ST. PETERSBURG “Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing!” Seminar- Great class, great fun! Oct. 12-14, 07
Fifty ladies came from Florida and other states to the St. Petersburg seminar! The weekend kicked off with a Friday welcome party. Saturday began with classes on Basics, Offshore, Inshore and Bottom Fishing. After lunch, the ladies had a fly fishing demonstration, then chose from several fishing skill stations to practice hands-on fishing techniques. The program concluded Sunday with a six hour fishing trip from several charter boats, followed by a fillet demonstration.
St. Petersburg Fishing Report, Sunday, October 14, 2007
With perfect fishing conditions, every boat reported fishing action.
Lucky Too/Capt. Dave Zalewski: The ladies used planers to catch barracuda, grouper, spanish mackeral and bonita. They had a great time with Capt. Dave and learned about electronics, weather reports and the do’s and don’ts of fishing.
*Ultimate Catch/Capt. Karen Hughart: Barbara Robillard, Sarasota, FL caught her first fish ever and all of the ladies took turns catching bonita, several spanish mackeral, kingfish and barracuda. The ladies learned rod and reel handling and fish fighting.
*Mother Ocean/Capt. Buddy Bradham: Fishing inshore, the ladies caught 3 sharks, 3 mackeral and 2 trout and had lots of other bites using spinning rods and bait casters. The ladies had a great time practicing knot tying with Capt. Buddy.
Skinny Water/Capt. Craig Laher: Mary Metcalf of Cape Coral, FL almost got spooled but landed a 28 lb. kingfish and a 40”cobia chased her bait. A variety of fish including blue runners, spanish mackeral and jack cravelle was caught by all.
Game Fish-Her/Capt. Merrily Dunn: Not only did the ladies catch a wide variety of fish, they practiced throwing cast nets, learned about trolling motors, chumming and how to tie loop and cinch knots. Everyone aboard caught fish including redfish, gag grouper, sand perch, sharks, lizard fish and jack crevalle.
Florida Fisherman II: A wide variety of fish were caught and/or released on the party boat including snapper, grouper, grunts and mackerel. The ladies also reinforced their conservation skills by learning how to properly vent fish.
*Take the Ladies Fishing sponsors. “Caught” signifies either landed or released
Recipe contest winner: Congratulations to Rhonda Thompson of Spring Hill, FL for “Stuffed Snook”. Watch for the recipe in our cookbook, still in progress!
Thanks to our Partners! Our valued sponsors help provide manpower, equipment for the skill stations and exciting products. This program would not be possible without their support! Special thanks to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Sport Fish Restoration, Mercury Outboards, Bass Pro Shops/ Wahoo Sponsor, Ranger Boats /Land O’ Lakes Marine, BoatU.S. Marine Insurance, Lowrance Electronics, Shimano, Sebago, Magic Tilt Trailers and Gulfstream International Airlines for major sponsorships. Please patronize them! Annual partners: Minn Kota, Bob’s Machine Shop, Maxima Line, Power-Pole, Hook & Tackle, Eagle Claw, Tigress Outriggers, Pompanette, Treasure Cay Resort & Marina, Zeno Office Solutions and Printing Corp. of the Americas. Event Sponsors: 3M, Florida Foundation For Responsible Angling, Buckley Window Corp., Raymond James & Associates, Hubbard’s Marina, Aylesworth Fish & Bait and Lurebox. Sponsor information is in the class book.
Join a LLGF Chapter! Make new fishing buddies! Go to www.ladiesletsgofishing.com for info.
Thanks to our speakers: Larry Mastry, Capt. Dave Zalewski, Capt. Merrily Dunn, Capt. Karen Hughart, Twig Tolle and Michelle Owen! Great fishing instruction and conservation!
