I had to buy it.

[tbern]

Nice review, thanks for giving guys a heads up on the event

[appleye]

Drove over from WY and did a walk around. A lot of new stuff to look at. Put the hard shelter for the back of a Ranger on a wish list(I will never get it LOL) Very cool design. Ending up getting a pair of boot from Sticker at the %20 off. Frozen pounds all the way across SD coming homing. Ready to go look some around here that's fish-able.

[Reinert]

I'm going  up today and  hope for some last minute  deals

[rundrave]

I attended Friday and was mainly there to listen to all the speakers.

Todd from Dakota Angler who puts on this show spoke a bit befor Troy Peterson “Mr Bluegill” spoke.

 Todd basically said the St. Paul Ice show is a buying show. He wants the ice institute  show to be an educational show that's why not a lot of deals. The focus is on the speakers. I thought they all did great on Friday and shared some good info. That was worth the $5 to me but I’m local so didn’t have to travel far.

There were some deals to be had. I wanted to buy a big 4-6man hub but didn’t pull the trigger on anything. Some vendors were already running low or sold out in the first couple hours of the doors opening on Friday.

I hope it keeps growing and I will keep attending.

[Reinert]

Had a great time there today,no super deals but cool stuff  everywhere

[adieatrick]

Fun to go look around, but was very disappointed in the lack of deals at the show. Most everything was retail price with the exception of a few big names that had decent savings. It was good to go, but this year was my first and last Institute.

[tornadochaser60]

Fun to go look around, but was very disappointed in the lack of deals at the show. Most everything was retail price with the exception of a few big names that had decent savings. It was good to go, but this year was my first and last Institute.

Ice institute has never been about deals.  It's always had an emphasis on instruction/seminars/face to face time with industry pros.

[adieatrick]

They do promote the speakers and seminars, however, they also promote coming and getting a deal. With the exception of Otter, some of the big name products you'd be better off up the road at Scheels. I personally could care less about seeing a fishing celebrity. I drove 3 hours hoping to cash in on a deal that wasn't there. To each their own though, not saying the seminars weren't informative for those that wanted to go for that, just not my cup of tea.

[Herms]

I understand where Todd and some of you are coming from as far as wanting to keep it more informative with the speakers and such but... The companies that are showing up that make up the show are not there to sit around and listen to speakers they are there to sell product them along with those that buy from there are the ones that pay for the show.  There is a fine line between keeping it an informative show and also having "deals" for those looking.  Granted I know nothing of the inner workings of the show and I really like it as it is currently.  I find it a decent mix of new products and it is really nice to be able to lay hands of the vast assortment we get showing up I walked between the flip over for a good hour.  The show has for sure grown in size the past few years and I hope it continues on its current path.

[Icephishwyo]

Anyone going this weekend?
I thought about bringing some teenage boys over but it's just to far and I think we probably could find ice this weekend
Not in the market for a sleeper just yet but would love to check out the Core houses
Let us know how it goes 

[Icephishwyo]

https://www.ksfy.com/content/news/Dakota-Angler-Ice-Institute-returns-to-Sioux-Falls-this-weekend-564505621.html

[rundrave]

I am going Friday right at 3pm just see if there are any good deals. Last year lots of booths had sold out of everything they brought on Friday night. So I am going early to get first picking and then listen to all the speakers that evening.

Hopefully some of the booths stock up for the entire weekend this year.

[Herms]

I'll be going again this year but haven't decided on the day I'd like to go Sunday to see what is there for deals but I know like has been posted that they run out of stuff early which is pretty sad for it being one of the larger shows in the area besides St. Paul.
Todd has really been hyping it up on facebook with deals and specials from this company and that one so we will see this year if we get anything more than a standard x% off.  With the prices of products only going up it seems like stuff just keeps going up in price no matter what.  Hopefully the big boys will have some package deals on flipovers/hubs compared to last year where they nickel and dime every option there was. 
I am looking forward to some of the smaller dealers again with new products or lures.  Also if you guys don't have one check out the lithium batteries they are a real game changer in both weight and strength.

[Herms]

Just a heads up I just got off the phone with Scheel's and they said they will be price matching from the show.  I asked them how they wanted me to prove a price and they said just take pictures. 

So this may come in handy with some people such as myself as I have a good chunk of money in gift cards to scheels and at least for me in years past they have not been willing to match the price seen at the show especially with the 20% off they were offering last year.

[chasin eyes]

Headed to the Ice Institute tomorrow!  Great show, a lot to see and buy, and the seminars are really good too!