Tinley Park Fishing, Travel & Outdoor Expo

10/05/2026

Pick the fish first. The gear follows. 🎣

The trap with a first ice-fishing trip is standing in the garage buying rods, augers, and boxes of tackle for fish you haven't even decided to chase yet.

Flip the script this winter:
1️⃣ Write down three species you actually want on the ice (Perch, Walleye, Bluegill—whatever you're after).
2️⃣ Commit to that list.
3️⃣ Let that list do the shopping for you. The rod, the jig weight, the line, and the spot all point back to your target.

Once you have your list, bring it to the Tinley Park Fishing, Travel & Outdoor Expo. As Chicago's longest-running fishing event, we have a full weekend of exhibits, seminars, and seasoned anglers who have iced those exact fish for decades.

Walk up to any exhibitor, show them your three, and ask: "What would you rig for this?"

That is the shortcut you can't get off a store shelf. You get real advice from people who have been there, telling you exactly what to buy—and what to skip—before you spend a dime. You'll leave the expo with a solid plan instead of a pile of guesses.

👉 Mark your calendar and get ready to gear up the smart way: tinleyfishexpo.com

10/05/2026

Book the lodge, not another tab. 🎣

The travel row is the sleeper of the whole weekend, and most first-timers walk right past it. Here’s what you’re missing:

The guy behind that booth? He owns the lodge. He runs the boat. He knows what’s actually biting in June versus August—not what some review from three years ago says.

Ask him the real questions:
• What’s the bite like when I’d come up?
• What does the boat hold?
• What’s the all-in price with meals?

You get straight answers, face-to-face, from the person who will literally meet you at the dock.

So do this: Bring two dates you could actually travel next season. Make the travel row your very first stop before the floor eats your afternoon. Then, book the trip while the outfitter is standing right in front of you.

That’s how you leave the with a trip on the calendar instead of a phone full of maybes.

👉 Walk the travel booths first this year. Bring two real dates and book before you leave!

10/04/2026

See what is new ✅🤠‼️

10/03/2026

Here's a great event ✅

10/03/2026

Twelve open browser tabs, or one weekend under one roof? 🎣

You know the drill. You start researching one rig, and two hours later you've got a dozen tabs open, comparing gear, and still no solid plan for spring.

Here's the better way to gear up: Exhibits, top-tier seminars, and hands-on activities all under one roof at the Tinley Park Fishing, Travel & Outdoor Expo. As Chicago's longest-running annual event for outdoor enthusiasts, we bring everything you need into one space. You can walk from a pro seminar to an exhibitor booth and right into your next demonstration—no endless scrolling required.

If you're mapping out your winter and want your skills locked in before the ice is off, this is where you get it done in one trip.

📅 Save this post and start planning your weekend. Build your seminar schedule around the water you actually fish so you catch the talks that matter most to you!

10/02/2026

SEE WHST US NEW -
Www.tinleyfishexpo.cim
✅🤠‼️

10/02/2026

Most of us spend winter scrolling through fishing videos, only to hit spring with no concrete plan, no trips booked, and a tackle box we're not quite sure about. 🎣

One weekend at the Tinley Park Fishing, Travel & Outdoor Expo completely flips that. Instead of guessing, you get to talk face-to-face with real outfitters, book your next adventure, and gear up with advice from the pros who actually use the equipment—all under one roof.

Save this post now so you can start mapping out your season, and follow our page for upcoming seminar lineups and exhibitor reveals!

Where are you planning to fish this coming spring? Let us know in the comments! 👇

10/02/2026

Pick two talks. Skip the aimless wandering. 🎣

A full weekend of exhibits, seminars, and activities at the Tinley Park Fishing, Travel & Outdoor Expo is a lot of ground to cover. Most folks walk in cold, drift from booth to booth, and catch half a seminar by accident.

Here's a better way to tackle the weekend:

1️⃣ Decide what you actually want to fish next season. Walleye? Musky? A new lake you've never run?
2️⃣ Pick the two seminars that speak directly to that goal.

Everything else becomes bonus, not pressure. Two talks you planned for beats six you stumbled into—and you’ll leave with real notes you'll actually use in the boat.

Screenshot our schedule, map out your two must-see seminars before you get here, and we'll see you at the show! 🗺️ 👇

10/02/2026

YouTube can't put a live cast six feet from your face. 🎣

The Hawg Trough tank does. You stand right there and watch the technique land, in the water, in real time. That's why the Tinley Park Fishing, Travel & Outdoor Expo is Chicago's longest-running outdoor event. A screen just can't replace standing right at the glass.

Tag the fishing buddy you want next to you in the front row this year! 👇

10/01/2026

Learn the tactics that catch , , , from our host of expert seminars February 12-14th, 2027.

After dark, walleyes in most lakes feed in water shallower than about 10 feet, often holding along the edges of reefs and bars, or even pushing well up onto flats. Longline trolling is the preferred method to present baits to these fish. With the boat moving forward at 1 to 2 mph, a shallow-running bait like a Bagley Bang-O-Lure or Floating Rapala, weighted with a lead shot about 18 inches in front of the bait, is trolled about a foot off bottom, some 70 to 120 feet behind the boat.

The farther lures are from the boat, the less control the angler has. In lakes and reservoirs with weededges that run well past the drop-off edge, walleyes sometimes hold deeper than 10 feet, further complicating presentation.

Anglers in these waters often reverse procedure, running the boat in reverse to reduce trolling speed to less than 1 mph, thereby getting baits deeper on a shorter line and maintaining more precise control along edges where lure contact with weeds means a fouled lure that must be cleared and set back down into the fish zone. The same lures used to longline troll also work for shortlining. These walleyes apparently don't spook because they're holding deeper.