Sportsman Show Reels in the Experts!

On Feb. 7 and 8, 2009 at the Lee Civic Center the Florida Sportsman Fishing and Boat Show will host two days of hard-core fishing information offered by dozens of top fishing pros on subjects that range from using marine electronics to catch more fish to sight casting for redfish and snook. Realistic fishing conditions will be simulated as seminar speakers share their knowledge from the bow of a Sterling flats boat floating in a 10,000 gallon pond and a Sailfish offshore boat fully tricked out for deep water angling. The audience will experience the virtual reality of fishing and enjoy a sense of being there on the boat with each seminar speaker. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to find out first hand what makes these pros so successful.

All Seminar Schedules Same Both days

Inshore Riggin’ It Right
10:30 a.m. Uni-Knot System -- versatile basic knot for a variety of applications
11:30 a.m. Rigging Soft Plastics -- basic rigs for snook, trout, reds, and more
12:30 p.m. Big Snook Rigs -- terminal tackle rigs for dead and live bait
1:30 p.m. The Drop Shot Rig -- the stealth rig for reds & bonefish
2:30 p.m. Tying Leaders to Braided Lines -- special applications using doubled lines with Spider Hitch, Uni-Knot, and Surgeon’s knots
3:30 p.m. Modified Soft Plastics -- thinking outside the manufacturer’s instructions
4:15 p.m. Ask the Pros -- bring your questions to the table: rod rigging, Knots, tackle--you ask it, we have the answers

Offshore Riggin’ it Right
10:30 a.m. Thirty-Second Kingfish Rig -- tie a better wire leader in just 30 secs
11:30 a.m. Bottom Fishing –- catch more snapper and grouper with our bottom rigs
12:30 p.m. Better Ballyhoo Fishing -- rig a better trolled bait
1:30 p.m. Caring for and Filleting Your Catch -- proper technique will improve table performance
2:30 p.m. Thirty-Second Kingfish Rig -- tie a wire leader in just 30 seconds
3:30 p.m. Teasers -- get more bites with a better spread
4:15 p.m. Caring for and Filleting Your Catch -- proper technique will improve table performance

Angler on Foot
10:45 a.m. Beach fishing in Southwest Florida AND east coast Florida
1200 p.m. Effective bridge and pier fishing
1:30 p.m. Effective Wadefishing
3 00 p.m. Beach fishing in Southwest Florida AND east coast Florida
4 00 p.m. Effective bridge and pier fishing
4:45 p.m. Request hour

Kayak Fishing Seminar and Slide Show
Noon and 2 p.m. by Florida Sportsman Associate Editor Jerry McBride. Or stop in anytime and see the tricked-out boats and talk to the experts about how to fish from kayaks.

Inshore Seminar Stage

11 a.m., Wadefishing the Flats Mark Nichols, inventor and manufacturer of D. O. A. lures, has tested his lures in shallow water all over the country, and the techniques he uses in the Indian River of Florida, Texas bays and Louisiana coastal islands will work just as well in Southwest Florida. “Keeping a low profile is essential in skinny water,” explains Nichols, “and I can’t do that from the bow of a boat. I’ll get out and go down on my knees on a submerged sandbar when I see a fish, which might put the water around my chest.” Nichols will demonstrate lure retrieval technique while wading in the inshore pond, casting to a display of virtual reality snook and redfish swimming in the roots of artificial mangrove plants.

Noon, The Fishiest Islands in Florida Capt. Paul Hobby has spent thousands of hours fishing clients with artificials and fly in Pine Island Sound and has been featured in several Florida Sportsman articles, including Night Moves on Snook, Just Skip It, and is currently featured in the Sportsman article, The Fishiest Islands in Florida by Editor Jeff Weakley Capt. Hobby says there are plenty of fish to be found in winter if you learn his top ten ways to catch more fish. Here’s the list but not in any order so you will have to attend this seminar to find out which is Capt. Paul’s number one tip for catching more fish: Sharpen hooks; braided vs. mono; wearing polarized glasses; reading the water; type of lures for different conditions; boat handling; lure retrieval methods; fly fishing tips; wadefishing tips; and how fish respond to noise.

