LADIES CATCH FISHING SKILLS AT KEYS “LADIES, LET’S GO FISHING!”® SEMINAR, Dec. 5-7

ISLAMORADA, FL-12/08 — Celebrity speakers and fabulous fishing made for a memorable pre-holiday "Ladies, Let's Go Fishing!" ® Keys seminar. Held Dec. 5-7 at Holiday Isle Resorts & Marina, Islamorada, FL, women learned fishing skills from legends such as Capt. Skip Bradeen, Sandy Moret and Hank Brown. Presenters included Capt. George Mittler, Capt. Mark Johnson, Capt. Lee Lavery and Rich Abrams/Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Topics taught at separate beginner and intermediate/advanced levels covered inshore, offshore, bottom and fly fishing. Moret is the eight-time grand champion of the Keys’ most prestigious fly tournaments and is often featured on the Walker’s Cay Chronicles, The Reel Guys and Andy Mill’s Sportsman’s Adventures. Capt. Skip Bradeen is the Florida Keys fishing expert on several radio stations. Hank Brown is the founder of Hookkup Lures and has taken many celebrities fishing.
Known as the “No-Yelling School of Fishing,” this award-winning series for women, held in conjunction with Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and presented by Mercury Outboards, kicked off with a Friday Welcome Reception and live auction, continuing with classes, lunch and afternoon skill practice on Saturday. Captains from the Key Largo Fishing Guides Association, Kerry Wingo, Randy Stallings, Richard Burson, Jay Redman and Chuck Kitto worked one-on-one with participants aboard Ranger boats and from docks during the hands-on skill practice on Saturday afternoon. Skills included conservation techniques and dehooking, spin casting, net casting, releasing, knot tying, gaffing grapefruits, boat handling, trailer backing, operating a Minn Kota trolling motor, Mercury outboard, Bob's jack plate, Power-Pole and reeling against pressure. Performing as the fish for the standup fishing techniques demonstration was Larry Kahn, Editor of the Florida Keys Keynoter, To complete the experience, a fishing trip on Sunday gave the women a chance to practice their newly-learned skills on the water and learn to fillet fish.
The ladies enjoyed lake-like seas for the Fishing Adventure on Sunday, highlighted by a triple sailfish release on the Blue Chip Too and plenty of yellowtail snapper caught on the Capt. Michael party boat. Almost every participant caught fish, including blackfin tuna and king mackerel.
Ladies traveled from South Florida, Naples, Melbourne Beach and as far away as Michigan to participate for many reasons. Some shared their experience with daughters and nieces for a family fishing getaway. “Before LLGF, there was no avenue for me to learn fishing,” said Cathy Wilkinson, Pompano Beach, FL. Toni Cline, Boca Raton, FL came because her husband and his love for fishing motivated her to try it. Joanne Dunn, Marathon, FL said “I wanted to learn Florida fishing skills that were different from what I did in New Jersey, plus appreciate my surroundings!”
Featured on national network television and more, the series is held in conjunction with the FWC through the Sport Fish Restoration Program, presented by Mercury Outboards and supported by major partners such as Bass Pro Shops, Ranger Boats/Islamorada Boat Center, BoatU.S. ANGLER Insurance, Gulfstream Int’l Airlines and Shimano. Annual partners included Magic Tilt, Minn Kota, Bob’s Machine Shop, Raymond James & Associates, Maxima Line, Power-Pole, Hook & Tackle, Eagle Claw, Florida Foundation for Responsible Angling, Tigress Outriggers, Extreme Wraps & Signs, Pompanette, Crocs, Treasure Cay Resort & Marina, Aftco Bluewater/Guy Harvey, Aylesworth’s Fish & Bait and more. Event Sponsors were Ocean LED, Awlgrip, Breezy Palms Resort, GG Schmitt & Sons, Ameritex Technologies, Dolphin Jewelers and Mustang Survival.
The 2009 seminar schedule includes Naples: March 20-22; Fort Lauderdale: May 1-3; Stuart: June 26-28 and Islamorada: November 13-15.
Contact: LLGF, phone 954-475-9068, fax 954-474-7299, email: billfishbetty@hotmail.com, website: www.ladiesletsgofishing.com. # # #

CALENDAR INFORMATION: “Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing!”® saltwater fishing seminar for women, 2009 schedule: March 20-22, Naples, FL; May 1-3, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; June 26-28, Stuart, FL and Nov. 13-15, Islamorada, FL. Registration is $99/early entry, up to $145/walkins. Includes welcome party, classes at beginner/advanced levels, lunch, hands-on skill stations, Fishing additional. Contact information is: phone: (954) 475-9068; email: info@ladiesletsgofishing.com; website: www.ladiesletsgofishing.com; MySpace: www.myspace.com/ladiesletsgofishing; Blog: http://ladiesletsgofishing.blogspot.com/.

