Saltwater Sportsman 2007 Seminar Series Roundup!

[Tarpon4me]

I didn't know what to expect going to the SWS seminar in Wilmington, NC. Needless to say, I was very happy when I arrived and realized there were seats for everyone. [cool] There were almost a dozen of the local pro anglers as well as a half dozen professional anglers that toured with saltwater sportsman. Amoung those, a marine biologist which had lots of interesting things to say. This run down is mostly pictures. I'll be posting a seperate over view that will high light some of the great tips I took notes on about the local east coast species. Well, here we go!



Well, this is where it all took place, Odell Williamson Auditorium. This is part of the Brunswick Community College close to Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina. This was a really nice facility. You can see all the anglers entering at the building above. There were anglers of all sorts. Everything from your weekend warriors to your proffesional charter captains. And those who fall in between, like myself. [cool]



Here's Mike (sailfish4me) rockin' the BFT hardware.



Here's the lunch line. Believe it or not, it didn't take long for all of us to get fed. The Brunswich college cafe cooked us up a good lunch to the tune of a 9 dollar ticket. Hamburger steak, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Of course, all the sweet tea you could drink. (my favorite part of lunch was the tea, I love tea.)



I got some pictures of the stage during the seminar, but the lighting was so low, none of the pictures came out too well. But, George Povaromo is on the far right along with 3 local charter captains to his left. Lots of great info passed on, which i'll be sharing the high lights of on a seperate thread.





Mike with a local charter captain.



Captain Jimmy. This dude was the life of the party. He was very entertaining and also very knowledgeable about inshore fishing.



Me with the Jim'ster



Here's Mike with da' man! George Povaromo!



This was the best shot of the inside of the auditorium I was able to get.

All in all, this was a great event and I recommend anyone in the area where one is comming to town to go. It's worth the 55 dollar ticket. You'll learn a ton about your local species of fish, as well as get the chance to meet some really great people. They had lots of door prizes. I bet they gave away 3000 dollars worth of stuff in between each session. Also, at the end of each seminar, they give away a trip to the bahamas. After the last one, they give away a new Mako Center console boat. As we walked into the door, we got our care package with all the books and things that were included in the ticket fee. Well ladies and gents, I hope you enjoyed my pic's! Don't forget to check out the other half of the over view with all the tips!

Bryan D.
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[Tarpon4me]

Also, anyone wanting info on when are where the up and comming seminars are going down, check out this link:

[url "http://www.nationalseminarseries.com"]www.nationalseminarseries.com[/url]

It has all the info you need, as well as options for ordering tickets. If you order tickets and don't get them, (like me) make sure and call them so they can have tickets at the door for you. You'll be in the system once you order your tickets, so no biggie, but you need your ticket to fill out so you can be entered for the door prizes and also get your IGFA and saltwater sportsman memberships.

Just post any other questions or PM me if you wish. GOOD LUCK!

Bryan D.
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[Fishhound]

[black][size 3]Good shots of the seminar. [/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]How did your boy like it ? Or, would he rather have been out fishing instead ? Sometimes it's difficult for kids that age to sit still for just information gathering.[/size][/black]
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[Tarpon4me]

Believe it or not, he really enjoyed the seminar. When we went to the Marshalls Marine Expo, it got kinda boring after a bit. We went around and met all the famous people and took pictures, after that, there just wasn't much to do.

The seminar was alot different. It was set up where everyone could be comforatable and the information was presented in an entertaining way. It wasn't just a boring dispatch of fishing tactics. All the anglers involved, to include George Poveromo, were down to earth and very down to earth. The whole experiance was very pleasant, even for Mike at his "tender" age. []

He's really into fishing though, and i'm proud of his accomplishments. He's already surpassed many seasoned anglers with his notable catches, including his dad. [] This season, I have agreed that we will break atleast 2 world records. Sound hard to do? I don't think so. If I had known then what I know now, we would have busted 4 last season.

Jr. all tackle great barracuda
Jr. all tackle bowfin
Jr. all tackle flathead catfish
Jr. all tackle Spanish mackerel

I believe we could have entered the barracuda in the 20lb world record catagory and beat it as well. I'll have to check the IGFA book. We got the new 2007 IGFA world record book as part of the package for participating in the SWS seminar. I couldn't believe all the records we could have broken. My father inlaw could have broken the 20lb class world record in Flathead catfish. It's amazing what you learn when you have the right book. LOL I'm sure there are plenty of BFT anglers that can say that same thing. State records especially, those are easy to break in many species.

I target trophy fish anyhow, so that ups the chances of me succeeding. I also target multiple species at a time, atleast when i'm drift fishing or anchored off. It's possible to target different species in different water columns relatively easily, so that's exactly what I do.

I wonder if there is any money for breaking a world record? [cool]
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[Tarpon4me]

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