Great Prizes! We had some great prizes, including a trip to Treasure Cay Hotel Resort & Marina/Abaco, Bahamas and Bimini Big Game Club. Also featured were Mercury 50 hp Four-Stroke Engine, airfare from Gulfstream Int’l Airlines, art from Don Ray, Robert Dorman, Carey Chen, Guy Harvey, Steve Goione, The Billfish Foundation and Brendan Galleries. Also, great items from Smith Optics eyewear, Ono Sunglasses, Eagle Claw, Lurebox, Taylor Made, Star Brite, Fish Her, Lowrance Electronics, Tigress, Coleman, Minn Kota, C&H Lures, MD Lures, Snapper Slapper, Moldcraft, Mastry Tackle, Strip Teaser, Sebago, Pompanette, Suremark, Royal Robbins, King Sailfish Mounts, Upholstery Innovations, Hook and Tackle, Maxima Lines, Silverstar Jewelers, Freedom Boat Club, Roff’s, Quease Ease, Rapala, DOA Lures, Richardson’s Charts, Eat Me Tackle, Huki, Boat Bunkers, and fishing trips with Capts. Rachel Nobbe, Beth Layer, Karen Hughart, Ric Ehlis, Anthony Skinner, Buddy Bradham, Ken Hudson and Hubbard’s Marina. Thanks to all auction and raffle donors! All donors may not be listed here, but were listed in our class books. Your contributions help us meet growth demands.
Next Seminar: We are working our our 2008 dates. Anticipated dates are Ft. Lauderdale, FL March 28-30 and Stuart, FL May 16-18. We will send an email notification when we are ready to begin taking registrations for either seminar.
08 Special events: Costa Rica Sailfish Trip Jan 21-25, 08! Parrot Bay Village, Puerto Jimenez (Pacific coast, across from Golfito) $1775 includes 5 nights, 2 days of fishing, male guests welcome! Upgrade to more fishing or many things to do on the other days. In-country air included, int’l air not included. 1-866-551-2003, mail@parrotbayvilllage.com. www.parrotbayvillage.com
Ladies only Alaska trip June 8-11! 3-nights, 2 1/2 days guided fishing at Alaska’s premier sportfishing lodge: The Cove Lodge, Elfin Cove, Alaska. 85 Mi. West of Juneau. $2,995. Salmon, halibut & more. Prime king salmon season! 800-382-3847, email gordywrobel@covelodge.com. www.covelodge.com. Airfare not included.
Send Us Your Letters and Photos! Please email comments about the seminar, especially if you bought tackle, boats, fishing equipment or if you have had an interesting fishing adventure. We want to keep in touch!
If Your Company is a Sponsor, You Attend the Seminar for Free! Sponsors make it possible for the seminar to show a variety of fishing equipment - If you know of anyone who wants to be a sponsor or donor, please contact us.
Hubbard’s Marina offers 1/2 day, full day, 12 hour and overnight fishing trips as well as porpoise watching, sunset and snorkeling tours. Visit there website at HubbardsMarina.com or give them a call at 727-393-1947 for more information.
Hate Hurricane Shutters? Let Buckley Window Corp. install impact windows for you. Residential or commercial, new or replacement windows. Give them a call at 954-396-4221.
Planning your Retirement or Saving for your Boat? Brian Thomas of Raymond James can help you plan your financial future. Contact him at 866-838-1009 or visit him on the web at RaymondJames.com/sarasota.
Lowrance has a great website that explains the basics of marine electronics at www.lowrance.com. You can also download a simulator where you can practice how to use a Lowrance on your computer!
MAJOR SPONSOR NEWS: Sebago - check out their GREAT styles for women at Sebago.com!
Shimano (Shimano.com) - when you buy quality tackle, you only pay for it once! Please show your appreciation by patronizing them and remember to mention you heard about them through LLGF!
LLGF 2400 Bay Ranger - the Official Boat of Choice for LLGF! Land O’Lakes Marine was the representing dealer. Be sure to visit www.rangerboats.com.
LLGF pendant - purchase it in silver, gold w/diamond eye or white gold! Contact John Cerasaro, fishingjewelry.com
Remember to do your part to preserve our marine resources for the future!
Comments from Participants:
“Conservation is the most important thing to me. You can’t go fishing if there are no fish.”- S. Butters, Melbourne Beach, FL.
“I have been exposed to a whole new world.” - M. Howard, St. Petersburg, FL
“Very informative - things my husband doesn’t teach me” - R. Thompson, Spring Hill, FL
“No pressure!” - T. Wood, St. Petersburg, FL
“The information is presented clearly and it’s a lot of fun” -K. Macallum, Kenneth City, FL
“I’m pretty sure I’m going to fly cast now!” - B. BonFleur, Winter Park, FL
“Loved the humor throughout!” - C. McClure, Cortez, FL
“I used to stay home if my husband was trolling. Now I will go out and try!” - C. Sexton, Port Ritchey, FL
