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CASTING
CALL (18-4) By
Jo-Ann Searls
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It is too quiet. This morning the fish just won't
co-operate. We are fishing off Florida's Gulf Coast
in a 210 Triumph Chaos Limited Edition Center Console,
anchored beside two other boats - our fellow classmates
in the Genmar/Evinrude Backwater Fishing School.
 We
are trying to catch snook. I am just one of three anglers
of an all-female crew, fishing with Liz Ginns from Power
and Motoryacht magazine along with our captain Merrily
Dunn. Bob Black, the school's media relations representative,
has affectionately named our boat the "Bimbo Barge."
No one among the three boats fishing with us that morning
has had a bite since we left the Tarpon Lodge docks
shortly after dawn. Captain Merrily has had enough of
the stillness and instructs me to haul up the anchor.
As the boat slowly idles backwards, to prevent disturbing
our classmates, Liz lets out a cry. While she continued
to cast during this time, she's now hooked a fish. Not
just any fish, however. She caught a snook!
 Captain
Merrily pulls out a camera as I rush over to grab the
net. Once we land the surprise catch, we pose for some
photos. I can't help but notice the astonished faces
of our male classmates in the other boats. Score one
for the "Bimbo Barge."
Three months earlier, at the Miami International Boat
Show, Gordon Houser, marketing manager for Genmar-owned
Wellcraft Marine, and Anthony Tamborrino, saltwater
fishing specialist for Evinrude Outboards, told Power
Boating Canada publisher Bill Taylor about a special
media event to introduce Genmar/Evinrude's new Backwater
Fishing School.
Designed to teach basic and advanced fly-fishing and
light-tackle sport fishing skills, the three-day, four-night
course takes place at the Tarpon Lodge, just outside
Fort Myers, Florida.
 To
go or not to go? It was a "tough" decision
to make. Being a dedicated journalist sometimes requires
personal "sacrifice." Before I knew it, I
was on a southbound flight, headed for a salt water
adventure - an experience I wouldn't soon forget.
Shortly after the plane landed in Fort Myers, I was
driven to the Tarpon Lodge by Ray Brown and his wife
Pam, owners of Classic Carriage, a car service school
attendees can hire for the 45-minute drive. School director
Captain Bob Edwards and Genmar's Gordon Houser personally
greeted me when I arrived.
 Tarpon
Lodge offered a panoramic view from Pine Island. Located
in a remote area, ideally suited for a fishing vacation,
its surrounding waters harbour schools of redfish, speckled
trout, kingfish, snook and, of course, tarpon and recently
rated one of the best places to fish in the US.
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(Read
full story in the magazine) (Page Top) |
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