5-Day Fishing Show Expects 40,000 Visitors

About 40,000 people are expected to attend a five-day fishing and boating show that begins Wednesday at the Ventura County Fairgrounds in Ventura.

The Fred Hall Tri-County Sports Show will feature more than 150 fishing boats, more than 100 camping and travel vehicles and hundreds of exhibits displaying new rods, reels and other angler gear.

As part of the show, children will be able to fish for free at a tank stocked with trout.

“We have a giant, 30-foot-diameter fishing tank that will be filled with about 5,000 trout,” said Barry Greenberg, a show spokesman. “When they run out, there will be more put in.”

Doors at the facility at 10 W. Harbor Blvd. will be open between 2 and 9 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $6 for adults and free for children younger than 12.

Some of Southern California’s top anglers will give seminars at the show, including Carol Martens, who will talk about why women make good fishermen. The show will also feature a fighting-fish simulator that replicates the experience of hooking a giant marlin or sailfish.

For information, call 648-3376.