Islamorada Fishing Report, Sunday, Dec.5, 2008
With perfect fishing conditions, every boat reported fishing action. In the report, “Caught” could signify landing or releasing.
A passing cold front flattened the seas for comfortable fishing conditions described as “Lake Atlantic”.

Blue Chip Too/Capt. Skip Bradeen/morning: After catching bait on sabiki rigs, the ladies experienced kite fishing and released a sailfish double header just after 9 am in 180 ft. of water. They caught two large king mackerel and Carol Provost, Homestead, FL caught her first tuna ever, a 18 lb. blackfin. Everyone caught fish. When reeling in the lines, Lurue Lord’s line went tight and she fought a tailwrapped sailfish she released an hour and a half later. After attending LLGF eight times, Lord, Savanna GA, whose goal was to catch a sail, was elated. Reeling against the other sails were Tawne and Debbie Day as well as Sue DeMizio, all from Ft. Lauderdale, FL. They celebrated their catch by having it cooked at Whale Harbor’s Wahoos restaurant.

Blue Chip Too/Capt. Skip Bradeen/afternoon: The group caught five king mackerel and an 11 lb. red grouper. Claudia Shirley, Melbourne Beach, FL released her first sailfish ever. This boat had a family crew of aunt and niece aboard for a fun day of fishing.

Miller Time: After having fun catching bait, all the ladies caught fish, including five king mackerel approx. 12 lbs. each, and a 26 lb. blackfin tuna. Georgia Allen, Bonita Springs, FL released a cobia. 78 year old Elaine Royal, Naples, FL was excited to catch a king mackerel. They raised a sailfish that spit the hook and saw a large sea turtle. There was a family unit of mother, daughter and aunt aboard.

Capt. Michael: Out of Robbies Marina, the Capt. Michael provided a fabulous party boat fishing boat trip. The ladies caught eight yellowtail snapper from 14-18", blue runners, a spotted moray eel and more. They saw schools of flying fish and witnessed a giant 17" puffer fish being caught and released. Excited to use the skills they learned (boat handling was mentioned), participants thanked the FWC for their help on the boat. They learned what ‘spaghetti line’ means and rated the captain and crew as ‘awesome’. Almost every woman caught fish.

Comments from participants:
“I would truly recommend this seminar to anyone, even a man – Only kidding! What fun!” L. Neddo - Jupiter, FL.
“Excellent! - being taught outside at Whale Harbor made it so much more interactive!” J. Czerwinski - Summerland Key, FL.
“The most important thing I will remember about this course…How much I didn’t know!” C. Tutino - Naples, FL.
“This was great! I learned more today than my 52 years (oops! 29 years) of living!” C. Tutino - Naples, FL.
“The most important thing I will remember about this course is the feeling of accomplishment!” C. Provost, Homestead, FL.
“My motivation for taking this course was to learn the fundamentals and how to manage a trailer and boat positions. Wow! You cover everything!” T. Cline, Boca Raton, FL.
“I learned more about fishing in one day than from my dad in 20 years.” G. Allen – Bonita Springs, FL
“I learned the importance of keeping the environment clean and keeping a balance with fish and our natural resources.” C. Shirley – Melbourne Beach, FL

PHOTO CAPTIONS: DSCF120: Carol Provost, Homestead, FL lands her first tuna ever at the "Ladies, Let's Go Fishing!" seminar Dec. 5-7, Islamorada.
IMG 0657: The Blue Chip Too had three sailfish releases and the ladies caught king mackerel and a blackfin tuna. L. to R. Tawni Day, Sue DeMizio and Debbie Day, Ft. Lauderdale, FL and Linda Schmitt, New Baltimore, MI. Seated is Carol Provost, Homestead, FL, a teacher who caught her first tuna ever.
IMG 0089 Best Tuna: Mother and daughter team, Cynthia and Joyanna Tutino, Naples, FL, land a nice blackfin tuna aboard Miller Time.
IMG 0680: Nice catch during the Islamorada 08 “Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing!” seminar. L. to R. Joyanna Tutino, Cynthia Tutino, Naples, FL; Georgia Allen, Bonita Springs, FL; Elaine Royal, Naples, FL and Toni Cline, Boca Raton, FL.

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