Sportsman Show Reels in the Experts!

On November 7-8, at the Prime Osborn Center in downtown Jacksonville, the Florida Sportsman Fishing and Boat Show will host two days of hardcore fishing information offered by a dozen top fishing pros on subjects that range from catching monster blue marlin to sight-casting for redfish. Realistic fishing conditions will be simulated as seminar speakers share their knowledge from the bow of a flats boat floating in a 10,000-gallon pond and an offshore boat fully tricked out for deepwater 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 firsthand what makes these pros so successful.

All Seminar Schedules the same on both days

Riggin’ it Right Schedule

OFFSHORE

11 a.m., Building Better Leaders
30-second kingfish rig, line-to-leader knots, etc.

Noon, Better Bottom Fishing
How to rig for every Northeast Florida bottom species.

1:30 p.m., Natural Baits
Better rigs make for better trolling.

2:30 p.m., Caring for and Cleaning your Catch
Stick around for free fillets.

3:30 p.m., Fishing the Entire Water Column
How to use kites, outriggers, and downriggers.

INSHORE

11 a.m., Artificial Basics
Learn to rig plastic baits for trout, reds and flounder.

Noon, Live-Baiting
Learn tricks and proper methods on how to rig live and dead shrimp, mullet and crabs.

1:30 p.m., Float Rigs
How to set up the basic sliding float rig with success.

2:30 p.m., Soft-Plastic Modifications
Think beyond the manufacturer’s instructions—rigging weedless jigs, adding rattles, weights and more.

3:30 p.m., Prepare and fillet your Inshore Catch
How to properly care for and fillet your catch.

4 p.m., Two Knots for Line to Leader
Surgeon’s knot and uni-knot—two easy and effective knots for inshore.

Angler on Foot
10:45 a.m., Beach fishing Florida’s east coast
Noon, Effective bridge and pier fishing
1:30 p.m., Fishing northeast flats
3 p.m. (at the Inshore Stage) Beach fishing Florida’s east coast
4 p.m., Effective bridge and pier fishing

Hobie Kayak Stage—Fishing Seminar and slide show:
12:00 p.m. and 2:00 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 Stage

11 a.m., Inshore Fishing with Plastic Baits, Capt. Mark Nichols
Noon, N.E. Florida Slam—Flounder, Trout & Redfish, Capt. Roger Bump
1 p.m., Using Live Bait to Catch More Fish, Capt. Terry Sturgeon
2 p.m., Trout College, Capt. Mike Hakala
3 p.m., Beach Fishing for Pompano, Whiting and Croaker, Larry Finch
4 p.m., Understanding Northeast Florida Tides, Capt. Tony Bozella

Offshore Stage

11 a.m., Local Bottom Fishing, Capt. Dennis Young
Noon, High Speedin’ for Wahoo, Capt. Todd Harris
1 p.m., Mastering Kingfish, Capt. Terry Lacoss
2 p.m., Using Marine Electronics to Catch More Fish, Jim Jones, Raymarine
3 p.m., Tarpon on the Beach, Capt. Roger Walker
4 p.m., Sportsman’s Best—Dolphin, Capt. Rick Ryals

Inshore Stage:

11 a.m., Fishing the Backwaters with Plastics Mark Nichols, inventor and manufacturer of D. O. A. lures, has tested his lures in shallow water all over the country. The techniques he uses in the Indian River Lagoon of Florida, Texas bays and Louisiana coastal islands will work just as well in the backwaters of the St. Johns and St. Mary rivers. “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 redfish swimming in the roots of artificial mangrove plants.

Noon, Catching a Northeast Florida Slam—Flounder, Trout and Redfish Captain Roger Bump of Jacksonville is Florida Sportsman’s reporter for the weekly Fishing 4Cast, Northeast Florida edition—he’s also a charter captain that has placed in the money in almost every inshore slam tournament in Jacksonville over the past ten years. Captain Roger’s latest tournament win was the Jacksonville Kayak Fishing Classic where he broke his own record by catching an aggregate 69.5 inches of trout, redfish and flounder. “Everyone always looks forward to fall for flounder,” says Roger, “but I’m here to tell you they’re here all year-round; you just have to know where to find them. My seminar will teach the weekend angler the strategies of tournament fishermen. They can apply those same techniques to their own style of fishing and go right out and improve their catch of flounder, trout and redfish—the three most sought-after inshore fish in Northeast Florida.” Roger will also speak about the benefits of stealth fishing from a kayak, what he calls the “short game” of inshore fishing.

