Forestsville, WI. Aspiring anglers came from as far away as Ohio and Washington, DC to learn from the pros at the award winning “Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing!®” Keys University, October 20-22 at the Elks Lodge, Tavernier, FL. The University kicked off on Friday with a meet-and-greet social featuring networking, fundraisers and an incredible Master Chef Appetizer Contest. Tied for First Place were Shrimp Ceviche by Donna Kahn and Crab Cakes by Cathy Brewer. Second place was Bang Bang Shrimp by Carissa Silverman. Third place was Venison Queso by Twig Tolle.
Saturday’s events began with classroom presentations on offshore, bottom and inshore fishing, followed by lunch and hands-on fishing skills until 4 pm. Speakers were Stu Apte, Allison Stattner Captain Gary Ellis, Twig Tolle and Captain Lee Lavery. Skills such as releasing, conservation, knot tying, bait rigging, spin, fly and net casting, gaffing grapefruits and more were available for hands-on practice.
On Sunday, participants embarked on a fishing adventure out of Whale Harbor Marina, Islamorada, FL followed by a fish fillet demonstration. Fish caught or released included mahi, blackfin tuna, yellowtail snapper, king mackerel, mutton snapper, strawberry grouper, snook, tarpon, black drum, mangrove snapper, sharks and more. On Friday was a Bonus Fishing Day with reports of mahi, blackfin tuna, yellowtail snapper and more.
We were pleased to have representatives from the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation and a chance to discuss the R3 initiative for angler recruitment, retention and reactivation. We also discussed the 60 in 60 initiative to increase the nation’s number of anglers to 60 million in 60 months. RBFF hosts informative websites with information on fishing, www.takemefishing.org and www.vamosapescar.org . Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing is working diligently to support these initiatives by attracting new anglers to the sport.
“Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing!”, or LLGF for short, is a national organization dedicated to attracting more women to sportfishing and to promoting conservation and responsible angling. LLGF especially promotes networking among women anglers and emphasizes mentorship between novice and experienced members. Founded in 1997 by Betty Bauman, of Ft. Lauderdale , Florida, LLGF has over 8,000 graduates and is the largest organization in the world whose objective is to introduce women to fishing. The Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing Foundation, a nonprofit 501C3, serves to empower women and families to learn and pursue the sport of fishing through educational programs.