1 p.m., Sportsman’s Best: Redfish Capt. Terry Lacoss is a Florida Sportsman Contributing Editor, author of numerous feature articles and Sportsman’s Seminars columns, and author of Sportsman‘s Best: Redfish. Lacoss runs the charter fleet out of Amelia Island Plantation and frequently guides charters into the picturesque backwaters of the Amelia and St. Mary’s rivers near the Georgia border. He also fishes lots of redfish tournaments and won the very first ESPN redfish cup in 2002 and the Jacksonville IFA Cabela’s Redfish Tournament in 2003. Lacoss will give advice on how to work the tides to follow the schools of redfish while they move from the deep channels at low tide, to the potholes at incoming tide, to oyster bars, and then eventually up into the tidal creeks at high tide. “You have to follow the fish with the tides,” advises Lacoss. “This is true for species other than redfish, too. I see too many fishermen park in one spot for way too long. These fish don’t move far, but the key is to move with them as they feed on shrimp, mullet and crabs around dock pilings, and eventually residential creeks and canals at high tide.” Topics will also include Lacoss’ top ten artificial baits.

2 p.m., Snook Fishing with the Mad Snooker Capt. Dave Pomerleau of Bradenton is known as the Mad Snooker for good reason--he pursues snook with a maniacal passion that causes him to travel the state looking for the hottest bite. Pomerleau will discuss the types of tackle needed to pull brute snook out from bridge and dock pilings, his favorite baits and lures, and snook feeding habits. “I’m fishing entirely from a boat now, and using jumbo live shrimp and pinfish,” says Capt. Pomerleau, who fishes out of a 24’ Blazer Bay. He still gets broken off frequently even though he uses extra heavy tackle--130 pound mono on a 4 ought reel. Subjects will include where to locate feeding fish in winter in the Ft. Myers area, how to position your boat around bridges and docks, and how to catch pinfish for bait when large shrimp are not available.

3 p.m., Fishing the Flats Capt. Fred Everson is a Florida Sportsman Contributing Editor and author of the highly acclaimed books, Catch Snook! and Fish the Flats. As an inshore guide who fishes Tampa Bay’s shallow edges for snook and redfish, Capt. Fred attributes much of his success to using his own design of extra-long custom rods--8 1/2 footers--to throw lightweight plastic baits, gold spoons and small jigs. “In ankle-deep water where the biggest reds and snook are, you have to go as light as you can,” says Capt. Fred, “and this unique tackle gives you the advantage of throwing the smallest baits the longest distance.” Subjects will also include how to “read” skinny water, which tides are the most productive, and the feeding habits of Capt. Fred’s favorite fish, snook and redfish.

4 p.m., Planning Trips around Moon Phases and Tidal Flows Native Floridian Capt. Ray Markham is Florida Sportsman’s West Central Field Editor, co-host of Florida Sportsman Live radio and the Inshore Riggin‘ it Right team leader at all Florida Sportsman Fishing and Boat Shows. Markham is a firm believer in using tidal flows to locate and catch more fish, so this seminar will be all about how tides and moon phases affect feeding and migration habits of the huge variety of sportfish that swim in southwest Florida waters. “I’ll reveal the secrets of planning successful fishing trips using the Florida Sportsman Fishing Planner,” says Markham. “This interactive seminar will be species and location specific, and I encourage everyone to bring your questions to the table as a participant to understand where, when, and how tides in Southwest Florida affect fishing. Weather has a big affect on tides, so understanding how weather interacts with the tides will give you a better shot at catching more fish.”

Offshore Seminar Stage

11 a.m., Family Style Fishing--Mackerel for the Table, Bonito for Fun! Capt. Alex Suescun, host of the popular TV show Tarpon Bay Tales, reveals his secrets for catching these two speedy pelagic gamefish that congregate near Southwest Florida passes. Attendees will learn the most effective tactics, the right tackle and most successful baits, lures and flies, as well as the best times and the top spots to locate and hook Spanish mackerel and bonito, a.k.a. Little Tunny. This seminar focuses on the areas outside the passes, along the beaches, in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound. “No need for a big offshore boat here,” says Capt. Alex. “Both of these species can be easily caught from a center console, small bay skiff or even a kayak.“ Topics will include how to “read” the water and skies to locate feeding fish and Captain Alex‘s favorite recipe for Bonito--”Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes on a palm frond, throw away the Bonito and eat the frond.”

