Outdoors

Luring ladies to fish

You never get your head bitten off at a Ladies, Let's Go Fishing seminar.

By TERRY TOMALIN, Outdoors Editor
Published October 12, 2007

Like many novice anglers, Betty Bauman found fishing seminars confusing.

"The fishing guides seemed to use a different language," she said. "It was like going to a basic Spanish class and the teacher talking in nothing but Spanish."

There had to be an easier way for women to learn how to fish, the special events marketer thought.

That was 10 years ago. To date, the Ladies, Let's Go Fishing seminar series has taught close to 5,000 women how to fish.

"I think we have really changed some lives," said Bauman, 51, who brings her traveling seminar series to Indian Rocks Beach this weekend. "Women realized that they don't necessarily need a man to take them to do what they want to do."

Nothing against guys

Bauman said she has nothing against men. In fact, she married one.

"I'm lucky because my husband Chuck loves to fish," she said. "But when I was learning, he didn't have the time to teach me the right way to do things, especially when the fish were biting."

The seminar series marketing material often refers to Ladies, Let's Go Fishing as the "No-Yelling School of Fishing."

Patience, Bauman said, is the key to teaching anybody how to fish, regardless of gender.

"A lot of men get their wives or girlfriends out on the boat and assume they know everything right from the start," she said. "That is like putting somebody into a football game and expecting them to score a touchdown before they learn how to throw the ball."

Back to basics

At every Ladies, Let's Go Fishing seminar, the students are divided into two groups: beginner and advanced or intermediate.

Through hands-on instruction, students learn rod and reel basics, as well as how to target fish inshore on the grass flats and offshore in blue water. There are also special sessions for fishing for bottom dwellers such as grouper, in addition to a brief introduction to fly fishing.

Women also learn crucial skills such as how to back a trailer into a boat ramp and how to land and release fish without injuring them.

A real crowd pleaser is the session on how to gaff offshore species such as kingfish. "We use grapefruit instead of fish," Bauman said. "It is not as easy as it sounds."

After the first day of instruction, the women head out on boats to put their skills to the test. "That is always the most popular part of the weekend," she said.

A testimonial

Madeira Beach resident Carol Reed got hooked on Ladies, Let's Go Fishing the last time it came to Pinellas County.

"I had so much fun that I went and signed up for several more seminars around the state," she said.

Reed, who regularly fishes with her husband, said the thing that impressed her most was how willing the instructors were to share information.

"Nobody talks down to you," she said. "You feel comfortable asking any question. Nobody will laugh at you."

She left her first seminar inspired.

"I realized that there were a lot of women out there who were perfectly content to go out and fish with other women," she said.

So Reed got together with some of her classmates and formed their own Pinellas County-based organization called the Adventurous Woman.

"I'd be at this weekend's seminar but we already have a trip planned," she added.

Bargain prices

At $135 for a 21/2-day event, Ladies, Let's Go Fishing is less than half the price of traditional fishing schools.

That is because many big names in the fishing industry - Mercury, Shimano, Ranger Boats, Bass Pro Shops, Lowrance, Sebago and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission - help underwrite the seminar series.

"I think the industry realizes that if the sport is to grow, they can't ignore half the population," Bauman said.

Seminars typically fill up weeks in advance, but Bauman said women can still register for this weekend's event in person at the Holiday Inn Harborside on Indian Rocks Beach from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. tonight or Saturday at 7 a.m.

Adventurous women

Ladies, Let's Go Fishing doesn't have a chapter here in the Tampa Bay area, but several former seminar attendees have formed their own organization dedicated to introducing women to the great outdoors. The Adventurous Woman club members go on regular outings, taking on everything from kayak fishing to hiking. No experience necessary.

The club meets the third Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at the Bill Jackson Shop for Adventure in Pinellas Park. For information call Carol Reed at (727) 409-5694 or e-mail her at CarolReed17@msn.com

If you go

Ladies, Let's Go Fishing typically holds four seminars a year at various locations throughout the state. But the Fort Lauderdale-based organization also hosts fishing trips to Alaska and Costa Rica as well.

To learn more, call 1-888-321-LLGF (5543) or go to www.ladiesletsgofishing.com or e-mail Betty Bauman at billfishbetty@hotmail.com

Times Outdoors Editor Terry Tomalin can be reached at tomalin@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8808.

No yelling in school

Featured local instructors:

Guide Dave Zalewski on bottom fishing.

Guide Larry Mastry of Mastry's Bait and Tackle on fishing basics.

Tournament angler Merrily Dunn on inshore and bay fishing.

Karen Hughart of UltimateCatchCharters.com on offshore fishing.

Twig Tolle on fly fishing.

Michelle Owen of the FWC on conservation.

[Last modified October 11, 2007, 20:59:07]