On November 15 and 16, 2008 at the Central Florida Fairgrounds on Colonial Drive, the Florida Sportsman Fishing and Boat Show will host two days of hard-core fishing information offered by a dozen 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 flats boat floating in a 10,000 gallon pond and an 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

Riggin’ it Right Schedule

OFFSHORE
10:30 a.m., Build Your Own Teaser
11:30 a.m., 30 Second Kingfish Rig
12:30 p.m., Better Bottom Fishing
1:30 p.m., Ballyhoo Basics--learn to rig a swimming ballyhoo
2:30 p.m., Caring for and Cleaning Your Catch--Enter to Win Filets!
3:30 p.m., High Speed Trolling

INSHORE
10: 30 a.m., Soft Plastic Basics- rigging soft plastics for trout, reds and flounder
11:30 a.m., Terminal tackle rigs for live and dead baits--popping corks, freelining, bottom rigs, etc.
12:30 p.m., Uni-knot System--one basic knot for all applications
1:30 p.m., Soft-plastic modifications--think beyond the manufacturer’s instructions
2:15 p.m., How to set up the basic sliding float rig with success
3:15 p.m., Uni-knot System--tying fluorocarbon leaders to braid
4 p.m., Catch more fish using live baits

Angler on Foot

10:45 a.m., Beach fishing Florida’s East Coast
12 p.m., Effective bridge and pier fishing
1 p.m., Fishing the Flats
2 p.m., (at the Inshore Stage), Beach fishing Florida’s East Coast
3 p.m., Effective bridge and pier fishing
4 p.m., Beach fishing Florida’s East Coast

Hobie Kayak Stage--Fishing Seminar and slide show

1 p.m. and 3 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.

Federation of Fly Fishers Casting Instruction at the Fly Pond
In front: 11 a.m., Capt. Pete Greenan, Introduction to Fly Fishing
1 p.m., Brad Lowman, Advanced Casting Techniques

Individual casting instruction, knot and fly tying, rod rigging programs all day at the Federation of Fly Fishers Tent next to the Food Tent

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 Florida’s Central East Coast waters. “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, Sportsman’s Best—Redfish, Capt. Terry Lacoss is a Florida Sportsman Department 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 Cabella’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 that are around dock pilings way up in residential creeks and canals at high tide.” Topics will also include Lacoss’ top ten artificial baits.

1 p.m., Winter Fishing in the Mosquito Lagoon, Indian and Banana Rivers, Capt. Russ Rivers is a co-host of the Central Florida edition of Florida Sportsman Live radio show and is an inshore guide from Melbourne, where he guides his clients to regular catches of snook, trout, redfish, Spanish mackerel, bluefish, drum, pompano, sharks and jacks. Rivers was featured in a Sportsman article titled River of Abundance, and will speak about how to fish the cold winter inshore waters of the SpaceCoast area. “The main challenge is fishing around the numerous weather fronts that frequently pass through our area,“ says Rivers. “And when you add falling water temperatures to wind, these fish go into winter patterns that you‘ve got to understand or you might as well leave the boat on the trailer. They tend to seek water that might just be one or two degrees warmer. They bunch up on leeward sides of islands, southward facing seawalls, mud flats up in the creeks and other places where the sun reaches the bottom. It’s like people crowding around a fire--everyone wants to stay warm.“ Subjects will also include understanding changes in barometric pressure, tackle, lure and bait selection, and why it is so important to slow down your presentation and downsize your bait in cold water. “These fish are going to feed somewhere every day and knowing where that is going to be will put you in the right spot at the right time.”

2 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. This seminar will teach you how a pro does it and cover everything about catching your own bait, 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.

3. p.m., Sight Fishing Redfish and Snook, 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., Understanding Tides and Moon Phases, 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 throughout the state. 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 fish “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 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.” Everyone who attends will get a complimentary copy of the FS Fishing Planner.

