Hagaman-Goodwin lead first FLW Redfish Series event

Sarasota reds bite better than expected

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Sunshine State lived up to its name today, gracing the first Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series event with warm sun and blue skies. The warming waters made the redfish a bit more cooperative than expected.

Leading the way in the first FLW Outdoors Redfish Series after day one are Jeff Hagaman of Lutz, Fla., and James Goodwin of Palm Harbor, Fla. The two anglers brought in a pair of redfish weighing 13 pounds, 14 ounces.

Each team is after a limit of two redfish daily, and each fish must fall within the 18- to 27-inch slot limit. The winning team will be determined by the heaviest total over both days of the tournament.

“We made a long run this morning, caught our fish quick and left them biting,” said Hagaman. “We probably could have stayed longer and caught some more, but we knew we had a good bag, and we did not want to take any chances on getting back.”

“We probably caught seven or eight fish,” Goodwin added. “So we did cull up some. But this is a dicey game: You want to catch as much weight as possible, but you also want to leave some for the next day.

“As long as the wind keeps blowing the way it was this morning and it doesn’t turn and blow into our area, we should be in good shape. There are still plenty of fish in the area.”

Team of Carter and Futch share second

Robert Carter of Plant City, Fla., and Loye Futch of Lakeland, Fla., are currently in second with 13 pounds, 11 ounces.

They spent a week practicing for this event but were unable to locate any dependable fish, so they fished new water this morning.

“We got real lucky today,” Carter said. “We had three bites in the first 15 minutes and we boated all three fish, but that was it for us – we never had another bite.”

“We just happened to get the right bites,” Futch said. “We stayed right in Sarasota Bay and went fishing like it was just another day of practice. We pulled out the map last night and just picked a shoreline to try. I don’t know if we can do it again tomorrow, but we’ll keep our fingers crossed.”

Bertha and Supina also second

2003 Inshore Fishing Association Team of the Year Sam Bertha Jr. of Bunnell, Fla., and Bob Supina of Palm Coast, Fla., made a long, rough boat ride 40 miles to the north this morning, but it was certainly worth the effort.

The team caught 13 pounds, 11 ounces to tie for second with Carter and Futch.

“These are fish we found in practice, and so far they’ve held true to the pattern,” said Bertha. “In practice, they would start biting at about noon, and sure enough, at noon today we had about a 40-minute flurry where we caught five.”

What excites Bertha most about the spot is that the fish have been predictable.

“I don’t know if it’s the tide, time of day or what, but they have been pretty consistent about their feeding patterns for the last several days,” he said. “Of course, this is tournament fishing and you never know what’s going to happen, but I feel pretty good about what we have found.”

Girle and Harris get quiet for fourth

The hometown team of Warren Girle of Longboat Key, Fla., and Billy Harris of Bradenton, Fla., are in fourth with 13 pounds, 6 ounces.

The team fished a mere 6 to 10 inches of water today and had to “stake out” to catch their fish.

“Staking out is where you tie down and let the fish come to you instead of moving the boat towards the fish,” Girle said. “We probably never moved the boat more than 20 or 30 yards all day.”

“The real key for us was being extremely quiet,” Harris said. “There were five other boats in this small cove, and I think they literally pushed the fish to us because we were motionless and quiet – it’s almost like a silence contest.”

“We never used a trolling motor at all,” Girle added. “We poled into the area and poled out. But tomorrow we are a later flight, and these other guys may beat us in there. If so, we’ll just have try some other things.”

Van Horn and Richardson in fifth

Ray Van Horn and C.A. Richardson, both of Tarpon Springs, Fla., are in fifth place with two redfish weighing 13 pounds, 5 ounces.

More locals sixth

Hometown anglers Geoffrey Page and Ed Zyak, both of Venice, Fla., hold down sixth with 13 pounds, 4 ounces thanks to an 8-pound redfish.

“That fish was a freak of nature,” said Page. “It was 24 inches long and weighed over 8 pounds.”

Page and Zyak fished a cove in North Sarasota Bay and caught 10 to 11 pounds within minutes of being in there. Getting the big bite was a bonus.

“I don’t think I can do that again tomorrow,” Page said. “We caught a lot of fish in that little place today, so I might make a long run to Pine Island if the weather is nice tomorrow.”

Redfish Series competition resumes tomorrow at 6:30 a.m. at the Centennial Park boat ramp in downtown Sarasota.