I said I wanted to get an interesting photo of the clear tackle boxes at Justen Case, a new booth at the show, when Rex Key suggested this. The Wisconsin kid has a gift.

His dad Kevin was helping sell and said he thought this was the first year his boy would boat a muskie.

The clear cases are pretty cool. Cool enough that fly tyer Paul Transue stopped by to see if he could have some boxes specially made.

The show runs through early this evening at Harper College in Palatine.

I still have a hard time wrapping my brain around how packed the seminars are. I walked in as Jim Saric, of Mushy Hunter Magazine and the Musky Hunter Television Show, was introducing Chad Cain at the pool.

By my estimates, there was between 400 and 500 people packed into the two levels. I counted 60 along the far wall alone.

Spring Rat-l-trap bite, that's what I took away.

You couldn't find a seat for Spence Petros' seminar on fishing rocks for muskies.

That is the best run show in the area, even if you are not particularly a muskie guy or gal, this is the show.