DALTON -- The 2016 Northeast Ohio Sportsman Show is in the books, completing the event's first-ever three-day run.

And the general consensus was 2016 was the best one yet.

"I was really impressed," said Don Higgins, who not only had a booth at the show for his Real World Wildlife Products, but is also an author of two books and was a seminar speaker. "There were some really impressive vendors and speakers here. I'm way down on the food chain compared to some of them.

"And the people," he continued. "There weren't a lot of tire kickers."

Higgins said the crowd was engaged, asked questions, and was looking for products and advice to make them better hunters and fishermen.

One of the themes carried out by most of the seminar speakers was education as they were there to pass on their wisdom, and more importantly, the pleasure they received from taking on the role and responsibility of teacher.

With that in mind, I sat down with a lot of the speakers and asked them for their best tips. The following is their answers:

DON HIGGINS, REAL WORLD WILDLIFE PRODUCTS: "If you are planting food plots or using mineral products for your deer, learn to read the seed pack tags. There are too many people selling products to deer hunters that would never make it in the agricultural market. People are getting ripped off right and left because they don't know how to read tags."

DOUG STEWART, FISHING GUIDE: "There's no magic lure. Find the one that looks like the real thing and learn how to work it."

With that said, Stewart, who lives on Buckeye Lake in central Ohio, has a favorite go-to setup that includes a 4-inch Power Bait minnow on a 1/4-ounce Mimic Minnow jighead. He fishes it on 8-pound fluorocarbon line.

"It catches everything," said Stewart. "You can swim it, jerk it, vertical jig it or pop it. It's as versatile of a jig as you'll find."

DAVID POERIO, ALMOST HEAVEN OUTFITTERS: One of the first things Poerio said in his seminars was: "Don't believe what I tell you, go out and prove it to yourself."

Poerio has spent a lifetime studying whitetails, but not as a biologist, but more along the line of living with the animals on his Punxsutawney, Pa., property. He has a faith-based approach to his business, and was frank when I asked about his best tip.

"Incessantly pray for the good Lord to send you a trophy and usually he'll send you one," Poerio said. "You may not kill a big buck, but most times you'll at least see one."

Poerio also said it's important to do things right and to do your homework. Also, getting help from an expert will pay off in the long run.

"When you go to a coach, you shorten your learning curve," Poerio said. "That saves you time and money, and that's money well spent."

DAVID HERSHBERGER, HILLCREST LUMBER: Hershberger, who along with Randy Clum talked on combining timber management with deer management, said having a plan is important.

"Too often we do these things and don't put any thought into it," said Hershberger.

He also said hunters need to enjoy the process of the pursuit, and not just the kill.

"We're too goal oriented and not process-oriented," Hershberger said.

JIM VITARO, JV ENTERPRISES, BASS FISHERMAN: While success at fishing is different than success at hunting, paying attention can and will make you a better fisherman.

"Be in tune with your surroundings," said Vitaro, noting a lot can be learned from watching and listening to the water. "Don't over think stuff. A bass is a bass.

"And," he added, "don't force it. A fish will tell you what they want. Don't fish the way you want to."

BINK FOX, CATFISH TOURNAMENT FISHERMAN: Depending on the species of catfish you're after, you could catch fish from 1 pound to 80 pounds. Fox usually targets the bigger fish, blue cats and flatheads, but doesn't mind fishing for channel cats either. Fox says to catch the 2-5 pound eaters stink baits work well. But to catch the big boys, live bait is the ticket.

"You're not going to catch the big ones using stink baits," said Fox. "Down south we'll catch skipjack and cut it up. Here, I'd catch shad or bluegill and cut them up in chunks. The fresh blood smell attracts them."

Fox also said don't think that the only place to catch cats is on the bottom.

DAN ARMITAGE, BUCKEYE SPORTSMAN RADIO HOST: Armitage did talks on ice fishing and kids fishing, and is always a hit at the show. He said a child's first fishing experience should be from shore, not out of a boat.

"It allows them to do all the other things that make a fishing trip fun," said Armitage, "like climbing trees, chasing geese and throwing rocks in the water."

DALE GRIMM, OWNER SPECIAL EYES CHARTERS: Grimm noted that fishing Lake Erie is a lot different than fishing most other lakes, as the majority of the water is structureless.

"In Lake Erie," Grimm said, "water temperature and water current are the structure," he said, noting that's what attracts the fish. "If you can find 57-65 degree water and you can put the lure in front of the fish's face, you'll catch them. Water temperature, speed, paying attention and repetition."

Outdoor Editor Art Holden can be reached at aholden@the-daily-record.com, or evenings at 330-287-1650.