1 p.m., Using Live Bait to Catch More Fish Captain Terry Sturgeon, an aptly-named Jacksonville-based inshore charter skipper, is Florida Sportsman’s castnetting instructor at all Fishing Shows around Florida. So who better to give a seminar on using live baits to catch more fish? Capt. Terry guides his clients to big catches of Northeast Florida’s fabled trout, flounder and redfish, most-often using live baits that he catches in his castnet or finds at local bait stores. “I sometimes use artificials, too,” says Terry. “But when I want to guarantee a good catch to a client who isn’t that good with continuous casting, I go for the live bait. Shrimp, mullet, crab, mud minnows, shad—they all have their own natural scent and great natural action if you rig them the right way. That’s what my seminar is going to be about, how to rig live baits to get the best action and where to fish live baits to catch the most for your table.” Topics will also include how to pick the best baits at the bait store and how to keep them frisky, plus Capt. Terry will distribute a handout on what bait shops carry the harder to find baits such as live mud minnows and live crab.

2 p.m., Trout College Captain Mike Hakala is a lure manufacturer and was pictured on the Oct. ‘98 cover of Florida Sportsman holding a gargantuan 30-pound redfish that he caught using one of his own spoons. He has been featured in numerous FS stories, including Flats Action by the Spoonful, Spoon Feed ‘Em and Tune in to Heavy Metal. Capt. Mike’s new spoon is called Aqua Dream—he uses it to catch big trout while guiding in the Mosquito Lagoon area of the Indian River. “This year’s trout fishing is as good as it’s ever been,” says Capt. Mike. “You can catch trout all year in Jacksonville by learning just a few simple techniques that focus on their habits and habitats.” Topics will include sight-fishing strategies, boatmanship, live and artificial bait selection, and end with a special segment on gator trout. “Small trout are easy to catch in large quantities and make for an excellent family outing, but you definitely have to change your strategy to target the gators.”

3 p.m., Surf Fishing College Larry Finch makes his living at pulling fish from the surf—each November he averages 100 pounds of pompano per day on hook and line. “I’ve been surf fishing the east coast of Florida for 35 years,” says Finch, “and these are the best days of surf fishing I’ve ever seen.” If you’re like most surf fishermen, you’ve stood there without a bite while Finch reeled them in right next to you. Finch was recently highlighted in the November Florida Sportsman article, “Turnpike Exit Pompano.” This seminar will teach you how a pro does it and cover everything about gathering your own sandfleas, tackle selection, tying terminal rigs and Finch’s secrets to being at the right place at the right time. As an added bonus, one lucky seminar attendee will win one of Finch’s DVDs on surf fishing the east coast of Florida.

4 p.m., Understanding Tidal Flows and Moon Phases Captain Tony Bozzella, Jacksonville’s hometown professional angler, is Florida Sportsman’s inshore Riggin’ it Right expert at all Fishing Shows around the state, teaching thousands of anglers the secrets to catching more fish using the tried and true baits, rigs and tackle that Florida Sportsman has developed over the past forty years. Tony is also the maker of TBS Jigs and has over thirty top-five wins in inshore tournaments from Louisiana to Northeast Florida. Tony says his key to success has always been his keen understanding of how tidal flows and moon phases affect each species. “We have some of the state’s largest tidal swings here in Northeast Florida,” says Capt Tony. “If you know how to take advantage of these ultra high and ultra low tides, and the fast currents in between, you’ll put more fish in the box and never get skunked.” Capt. Tony says he actually follows the fish all day, from the “staging areas” of low tide when fish are pooled up in pockets, through their migration to feeding areas in fast-flowing incoming tides, to the flooded flats where he can’t normally take his boat.

Offshore Stage

11 a.m., Local Bottom Fishing Captain Dennis Young Sr. of the charterboat Seadancer has been a charter captain in the Jacksonville area for over 20 years, fishing for snapper, grouper, black seabass, cobia and other fish that inhabit the wrecks and reefs off the northeast coast of Florida. Together with his son Dennis Jr., Young and the Seadancer won the 1987 Jacksonville Kingfish tournament with a 49-pounder. “I’ll work the audience through the calendar, starting with March and the rest of the spring,” says Young. “I’ll also cover how to anchor over wrecks and ledges, the best baits, rigs and tackle for each species, and how to use electronics to find the best bottom fishing around.” Each seminar attendee will receive a Seadancer Rig that Young tied just for the show.

