September 2nd - Capt. David Rieumont: T.O.F.

Typically, we like to keep things local here with the Nature Coast Lady Anglers.  That's why all of our previous guest speakers have been names that most of our crew were familiar with, but every now and then we like to shake things up a bit, so for the month of September we brought in a Capt. who's base camp is a few counties south of us.  Capt. David Rieumont is very  well known and respected.  He has a fantastic reputation in the fishing arena in and around the Tampa Bay area,  He is also co-owner and President of a fairly new fishing education website called theonlinefisherman.com  and since the Tampa Bay area is a haven for Snook, which happened to be our topic for September, we could think of no better person to come teach us about that elusive species than Capt. David.  We're sure he knows a thing or two and we coudn't have been more tickled that he accepted our invitation.

The Capt. is clearly comfortable in front of an audience whether it's a group of 5, 50, or 500.  He casually introduced himself as "David" and began by holding up an old-fashioned white and red bobber for everyone to see.  He tossed it in the air several times as he described the inspiration behind theonlinefisherman.com website and why they selected the common bobber as the logo.

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You know, there are so many extreme fishing logos out there that give the impression that you've got have an aggressive nature to be a real fisherman.  These rough-neck logos attract and appeal to these kinds of "go-get-'em, tiger" anglers and that's all fine and good.  But the common red and white bobber pictured above that you were introduced to by maybe your grandfather represents something more - or better yet - something 'less', something that's hard to find these days....the simple joy of simply fishing.  

This humble little two-toned piece of plastic represents the simplicity of fishing.  It's the undisputed universal symbol for fishing tackle and it's recognized almost anywhere you go, even in Europe.  In fact, the bobber, in all  the various new materials, shapes and colors available these days is still, by far, the number one piece of fishing tackle sold.  Think about this:

Do you remember the very first time you awkwardly cast your line out in the water with a piece of bait on the hook and a bobber secured to it?  Do you remember staring at it as it floated on the water top?  The jolt of excitement you felt when you saw it pop under water for a split second?  Then it went under again, all the way this time,  and your line got tight?  That's the moment when you held the rod a little tighter and you officially became "hooked" on fishing.  That's the power one tiny little  iconic bobber has to change your opinion of fishing.  This little thing has probably been responsible for turning more people onto the sport of fishing than any other piece to tackle known to man, which is why it is the perfect representation for theonlinefisherman.com

It is the perfect 'dot' in the .com.