Offshore Seminar Stage

11 a.m., Fishing SpaceCoast Artificial Reefs, Bill Kasiba is the incoming president and past tournament director of the Florida Sports Fishing Association. Assisted by his son Kyle, a mate working out of the Sunrise Marina, Kasiba will teach all about how to find and then fish the many artificial reefs that rough up the sandy bottom offshore of Canaveral. “Our club has an active permit on our own reef site,” says Kasiba. “It’s about 50 acres now, and growing. Divers went into the water right after we put down some culverts a few years back, and within an hour there were schools of bait and some snapper already populating the rubble.” In addition to the FSFA reef there are numerous “Space Junk” reefs made of discarded launch pads from the Space Center, World War 2 ships that fell prey to German U-Boats, and hundreds of acres of bottom that have live reef characteristics. Subjects will include anchoring versus drifting, live bait versus dead bait, reef fishing etiquette, tackle selection and a special section on the relatively new style of butterfly jigging. The Kasibas will also have several hand-outs to help anglers find these reefs and fish them more efficiently.

Noon, Snapper and Grouper, Capt. Rick Ryals is co-author of Florida Sportsman’s new 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 a lifetime 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.

1 p.m., Turning it On! Using Electronics to Catch More Fish, Bill Hinton is the inventor and manufacturer of the Hot Spots Fishing Chip, a memory card that fits in a GPS/chart-plotter and contains a compilation of offshore, nearshore and inshore private honey holes, artificial and natural reefs, wrecks and secret spots from retired guides and charter captains. Hinton’s seminar will be all about how to get the most out of marine navigation technology like chart plotters, GPS and fish finders. “Many of us don’t understand how to use and interpret these technological wonders,“ says Hinton. “So I’ve created a slide show of over 30 screen shots to help people understand the different functions of marine electronic devices that help us locate and catch more fish--they are not as complicated as you might think. I’ll explain way points and routes as well as how to get on the good fishing spots and how to return to those spots again and again.” Subjects will also include how to use fish finders, how to “read” the bottom, GPS navigation routes, how to fish in wind and currents and how to use marker buoys. At the end of this inter-active seminar Hinton will award prizes to a few attendees for their participation and questions.

2 p.m., More Fish with Less Time and Money, Capt. Hank Williams is the owner of Wet Willy Charters and has fished Florida waters for over 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 Florida 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 more expensive over the years so you need to learn every little trick rather than using 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

3 p.m., Center Console Trolling for Dolphin and Sailfish, Capt Scott Goodwin has been fishing Florida’s east coast and Tropical America for over twenty years as a charter captain and mate, and most recently a weekend family angler. Goodwin is also the owner and developer of www.offshoreacademy.com, a site for online how-to fishing seminars. “My seminar at the Sportsman show will be all about slow trolling for dolphin and sailfish,” says Goodwin. “Both species are found in similar conditions and respond well to similar baits, so I’ll teach very simple center console methods that produce good catches of each. Unlike the professional tournament guys, most weekend family anglers fish from center consoles and don‘t have a lot of time to prepare, so my subject will lean more toward how to choose ready-made dredges and daisy chains from local tackle stores and several different methods to pull them.” Subjects will also include tackle selection, how to read the water and weather to find fish, and boatmanship around weed lines and temperature breaks.

4 p.m., Kingfish 101, Capt. Denny Young of Jacksonville is Sportsman’s Riggin’ it Right Offshore expert at Shows around the state, and when he was 17 years old in 1987 he won his first tournament--he skipped school to fish the Greater Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament, the biggest kingfish tournament in the world with a field of one thousand boats. “I got expelled on Friday but I had $35,000 in my pocket thanks to a live silver mullet and a 49-pound kingfish, so it was well worth it,” says Young, who went on to fish several years of the SKA circuit and eventually settled into a successful charter fishing operation. Young will talk about how to locate feeding schools of kingfish using “breaks” in water temperature, salinity and depth and the best baits, rigs and tackle to use for a successful kingfish trip.