Learn the Basics with Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing! The No Yelling School of Fishing

Participants Learn Boating Skill Basics during a Ladies, Let's Go Fishing! Seminar
Participants Learn Boating Skill Basics during a Ladies, Let's Go Fishing! Seminar
Participants Learn Boating Skill Basics during a Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing! Seminar

Ever want to properly bait a hook? Dock a boat? Cast a net? Women aspiring to become expert anglers can learn fishing basics with Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing! seminars, recognized as “The No Yelling School of Fishing.”

Asking my father or former husband to teach me something they were experts in would be, let’s say, “intense.” Although I had some fishing under my belt during my days living in Everglades National Park, I attended a Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing! seminar in the Florida Keys a few years ago and picked up useful tips and tricks I didn’t know I needed out on the water. Best of all, the school lived up to the promise of learning with patience and without intimidation and yelling from men.

Ladies, Let's Go Fishing! Founder Betty Bauman Demonstrates Fish Fighting Techniques
Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing! Founder Betty Bauman Demonstrates Fish Fighting Techniques

Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing!: The Basics
Weekend seminars offer educational sessions and hands-on activities. The next day is an opportunity to put skills to work out on the water with area saltwater fishing guides. Mini-seminars are an afternoon of fishing basics with an opportunity to fish the next day.

Many women can relate to the experience of fishing with their father, husband, boyfriend, or other male companion, and being yelled at for an innocent misstep. Perhaps these women didn’t set the hook properly or threw the anchor off the boat without the line tied to the boat.

Betty Bauman, director of Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing! (LLGF), founded the organization in 1997 to offer women the opportunity to learn how to fish without the yelling or intimidation of men. In addition to the saltwater fishing seminars, there is an LLGF chapter in Fort Lauderdale which offers women the opportunity to enhance their fishing skills, network with other women anglers, and fish.

Sandy Moret of Florida Keys Outfitters, Shows Flies for Fly Fishing
Sandy Moret of Florida Keys Outfitters, Shows Flies for Fly Fishing

Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing!: What to Expect
Fishing basics are taught by female and male fishing captains. Skills taught include why and how to vent a fish, chumming, what drag is and when to use it, how to hold a rod with a spinning reel, and the difference between inshore and deep sea fishing. The intimate, friendly format allows participants to ask any question and no question is too small or dumb.

The hands-on portion of the program includes different skill stations allow women anglers to practice various fishing techniques. Outside, participants learn and practice boat handling, fly casting, trailering techniques, and net casting. Inside, ladies learn more skills like how to rig ballyhoo (which is a bait fish and a very messy task), knot tying, and how to de-hook a fish.

Angling skills are put to work on Sunday when Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing! participants join fishing guides for a half-day of angling. Filleting skills are taught once the catch is returned to shore, if the women choose to keep their fish. The Sunday fishing fee is in addition to the seminar fee.

Seminar Attendees Leave with a Goody Bag Filled with Fishing Essentials
Seminar Attendees Leave with a Goody Bag Filled with Fishing Essentials

Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing!: Who Should Attend?
Any woman interested in saltwater fishing will appreciate and benefit from attending the seminar and it’s open to non-Florida residents, too. Attendees range from novice anglers through experienced fisherwomen. Women can attend solo or with friends or family members. Male guests are welcome to attend evening events.

Learn the Basics of Handling a Boat
Learn the Basics of Handling a Boat

Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing!: Schedule
The educational weekend makes an ideal girlfriend getaway. Visit the website for Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing! for registration information.

The only yelling heard during a Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing! seminar is out on the water from excitement of landing a fish. Who’s in?

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Jenn

Jennifer A. Huber is an award-winning travel and outdoor blogger and writer in Southwest Florida. Originally from Buffalo, N.Y., a hiking trail led her to a career path in the tourism industry for more than 30 years. She spent a decade with a park management company in Yellowstone, Death Valley, and Everglades National Parks. She founded the travel blog, SoloTravelGirl.com with the goal of inspiring others to travel alone, not lonely. The unexpected death of her former husband in 2008 reminded her how short life is. His passing was a catalyst for sharing her experiences with the goal of inspiring and empowering others to travel solo. Jennifer holds a Travel Marketing Professional certification from the Southeast Tourism Society, is a certified food judge, member of the NASA Social community, and alum of the FBI Citizens Academy. When not traveling, she is either in the kitchen, practicing her photography skills, or road tripping with her dog, Radcliff.

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