[dropcap]O[/dropcap]n Wednesday, October 16th, over 125 anglers from around the Forgotten Coast attended a fishing seminar, hosted and sponsored by Bluewater Outriggers (BWO), which is owned and operated by the Duren family. Bluewater Outriggers is a premier sporting goods super store in the heart of Port St. Joe’s waterfront business district. The guest speakers were Capt. Rick Murphy and Capt. Jeff Page from the Florida Chevy Insider Fishing Report team out of Miami, Florida. Capt. Rick Murphy produces the famous television show for 26 weeks of the year, and is seen on Fox Sports and Sun Sports channels on TV stations all over Florida and beyond, with 800,000 to 1,000,000 viewers per week. Their show consists of weekly fishing reports from every coastal area in Florida, and the Port St. Joe to Pensacola area report is done by Captain Pat Denien with Bluewater Outriggers being the primary sponsor. Capt. Rick and Capt. Jeff also have a new show coming out on Destination America which is part of the Discovery Channel network and will air on Saturday mornings.
The October 16th evening seminar called, “Fishing Artificial Lures in the Fall”, was a great success as evidenced by the attendance at the Bluewater Outriggers store with standing room only. Food and refreshments were served, and then Capt. Rick and his partner Capt. Jeff took turns speaking about various fishing techniques that they use every day that will improve your angling, I especially during the next few fall and early winter months. They shared some of their secrets, like their favorite lures that they use to catch different species of fish at various depths from 12 inches of water to 8 feet of water. Capt. Rick Murphy discussed the best lures to use, such as the Rapala Skitterwalk, for “walking the dog” and when to “match the hatch”, with a black and silver lure, when fishing clearer waters and to use chartreuse in dirtier waters. Both professional Captains talked about how much more productive drift fishing is through the grassy areas, in lieu of anchoring, and how to adjust for the wind. Try to have the wind at your back or shoulders. Capt. Rick also explained the differences in popping corks and clacking corks, both weighted and non-weighted. He also demonstrated how to tie a loop knot to your lures or jigs to give it more real life action.
On his whiteboard, he diagramed how to fish the different water depths. For example, in 1 1⁄2 to 3 feet of water, he starts with the gold spoon. His “go to” lure for all species of fish is the 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 ounce gold weedless spoon (Johnson Silver Minnow) and is effective in all depths of water. He stressed that after you cast, immediately start reeling at a fast and steady rate with your rod tip down, and DO NOT use any twitching techniques when using the spoon. He also likes to use a jighead with a soft plastic bait like a shad paddle-tail in these shallow depths as well. When fishing in 3 to 5 feet of water, he likes lip lures such as a Rapala BX Minnow (Balsa Xtreme), X-rap, or Skitter Walk. In 5 to 8 feet of water, use 1⁄2 ounce Gotcha Sea Striker jig or a 1⁄2 to 3⁄4 ounce buck-tail jig head.
Capt. Rick also shared his recent visit and experience to the factories in Finland and Estonia and explained how much detail work and testing that Rapala puts into their products.
The attendees for this Bluewater Outriggers event were both men and women anglers wanting to sharpen their skills and techniques to improve their chances out on the water. The response was so good, I have a feeling that this is one of many seminars to come. So, stay tuned for more events like this one in the future from Bluewater Outriggers. Capt. Rick and Capt. Jeff ended the evening event by emphasizing how blessed we are to have such a beautiful area to fish in with our pristine bays and lagoons. Both celebrity Captains agreed that this is one of their favorite Florida destinations, especially with its southern charm and the friendliest people in the country. They plan to come back soon!