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Sports

Florida Sportsman Show This Weekend

The Florida Sportsman Magazine outdoors show is Saturday and Sunday at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa and features some of the top area guides presenting seminars and hands-on instruction.

Florida Sportsman Magazine will host its annual outdoors show — one of the most popular on the West Coast of Florida — at the Florida State Fairgrounds this Saturday and Sunday.

The show is essentially the Florida Sportsman Magazine in person, according to publisher Blair Wickstrom. It will provide hands-on, how-to seminars dealing with proper technique and use of gear.

The show at the Fairgrounds, 4800 U.S. Hwy. 301 in Tampa, will take place 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

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Admission is $8. A $3 off coupon is available in the September issue of the magazine.

The hands-on method offers anglers with little fishing experience their best chance at retaining techniques for the long term.

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“Like if you’ve never thrown a cast net,” Wickstrom said, “it’s easy to read about and it’s easy to see a video, but not to see in person. We have a part of the show designed to help you throw a cast net.”

Other portions of the show include demonstration of fly-fishing, kayak-fishing, fishing from beaches, bridges, piers and spillways, and even hunting.

The show’s “Riggin’ It Right Academy” will show anglers how to rig live and dead baits, such as shrimp and ballyhoo, and various knots.

Here’s a rundown of the inshore seminars:

11 a.m. to noon: Mark Nichols, D.O.A. lures founder, will demonstrate lure retrieval techniques, which he learned in the Indian River Lagoon.

Noon to 1 p.m.: Bradenton Capt. Dave Pomerleau, “The Mad Snooker,” will show anglers how to crank big snook from bridges and pilings with big baits. Pomerleau fishes at night for snook and rarely settles for an average snook bite.

1-2 p.m.:  Capt. Blair Wiggins, host of the TV show Addictive Fishing, will primarily cover the use of Tampa Bay-area baits with video clips and an question-and-answer session.

2-3 p.m.: Average Angler Adventures TV show host Glen Pla will share stories from his recent series "Along the Marsh" and focus on marsh-fishing techniques.

2-3 p.m.: Capt. Rick Grassett of the Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc., out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, will discuss fly-fishing. Grassett is known as one of the top fly-fishing instructors in the state. He is an Orvis-endorsed fly fishing guide and a Federation of Fly Fishers certified fly-casting instructor.

4-5 p.m.: Capt. Tony Bozzella, the Riggin’ It Right team leader, will teach a variety of techniques using effective baits, rigs and tackle. He is the founder of TBS Jigs.

Offshore seminar instructors are Capt. Billy Miller, Capt. Frank Bourgeois and Capt. Steven Soults, Capt. Randy Rochelle, Capt. Hank Williams and Capt. Rick Ryals.

Seminars are Saturday and Sunday, and the show includes a “Kids can’t lose cating competition.”

For more information, visit floridasportsman.com/shows.

Here are directions to the Florida State Fairgrounds from Land O' Lakes.

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