Sportsman Show Reels in Offshore, Inshore Experts

On February 20 and 21, 2010 at the Northwest Florida Fairgrounds in Ft. Walton Beach, the Florida Sportsman Fishing Show will present two days of hardcore fishing information offered by 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.

NEW THIS YEAR!

Basic Fundamentals of Archery Hunting and Bow Tuning

Saturday: 10:15 a.m. and 4:15 p.m.
Sunday: 10:15 a.m.

Captain Tony Bozzella is a full-time fishing guide in North Florida. “But when hunting season rolls around, it's time to go to the woods,” says Capt. Tony enthusiastically. Bozzella has harvested over 50 deer, turkey, hogs, alligators and other various small game. He can put you on the right track to increase your chances this season and help you become a better shot. He will discuss topics such as scent elimination, stand placement and bow tuning. Plus, he might give a few tips on the top public Wildlife Management Areas to hunt.

Inshore Riggin’ It Right

11:00 a.m. Rigging Basics—Rigging plastic baits, jerkbaits and paddle-tail jigs

12:00 p.m. Live-baiting—Learn tricks on how to rig shrimp, mullet, mud minnows and crabs

1:30 p.m. Leader to braid or mono—Learn two fast and easy methods of knot tying

2:30 p.m. Sliding Float Rig—How to fish structure and grass without getting hung up

3:30 p.m. Double-line tying—Learn the spider hitch, a great way to double your line

4:15 p.m. Ask the Pros—Bring your questions to the table: rod rigging, knots, tackle—you ask it, we have the answers. Saturday Only

Offshore Riggin’ it Right

11:00 a.m. Thirty-second Kingfish Rig—Tie a better wire leader in just 30 seconds

12:00 p.m. Bottom Fishing—Catch more snapper and grouper with our bottom rigs

1:30 p.m. Caring for your Catch—Proper fillet technique will improve table performance

2:30 p.m. Better Ballyhoo Fishing—Rig a better trolled bait

3:30 p.m. Thirty-second Kingfish Rig—Tie a better wire leader in just 30 seconds

4:15 p.m. Ask the Pros—Bring your questions to the table: rod rigging, knots, tackle—you ask it, we have the answers. Saturday Only

Angler on Foot

Captain 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. His seminars 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.

10:45 a.m. Beach fishing with a pro

12:00 p.m. Effective bridge and pier fishing

2:00 p.m. Beach fishing

3:00 p.m. Effective bridge and pier fishing

4:00 p.m. Saturday only request hour—one-on-one instruction

Kayak Fishing Seminar and slide show

12:00 p.m. and 2 p.m.

Seminars are presented by Florida Sportsman’s Jerry McBride. Stop in anytime and see the tricked-out boats and talk to the experts about how to fish from kayaks.

Inshore Stage

10,000-gallon pond with Sterling flats boat, mangroves and slide show

10:00 a.m. Winston Chester and Captain Roy Ray
Fishing Cape San Blas and St. Andrews Bay System

12:00 p.m. Captain Blair Wiggins
Mogan man goes in-depth with his inshore tactics

1:00 p.m. Mark Nichols
Fishing the backwaters with soft plastics

Offshore Stage

Offshore boat with downriggers, outriggers, kites and slide show

11:00 a.m. Captain Rick Ryals
It’s all about snapper and grouper

2:00 p.m. Captain Tommy Thompson
Tactics for Spanish mackerel

3:00 p.m. (Saturday Only) Captain Denny Young
Kingfish A to Z

Inshore Seminar Stage

10 a.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. Captain Roy invented Ray’s Spec Rig and is a full-time 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 your charts for us to mark.”

12:00 p.m. Inshore Tactics with Capt. Blair Wiggins

Capt. Blair Wiggins, aka Mogan Man, is the host of one of Florida's longest running saltwater television shows—Addictive Fishing. In the past 10 years of filming, Blair has fished inshore, nearshore and offshore with local guides from Texas to Louisiana, and all over Florida. The techniques he has learned along the way work especially well in the Big Bend area.

Blair is also a hardcore tournament angler. In 2006, he won the $100,000 first prize at the FLW Redfish Championship. The following year, Blair fished with a different partner and took home the Panama City FLW Redfish title. He has spent countless pre-fishing hours on the water and will share that passion and knowledge with the audience. Blair is a master at throwing artificials. From soft plastics and hard baits to spinners and spoons, he will talk about many different types of baits to throw in this area. Blair's multimedia presentation will incorporate video clips that show tips and techniques in action and allow the audience to ask questions about each segment creating an interesting learning experience.

1:00 p.m. Fishing the Backwaters with Mark Nichols

Mark Nichols, inventor and manufacturer of D. O. A. Lures, has tested his lures in shallow waters all over the country. The techniques he uses in the Indian River Lagoon, 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.

Offshore Seminar Stage

11 a.m. Snapper and Grouper

Captain Rick Ryals is co-author of Florida Sportsman’s book and DVD: Sportsman’s Best—Snapper and Grouper. Plus he’s 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 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.

2 p.m. Spanish Mackerel—Easy to Catch, Clean and Cook

Captain 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,” says Thompson. “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. (Saturday Only) Kingfish A to Z

Capt. Denny Young of Jacksonville was 17 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 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. Plus, the best baits, rigs and tackle to use for a successful kingfish trip.

Fly Fishing

American Fly Fishing Schools presents all new Fly Casting seminars this year. Join the certified team of casting instructors on the newly constructed fly casting pond.

11:00 a.m. Captain Mike Corblies
Fly Fishing—fresh or salt water, so what’s the difference?

12:00 p.m. Jack Montaque
Learning to fly cast and the gear you will need (Beginner and intermediate casters)

1:00 p.m. Captain Mike Corblies
Fly Fishing Gear—what’s new this year

2:00 p.m. Jack Montaque
Improving your fly casting (For intermediate and advanced casters)

3:00 p.m. Captain Mike Corblies
Tips for how to rig your kayaks and skiffs for fly fishing

4:00 p.m. Jack Montaque
Tips for becoming a better caster and perhaps an instructor

Fly Tying Theatre

New this year for the fly fishing enthusiast is the Fly Tying Theatre. If you have attended a fly tying class, one of the obstacles to overcome (besides eye-hand coordination) is the inability to see clearly while the instructor is teaching. The American Fly Fishing Schools have created Fly Theatre. While the instructor is tying flies his every moment is captured by a camera and is projected on to a large screen. You will not want to miss these classes.

10:30 a.m. Jack Montaque
Learning to tie freshwater flies

3:00 p.m. Jack Montaque
Learning to tie saltwater flies