National Fishing Expos — Columbus (Ohio Expo Center)

What National Fishing Expos — Columbus is

National Fishing Expos — Columbus (formerly the Columbus Fishing Expo) is the original show in the National Fishing Expos Midwest series, and the site calls the series "the industry's premier educational-based fishing expos." It runs over a Friday–Sunday in late January (January 29–31) at the Bricker Building, Ohio Expo Center, 717 E. 17th Ave, Columbus, OH 43211, with a full speaker lineup and seminar schedule. Hours are Friday 12–7, Saturday 10–6, and Sunday 10–3, and the Ohio Expo Center charges a $7 parking fee.

Because it's education-first, it draws anglers who came to learn technique — exactly the crowd that goes home and rebuilds a rig the right way.

Why it matters for how you rig

Columbus is a Midwest crossroads show: the seminar floor runs the gamut from walleye trolling to crappie spider-rigging to catfish and bass. Every one of those techniques lives or dies on rod control — and that's the whole reason Monster Rod Holders are Made in the USA from heavy-gauge stock: a holder has to lock the rod butt, hold its angle under sustained load, and shrug off spray, mud, and a hard strike.

If a seminar gets you rethinking your setup, the building blocks are:

Holders from the rod-holder lineup — matched to how you fish (trolling spread, spider-rig fan, bank spike, boat rail).
Bases from the bases category — the part that makes the setup no-flex and repeatable across the boat.
Anchors for holding a current seam or a structure edge where fish stage.
A HydroWeb landing net for getting a good walleye, slab crappie, or channel cat boatside and handled clean.

(Confirm exact product names/links with Ron — see the TODO list in the frontmatter.)

Walleye, crappie, catfish — pick your stage

The Midwest mix is what makes Columbus a fit for more of MRH's audience than a single-species show:

Walleye trollers — the same multi-rod board-and-holder discipline that boats Lake Erie eyes is worth dialing in at the seminar tables. See the walleye rod-holder setup guide.
Crappie spider-riggers — a clean front-deck spread of holders is the difference between a tangle and a pattern.
Catfish anglers — bank or boat, the holder has to survive a big-cat run; see the catfish boat-setup guide.

Follow the events you spot at the show on the Tournament Calendars hub.

Plan your trip

Where: Bricker Building, Ohio Expo Center, 717 E. 17th Ave, Columbus, OH 43211 ($7 parking).
When: late January (January 29–31) — re-check the official site for the current year's dates before you go (the listing year was in transition at the time of writing).
Who it's for: Midwest anglers who want technique — a deep speaker/seminar schedule plus a vendor floor, education-first.

Built heavy, Made in the USA, and built for the walleye-crappie-catfish water this show serves — that's the rod-holder setup to walk the floor thinking about.