It’s about time for the outdoors to move indoors again. Boat/outdoors show season moves into high gear over the weekend with the 56th annual Cincinnati Travel, Sports & Boat Show at Duke Energy Center.

The show is scheduled Jan. 18-20 and 23-27. Alongside will be the Cincinnati Golf Show (January 18-20) and then the Cincinnati Hunting & Fishing Show (January 23-27).

To still be in the sports show business after 55 years, promoter Chip Hart says, “You have to re-invent yourself every few years. You learn what people want and that’s always changing.”

There will be more than 500 exhibitors at the show, including 20 boat dealers. And for the second year RV and motorcycle dealers will be included. There will also be plenty of fishing and hunting seminars all week, but especially Jan. 23-27.

“The show space is sold out, so people will definitely get their money’s worth,” Hart added.

For show hours and more information, visit hartproductions.com.

Gill netters nabbed

Anyone who has spent a few hours fishing on Lake Erie will appreciate the action of Ohio Department of Natural Resources officers, along with help from the U.S. Border Patrol and U.S. Coast Guard.

Back in May, on two occasions, Canadian fishermen set gill nets in Ohio waters north of North Bass Island. Since it is illegal to fish with gill nets in Ohio and since Pisces Fisheries Inc. of Wheatley, Ontario didn’t have an Ohio commercial fishing license, the company had its nets seized and was zapped with a $5,000 fine by the Ottawa County Municipal Court.

Hunters successful

Ohio hunters checked in 21,555 deer during the 2013 muzzleloader season, which ran Saturday through Tuesday. That figure represents a 12 percent increase over the 2012 season, when hunters checked 19,251 whitetails.

All that’s left of the current deer hunting season is archery, which remains open through Sunday, Feb. 3.

Following is a list of area counties and their results from the muzzleloading season. Last year’s results are in parentheses:

Adams: 347 (336); Allen: 88 (77); Auglaize: 51 (87); Brown: 305 (273); Butler: 110 (131); Champaign: 118 (132); Clark: 61 (75); Clermont: 212 (239); Clinton: 78 (76); Darke: 62 (62); Greene: 95 (67); Hamilton: 79 (89); Highland: 318 (278); Logan: 182 (179); Mercer: 48 (52); Miami: 65 (61); Montgomery: 57 (41); Preble: 131 (87); Shelby: 101 (95); Warren: 142 (139).

Just saying

I shed a tear for my favorite game, America’s pastime, baseball, a game played outdoors for the most part. If, as it appears it might, Barry Bonds is never going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, the sport itself will survive in infamy. Its greatest hitter (Pete Rose) and now greatest home run hitter are not in the sport’s Hall of Fame. And perhaps they never will be.

To me, what Bonds allegedly did was worse than what Rose did, because it affected his performance, which is what HOF membership should be based on.