Noon, Advanced Bottom Fishing Capt. Ralph Allen is Florida Sportsman’s Southwest Regional Field Editor and the second generation of charter captains to run the charter fleet out of Fisherman’s Village Marina. Capt. Allen says successful bottom fishing is like real estate--location, location, location--and will discuss how to catch more fish using electronics to find hard bottom in the Gulf. “A lot of people don’t know how to fine tune and interpret depthsounders to locate fish,” says Capt. Allen. “When you use them in conjunction with GPS you can find those little oases in the desert that are overlooked by others. Electronics keep getting more and more accurate, and much cheaper. These advances have made it a lot easier to locate good bottom. If you know how to use this stuff you’ll have a successful day.”

1 p.m., More Fish with Less Time and Money Capt. Hank Williams is the owner of Wet Willy Charters and has fished local waters for more than 30 years, learning ways to spend less time and money to catch more fish. Hank has developed dozens of nifty tips that will produce better catches of snapper, grouper, cobia, kingfish and all the offshore fish that swim Gulf Coast waters. This seminar will be all about maximizing your catch while minimizing your effort and expense. “If you learn to be a better fisherman you will save money on fuel and tackle,” advises Capt. Hank. “Boating has become more time-consuming and expensive over the years so you need to learn every little trick rather than the same old tactics that aren’t working. The change in water quality--especially red tide--has caused all of us to start to think beyond the basics and old tactics. It’s not more money or more time that will improve your catch, it’s smarter fishing, pure and simple.

2 p.m., Nearshore Trolling For Grouper Capt. John Bunch is a full-time charter captain and better known to his TV, print and radio fans as Capt. Giddyup. Bunch is co-host of Fox TV's Light Tackle Angler and an outdoor writer for the Naples Daily News. He has developed “nearshore” trolling with big-lipped lures to a science, catching grouper in six feet of water around mangroves and big breeding snook over reefs several miles offshore. “Because of the hurricanes, there are now lots of reefs that never existed before,” says Bunch. “So now is the time to be using these techniques. Trolling these plugs around acts like a fishfinder--when the rod goes off I immediately hit my man overboard button and that puts icons on the screen that develops into patterns. Those patterns indicate where the new reefs are.” Bunch says that the key to success is managing the depth of these mega lures and does that by using different types of line to tweak the depth by just a single foot. Topics will include Bunch’s top-ten favorite lures and how to rig them, boatmanship, how to “read” bait schools to troll your lures in the proper direction and depth, and how to troll around crab traps for tripletail and cobia.

3 p.m., Kingfish Basics Capt. Terry Lacoss is a Florida Sportsman Department Editor and the author of numerous feature articles and Sportsman’s Seminars columns. Lacoss runs the charter fleet out of Amelia Island Plantation and frequently guides his charters to fantastic catches of kingfish. Lacoss was in the top five--including a first place daily win--in the first five years of the Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament back in the 1980s and he won the SKA First Coast kingfish tournament in ‘87. “Close-in fish can be ten to twenty pounds larger than the ones you catch further out,” says Lacoss. “You just don’t have to go far out or use a big boat--I’ve seen kayaks catching kings in 10 to 25 feet of water just off the beach. You can get back fast if the weather turns and you only need half a day to catch quality fish.” Lacoss will teach a simple trolling method using ribbonfish, the kingfish fisherman’s secret bait, and talk about the difference between west coast kings and east coast kings.

4 p.m, Snapper and Grouper Capt. Rick Ryals is co-author of Florida Sportsman’s book and DVD, Sportsman’s Best: Snapper and Grouper, and team leader of Riggin’ it Right at all Florida Sportsman Fishing Shows. Ryals is also the captain of a new 35’ Cabo Express, Dos Amigos, that fishes Florida waters in search of big snapper and grouper. Ryals has won many tournaments over his 30 years of Florida fishing and will speak about how to greatly improve your catch of the most sought after reef and wreck fish, snapper and grouper. Using video clips and photos from Sportsman’s Best, Ryals will explain how to rig terminal tackle, best baits, how to catch and store live bait, anchoring and drifting techniques, and end with someone in the audience winning an autographed copy of Sportsman’s Best: Snapper and Grouper.