Sportsman Show Reels in Offshore, Inshore Experts

On February 23 and 24 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 Century offshore boat fully tricked out 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.

Offshore Riggin’ it Right Academy
11 a.m., How to tie a 30-second kingfish rig Noon, Better bottom fishing
1:30 p.m., How to wire a swimming ballyhoo rig
2:30 p.m., How to keep, prepare and fillet your catch
3:30 p.m., Back by popular demand, Better Bottom Fishing

Inshore Riggin’ it Right Academy
11 a.m., Effective Live and dead bait rigs: Shrimp to mud puppies
12:30 p.m., Artificials: Soft plastics, hard bodies and jigs
2 p.m., Uni-knot system as a one-for-all knot
3 p.m., Make a splash! Popping corks, floats, rattles and beads
4 p.m., Your chance to ask the pros: Problem solving with one-on-one teaching

Angler on Foot
10:45 a.m., Beach Fishing in Northeast Florida AND east coast Florida
Noon, Effective bridge and pier fishing
1 p.m., Beach Fishing--Inshore Stage inside Fairgrounds Building
3 p.m., Effective bridge and pier fishing
4 p.m., Beach Fishing in Northeast Florida AND east coast Florida
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 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, 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

Noon, 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 schools of redfish 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.

1 p.m., Surf Fishing College 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 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.

2 p.m., 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.

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 Stage:

11 a.m., Sportsman’s Best: Offshore Fishing Capt. Buck Hall is the author of Sportsman’s Best: Offshore Fishing and the Panhandle Field Editor for Florida Sportsman magazine. Buck spends an average of 60-80 days a year offshore with some of the best charter and tournament captains in the business of putting people on fish. Offshore Fishing is compiled from trips and interviews with more than 20 professional and tournament-winning captains so this seminar has something for everyone, novice to pro. Buck took plenty of notes and will share them with you in this informative and interactive seminar. Topics are right out of the pages of his book and include offshore strategies for Florida‘s huge variety of offshore sportfish and table fish, reading the water, lure selection and best natural baits.

Noon, Cobia College 101, Mike Flowers is host of the Florida Sportsman Live radio show in Pensacola heard every Saturday morning on WCOA 1370 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.

1 p.m., Bluewater Trolling with Lures Brian Dufek of Penn Tackle has been the subject of several Florida Sportsman stories on trolling the Atlantic for dolphin, tuna, marlin and wahoo. Dufek has imported the technique of high speed trolling for wahoo using lures, trolling weights and planers from Bermuda and The Bahamas, where many tournament captains have won high-dollar contests. “These same techniques work well in the Panhandle,” says Brian. “You just need to go out a little deeper and be prepared to switch tackle and baits when the opportunities arise, like pulling up and deep jigging for yellowfin when the trolling bite slows. My definition of success is when preparation meets opportunity.” Topics will include choosing the correct lure to fit conditions, designing spreads, tackle selection and trolling boatmanship.

2 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.

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., Natural Baitrigging Basics Florida Sportsman Pro-Staffer Dennis 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 1,000 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 eventually settled into a successful charter fishing operation. Young has spent the last 10 years bluewater fishing all over Florida, and his favorite quarry is sailfish off the southeastern coast of Florida. “Nothing beats the thrill of catching a billfish on a splitback mullet teaser that you rigged yourself,” says Young. “If you rig it right, you can pull that bait for hours and it will swim just as natural as when it was alive without washing out.” Topics will include rigging local favorites like cigar minnows, sardines and bonito strips. Young will also show the audience his favorite methods of rigging ballyhoo, with a special segment on how to rig a foolproof kingfish leader in under 30 seconds.