Sportsman Show Reels in Offshore, Inshore Experts

On February 21 and 22, 2009 at the Okaloosa County Fairgrounds in Ft. Walton Beach, the Florida Sportsman Fishing Show will present two days of hardcore fishing information offered by a dozen top fishing pros on subjects that range from digging deep for grouper and snapper to pompano fishing off of northwest Florida’s beaches. 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 tricked out offshore boat for deepwater angling. The audience will experience a 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 are the same for 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 flounder, trout, reds, and more
12:30 p.m. Terminal Tackle Rigs for Dead and Live Bait -- popping corks, freelining, bottom rigs, etc.
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 seconds
11:30 a.m. Bottom Fishing – catch more snapper and grouper on better bottom rigs
12:30 p.m. Caring for and Filleting Your Catch -- proper technique will improve table performance. (Filets will be given to attendees via lottery drawing.)
1:30 p.m. Better Ballyhoo Fishing -- rig a better trolled bait
2:30 p.m. Thirty-Second Kingfish Rig - tie a better 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 With a Pro
Noon, Effective bridge and pier fishing
2 p.m., Beach Fishing--Inshore Stage
3 p.m., Effective bridge and pier fishing
4 p.m., Beach Fishing with a Pro
4:45 p.m., Request hour--One-on-one instruction

Kayak Fishing Seminar and slide show
Noon and 2 p.m., presented by Florida Sportsman Associate Editor Jerry McBride. 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., In Florida, It’s All About Redfish - Capt. Tommy Thompson is a Florida Sportsman Contributing Editor, Big Bend Field Editor, author of numerous feature articles, Sportsman’s Seminars columns and the Big Bend Action Spotter column. He is author of The Saltwater Angler’s Guide to Florida’s Big Bend and Emerald Coast. Thompson guides light tackle and fly rod anglers in the backwaters at Steinhatchee for redfish and ‘gator’ trout. Redfish are certainly one of the most popular light-tackle game fish in Florida, but they can be finicky eaters and extremely wary of anglers. Thompson’s presentation will include information on the habits and habitat of redfish and on their varied diet. And he will discuss successful techniques, tackle and rigging for using topwater plugs, shallow-runners, soft plastics, spoons, flies and live bait.

Noon, Live Bait Fishing - Capt. Pat McGriff of Perry has been fishing the inshore grassflats of the Big Bend area of Florida for 32 years, and now guides clients to fantastic catches of trout, redfish, sheepshead and many other species found throughout Florida Panhandle inshore waters. In a divergence from his usual style of fishing, McGriff set an IGFA world record with the catch of a 74.8-pound gag while fishing out of Destin just prior to the 2002 Fishing Show. This seminar will focus on how to rig for several styles of light-tackle live baiting, like Cajun Thunder float rigs, and how to use the variables of wind, tide, weather fronts and water conditions to your advantage. “Tide flow is the most crucial factor,” advises McGriff, “and understanding that will stack the deck in your favor.” McGriff’s best advice to Panhandle anglers is to be on the water during a strong incoming tide when predator and prey are moving into the shallows.

1 p.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, and the techniques he uses in the Indian River, Texas bays and Louisiana coastal islands work just as well in the backwaters of the Panhandle. “Keeping a low profile is essential in skinny water,” explains Nichols. “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 and snook swimming in the roots of artificial mangrove plants

2 p.m., Beach Fishing - Capt. 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 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., Fishing Cape San Blas and St. Andrews Bay System - Winston Chester and Capt. Roy Ray host the popular TV show, Panhandle Outdoors with Capt. Roy and the Coach, on Fox 28 in Panama City. Capt. Roy invented Ray’s Spec Rig and is a fulltime charter captain, born and raised in West Bay, fishing for speckled trout since the 1940s. Chester is the author of Full Box, a hundred year history of fishing and boat building in Bay County, and says his first love is fishing the surf for pompano. Together they will give a seminar all about how to fish the St. Andrews Bay System and beaches of Cape San Blas, especially targeting pompano and trout. “As soon as some warm water hits in March, trout start moving out into the bay system onto the flats,” says Capt. Roy. “And right now there is a good group of bull reds in St. Andrews Pass. We’ll be giving out lots of information about where to fish so you should bring your charts for us to mark.”

