Two of fishing’s legendary anglers, Flip Pallot and Chico Fernandez will make a rare public appearance together at the upcoming Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show.
Hell’s Bay Boatworks will host the world class fishermen on Friday and Saturday, October 29 & 30, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day at its booth #2040 in the convention center. Both men will be available for autographs, photo opportunities and to talk fishing.
Fernandez’s highly acclaimed book “Fly Fishing for Bonefish” continues to receive extensive praise as do his TV appearances, fishing lectures and casting seminars. Fellow fly fisherman Pallot was the long time host and producer of the Walker’s Cay Chronicles on ESPN. Both men are highly respected and sought after consultants in the marine and fishing industries.
Enter to win a Hell’s Bay Waterman in Bonefish & Tarpon Trust contest
The 11-year old Titusville, Fla., builder of custom shallow-water performance skiffs (from 12′ 9″ to 18′ 6″) will showcase three of its 10 versatile and lightweight models at the show. They’ll include the Neptune, the Marquesa and a Waterman.
A Lodge Edition model of the Waterman is also prominent as the grand prize complete with a trailer and a donated Yamaha outboard in the 2010 Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT) membership sweepstates which ends on Dec. 31 of this year. The final grand prize drawing will be held in January 2011.
Contest entrants can also go to the tarbone.org website and click on “Sweepstakes” tab for instructions on how to enter the drawing. Hell’s Bay owner Chris Peterson, a BTT board member, and his wife Wendi donated the boat and are also working with the BTT on a project to fund tarpon satellite tagging research in the Gulf of Mexico, the site of the BP Oil Disaster.
“Dirty Fish” Shirts benefiting BTT tarpon tagging program at the show
To help in the study of the massive oil spill’s impact on the migration and spawning of tarpon in the Gulf, Wendi Peterson designed a shirt with a message that says “Nobody likes a dirty fish.” The shirt features tarpon artwork from Harry Stoiber with $15 from each shirt going directly to BTT to fund the tagging research.
Marine conservation projects are nothing new to the Hell’s Bay Boatworks’ owners who are passionate about giving back tothe sport of fishing by supporting non-profit organizations that value the longevity of the sport. Earlier this year the International Game Fish Association honored the couple with the IGFA Conservation Award for Industry Partners. The Petersons also support the Coastal Conservation Association, the FishStock weekend in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., numerous Redbone tournaments for cystic fibrosis research, the retrieval of abandoned ghost crab traps from inshore waters and have built a huge aerated tank which is loaned to fishing events in Southern coastal states for the safe release of tournament fish.
For more on Hell’s Bay visit its hellsbayboatworks website for a look at all 10 models, its numerous special events and upcoming promotions.
Hell’s Bay Boatworks is located at 1520 Chaffee Drive in Titusville. To contact Peterson e-mail [email protected] or by phone at 321-383-8223.