Artificial indoor lake ready to make splash at Sports Show

Wisconsin is home to 15,074 lakes, according to documentation by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Come the second week of March, the tally is guaranteed to be one higher.

That’s when Lake Milwaukee will take shape at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sports Show.

The 4,000-square-foot artificial waterbody is a new feature for this year’s show, which will run March 8-12 atWisconsin State Fair Park Exposition Center in West Allis.

Mother Nature sometimes cranks up a thaw in early March, melting snow and forming ponds deep enough to float a boat.

But why take a chance on the weather? And why not provide a water venue in indoor, heated comfort?

That, in a nutshell, was the thinking of show organizers.

Lake Milwaukee will hold 100,000 gallons of water and be about 4 feet deep, said David Ledlie, Journal Sentinel senior director of marketing.

The lake, which is sponsored by Cedar Lake Sales, will host fishing and boating seminars and demonstrations.

Angling experts will be able to cast a line and show how to work a surface bait, for example. Boating representatives will ply the water with a pontoon boat and a fishing boat.

The lake will be surrounded by bleachers so show-goers can listen and learn.

They’ll be able to participate at times, too, such as when fishing ambassador Greg Karch offers his “Fishing Basics” clinic for kids and parents.

Kayaks or other paddlecraft will be on hand for tryouts, too.

The list of fishing experts scheduled to give seminars on Lake Milwaukee includes Marianne Huskey, Rob Manthei, Chase Parsons, Bill Schultz, Korey Sprengel and Dale Stroschein.

The new lake won’t be the only water in the exposition center, of course. The trout pond will be back, filled with fish as usual.

And the main stage will have its pool for dog retrieves and lumberjack shows.

Chevrolet is presenting sponsor for the show and Mercury is the premier sponsor. Products from both companies will be on display along with hundreds of other exhibitors.

A special offer is underway for advance ticket sales. For a limited time, a ticket may be purchased online for $7, with the option to get a free subscription to Field & Stream magazine.

The website to purchase tickets or view information on the show is

Budget eliminates DNR magazine: Although details of the 2017-’19 Wisconsin budget won’t be finalized for months, the preliminary document released by Gov. Scott Walker last week called for elimination of Wisconsin Natural Resources, the magazine produced six times a year by the DNR.

The publication has been funded through paid subscriptions; a one-year subscription cost $8.97. Two DNR staff positions would be eliminated along with the magazine.

If the magazine is eliminated, it will end a nearly 100-year history of a state agency presenting factual and interesting conservation information for the public. The magazine can trace its roots to The Wisconsin Conservationist in 1919.

The budget bill calls for the last issue to be published February 2018.