4 p.m., The Art of Artificals - Capt. Tony Bozzella is the maker of TBS Jigs and a Riggin’ it Right Academy instructor for Florida Sportsman magazine all over the state. He’s also a consistent top-five money winner in inshore tournaments around Florida. Capt. Tony has a unique plan when it comes to artificial lures. “I can take five choice lures, each one covering the water column at a different level, and be successful anywhere along the Panhandle,” Capt. Tony declares. “I look for a lot of current and runouts, focusing on feeder creeks and oyster bars--both of these create fast-moving tidal water that attracts feeding redfish, trout and flounder.” Twenty years of expertise and knowledge on how to use artificial baits is packed into this 45 minute seminar, so you won’t want to miss it.

Offshore Seminar Stage

11 a.m., Cobia College - Mike Flowers is host of the Florida Sportsman Live radio show in Pensacola heard every Saturday morning on WEDY 1330 AM. He has taken hundreds of calls from anglers on the water who are looking to catch the Panhandle’s premier gamefish, cobia. Mike is also a world record holder and has assisted in several other records, including the gaffing and witness letter on Tom Hardy’s record 128-pound cobia caught on 16-pound test. Flowers will cover how to find cobia, water temperature pockets, weather patterns, presentation of lures--everything you need to know about the upcoming cobia season.

Noon, Dolphin Fishing - Capt. Rick Ryals is the author of Florida Sportsman’s new book, Sportsman’s Best: Dolphin, and team leader of Riggin’ it Right at all Florida Sportsman Fishing and Boat Shows. Ryals has won many tournaments over his 30 years of Florida fishing and will speak about how to greatly improve your catch of one of the most sought after table fish in Florida--dolphin. “They’re great fighters, with the prettiest jumps and best runs around,” says Ryals. “They’re all over Florida and they grow at an incredible rate, consuming twenty percent of their body weight daily--the biggest bulls around are just three years old!” Ryals skippers the fabulous Cabo sportfisherman Dos Amigos all over Florida and the Bahamas and there’s nothing he’d rather catch than big dolphin. This seminar will be all about how to find and catch the big “slammers,” including what baits to use and how to rig them, what conditions to look for, when to troll and when to run and gun, and how to plan your trip so you’re in the right place at the right time--dolphin season in the Panhandle is May through November.

1 p.m., Family Style Offshore - Capt. Doug Richards out of Destin specializes in what he calls family-style fishing within three to five miles off of Destin Beach. “We have our lines in the water within fifteen minutes of clearing the pass,“ says Capt. Doug. “Many times that’s to catch bait, which the kids just love! I guess you could say I specialize in having fun rather than filling a box. Once that first warm front comes through in March, Spanish mackerel kick off the season and families can have a lot of fun from then on.” Capt. Doug’s seminar will be all about how to use light spinning gear to catch Spanish, snapper, bonito, kings, blues in the Pass and every other species that swims in nearshore waters. “My goal is for them to catch the biggest fish ever, and that may only be a small Spanish mackerel but when you’re five years old it will feed their fishing dreams for a lifetime. My seminar will be all about teaching parents how to do just that.” Topics will include how to find quality inshore fish, tackle selection for different members of the family, and how to select bait at the bait store or catch your own.

2 p.m., Spanish Mackerel—Easy to Catch, Clean and Cook - Capt. Tommy Thompson is a Florida Sportsman Contributing Editor, Big Bend Field Editor, author of numerous feature articles, Sportsman’s Seminars columns and the Big Bend Action Spotter column. He is author of The Saltwater Angler’s Guide to Florida’s Big Bend and Emerald Coast and past-President of the Gainesville Offshore Fishing Club. Many offshore anglers don’t necessarily target Spanish mackerel, but a flock of wheeling sea birds overhead a school of striking fish is hard for any of us to resist. Being prepared for Spanish mackerel in the spring and fall is as simple as adding a few extra items to your tackle box. Thompson will discuss tackle, rigging and techniques for catching these tasty speedsters. And, to round out the presentation, he’ll share some recipes.

3 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-foot 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. 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.

4 p.m., Kingfish A to Z - Capt. Denny Young of Jacksonville was 17 years old in 1987 when 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. Subjects will include 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.