Noon, High Speedin’ for Wahoo Captain Todd Harris was born and raised in Jacksonville and has owned 23 bluewater boats in his lifetime, using most of them to chase Northeast Florida’s fabled wahoo by dragging complicated lure rigs at 12 knots with wire, not downriggers. “I do research for bottom fishing while I’m trolling,” says Captain Todd. “Watching my bottom machine—a Raymarine E-120—I’ll log all the natural ledges I come across. Then I come back to those spots to fish the bottom in summer. And in summer I’m recording wherever beeliners are thick because that’s one of wahoo’s favorite food. Wahoo are attracted to two things—water temperature and food. So when that first cold front comes through, and the temperature gets down to at least 68 degrees, I’m chasing wahoo every chance I get.” Subjects will include how to use electronics to locate feeding wahoo, tackle selection, and end in how to tie your own special wahoo rig. “At first glance, it looks like any other high-speed rig but I need to show you how to tie it because it’s not what it appears to be.”

1 p.m., Mastering Kingfish Captain Terry Lacoss is a Florida Sportsman contributing editor, author of numerous FS feature articles, and author of several Seminars columns. Terry recently followed up his first book, Sportsman’s Best—Redfish, with a second book, Mastering King Mackerel. Terry has multiple wins in Southern Kingfish Association tournaments and will cover many key techniques that are in the book, which will make a huge difference in your kingfishing success. One popular topic will be how to catch more fish by staying close to shore: “Close-in fish can be ten to twenty pounds larger than the ones you catch farther out,” says Capt. Terry. “You just don’t have to go far out or use a big boat—I’ve seen kayaks catching kings in 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 everything from simple trolling methods to little-known professional techniques.

2 p.m., Using Marine Electronics to Catch More Fish Jim Jones is Raymarine’s Director of Sales for the southeast U.S. and that position has given him the opportunity to fish with some of the best anglers in Florida, with standing offers to fish every day of the year if he could. Jones has given lectures and seminars to many clubs and organizations, including a recent marine electronics class at the I.G.F.A.’s School of Sportfishing. “My seminar will teach how to use today’s cutting edge technology to greatly improve your catch,” says Jones. “One example is that most people new to fishing use head’s up mode on their chartplotters, but I’ll show them why it’s important to be in north up mode—otherwise you never have a sense of your true heading, like if you want to turn offshore. “Another very important lesson to learn is how to get back to a mark using your track mode. You’re going to run over things you want to get back to, and the wind and waves are going to kick you around, but if you know some simple techniques it’s very easy to use today’s electronics to get back to those marks.” One of the many highlights of Jones’ seminar will be an eight-minute video on bottom fishing in deep water. “We use electronics to set up the drift and even figure a time factor that will have your bait hitting marked fish in the nose, even in 700 feet of water.”

3 p.m., Jigging for Seabass—Fun and Fillets! Captain Roger Walker is the co-host of Florida Sportsman Live radio show and 30-year charter captain out of Mayport, putting his clients on all the great offshore fish that frequent northeast Florida—from tarpon on the beach to big grouper in deep water. But now Roger gets the most pleasure—not to mention tasty white fillets—out of fishing two-ounce jigheads with rubber tails for seabass up to three pounds. “Deep winter is best,” says Capt. Roger, “when the big ‘greenheads’ come down from the Carolinas looking for warmer water. By the time the water gets down to 58 degrees, most grouper and snapper have moved well offshore, but these fish love that temperature and will literally take over the reefs. And the best thing about it for family style fishing is that you only have to go eight to ten miles out, so it’s an easy run.” Capt. Walker’s seminar will be all about how to fish this under-utilized fishery, including how to find them, boatmanship over their bottom-structure habitat and tackle selection.

4 p.m., Snapper and Grouper Captain Rick Ryals is co-author of Florida Sportsman’s popular 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 35-foot Cabo Express, Dos Amigos that fishes Northeast 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. Topics will include rigging bottom-fishing 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.