Team Lloyd nets 17-pound stringer to grab Redfish Series lead

Texas natives leapfrog fourteen teams to capture pole position heading into Saturday’s finals

COCODRIE, La. – Sitting in 15th place heading into Friday’s Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series competition, James and John Lloyd knew that they’d have to come up with arguably the biggest stringer of the tournament to have any chance at all at qualifying for the finals. Well today, they did just that. Using a whopping 16-pound, 15-ounce stringer, the duo skyrocketed up the standings, crashed the party atop the leaderboard and secured first place overall in the process.

“Our goal today was to make 16 pounds or better,” said John Lloyd, of Pasadena, Texas. “I was hoping for 17 pounds and we wound up just one ounce short of that. So, basically, it couldn’t have gone any better. It’s been a hard year overall. But everything really came together for us as a team the last two days. It feels great.”

So what changed?

“In the past, we just didn’t fish for the right fish,” said Jimmy Lloyd of Deer Park, Texas. “We finally stopped settling for good fish are started looking for great fish.”

The duo, who fished a combination of Berkley Gulp Shrimp and Berkley Gulp Pogies, targeted redfish along grasslines in 2 to 3 feet of water to land what amounts to the biggest stringer of the entire tournament to date. With the help of today’s catch, the team managed to put together a healthy two-day total weighing in at 32 pounds.

“The key for us today was that the tide was a little bit lower and it pushed the fish all into one area,” said John Lloyd. “I also have to give a huge amount of credit to Jimmy. He was on fire today. He was sightfishing and when the fish would come by, he’d just pick them off. We’re actually done fishing today at about 9 a.m.”

“We really feel good about today,” said Jimmy Lloyd. “We actually released some pretty good fish as well.”

Unlike many teams that made runs of 100 miles or more, the Lloyd brothers secured an area approximately 35 miles “as the crow flies” from the marina.

“And we’re going to do the exact same thing tomorrow,” said Jimmy Lloyd. “We’re going to live or die there in the finals.”

VanDemark-Shaw closer to repeat

The powerhouse team of Tadd VanDemark and Kevin Shaw continued to move up the standings as well, carefully stalking the leaderboard in their quest for back-to-back Redfish Series Western Division titles.

Using a two-day catch of 31 pounds, 5 ounces, VanDemark and Shaw ultimately grabbed possession of second place (via a tiebreaker) and kept their chances alive for yet another tournament title.

“I’m happy, very, very happy,” said VanDemark, who hails from Key Largo, Fla. “We wanted to keep our overall lead in the (2007 Western Division) Redfish Series standings and we’ve pretty much guaranteed that. And back-to-back titles would be pretty nice as well.”

However, after cruising to an easy victory at the Redfish Series event at Port Aransas, Texas, event last month, VanDemark and Shaw have faced a little harder road to the finals this event.

“It was tough out there today,” said VanDemark. “The tide was a lot different than what we’ve been accustomed to. We’re on a big school of fish but they moved today. Luckily we knew the area pretty well and were able to find them. And even then, we had a tough time at first making them bite.”

Not surprisingly, the team is shooting for nothing less than a tournament title in tomorrow’s competition.

“We put a lot of pressure on ourselves,” said VanDemark. “But we’ve also have a lot of knowledge between the two of us. Yesterday when I wasn’t feeling well, Kevin really carried us. And I’m hopeful heading into tomorrow. We’re going right back to our honey hole. Then, we’ll see what happens.”

Chagnard-Adams in position for title run

Bolstered by a two-day catch of 31 pounds, 5 ounces, the team of Ray Chagnard and Eddie Adams found themselves just 11 ounces out of first place by the end of competition on Friday.

“it was a little tough out there but I feel pretty good about where we’re at,” said Adams. “There are plenty of fish at our spot. But we’re making a long run and we only have about three hours to fish.”

Like all competitors who are traveling far from the marina, the team must make a calculated decision as to what gives them the best chance to win in the finals. However, those decisions are never easy, especially with $50,000 on the line.

“We found a good school of fish but it’s really a crapshoot as to what you’re going to catch,” said Adams, whose team is making a 110-mile one-way run to the Delacroix, La., area. “You could catch an 8-pounder but you could just as easily catch a bunch of 6-pounders. It really is a gamble. And right now, I’m not sure if it’s worth going back there or not.”

Father-and-son team qualify for finals

Using a catch of 30 pounds, 15 ounces, the father-son team of John and Chris Henninger, both of Jacksonville, Fla., finished the day in fourth place overall. And they couldn’t have been happier.

“To make the finals and to do this with my son, it doesn’t get any better than this,” said John Henninger.

Using a combination of Berkley Gulp Shrimp and Berkley Gulp Pogies to land the majority of their catch, the team has been making an 80-mile run each day to an area that Henninger argues is stocked with fish.

“The area that we’re fishing, we could have caught 40 fish if we weren’t being so picky,” said John Henninger, who also fishes the Redfish Series Eastern Division. “It’s really amazing here. In the East, if you so much as step wrong, all of the fish swim away. But here, the fishing is just remarkable.”

DuFour-Bourgeois grab last spot in finals

Day-one leaders Todd DuFour and Alden Bourgeois didn’t have the day they were hoping for. But in the end, after plenty of anxious moments during today’s weigh-in, everything worked out.

“We really had to sweat out this weigh-in today,” said Bourgeois, whose team used a total catch of 30 pounds, 11 ounce to eke its way into the finals in fifth place. “We tried all day to get that second kicker fish but we never could. We’re really nervous heading back in today.”

“Thank God we had a great day yesterday,” said DuFour. “I just missed too many fish today. But I guess every team can say that. I’m just happy we made the finals. Overall, I really can’t complain.”

Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series action continues during tomorrow’s takeoff, scheduled to take place at 6 a.m. at Coco Marina located at 106 Pier 56 in Cocodrie, La.