TIERRA VERDE, Fla. – With the exceptional growth of professional redfishing over the last several years, more and more events have given anglers an opportunity to showcase their knowledge, skills and talents across a myriad of venues and conditions.
As a result, superstar teams are starting to emerge. One of the teams proving that winning on the professional tours is more about strategy and skill rather than luck is the redfish team of Scott Guthrie of Jacksonville, Fla., and Rick Murphy of Homestead, Fla.
In April 2005, Guthrie and Murphy won the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Eastern event out of Mayport, Fla. In August 2005, the team captured a Redfish Cup event in Lake Charles, La. And today, the Florida team enters the final day of the first Redfish Series Eastern event of 2006 with a 14-ounce lead over another proven team, the Watts brothers of Bryan and Greg.
So what makes Guthrie and Murphy so formidable?
“Rick’s been doing this for a long time,” Guthrie said. “He’s the team leader and a master strategist. In any given situation, he can observe fish and know where the boat needs to be for the best opportunities to catch those fish. I may not always agree, but I let him do his thing because he is usually right on.
“And it’s not all about us. Some of it, too, can be attributed to the growth of the sport. Anyone out here can win a one-day tournament. But when you start having multiple-day events and multiple tournament series and circuits over changing conditions and venues, then the cream is going to rise to the top. Those that really know redfish behavior are going to prevail.”
“Which is why they’re here, they’re here and they’re here,” interjected Murphy, pointing 
to the teams of Watts and Watts, Page and Zyak, and Girle and Harris. “When conditions change, these guys know how to change with the fish.”
Guthrie and Murphy also contend that team chemistry is a major component of their success.
“We’ve fished together enough that we can read each other’s body language,” Murphy said. “When I’m poling Scott across a flat, I know when to stop just by watching his reaction to what he’s seeing – he’s like a dog on point. I can tell when he has a lot of confidence in what we’re doing and when he doesn’t. All that is critical. I learned from years of guiding that all persons in the party must have confidence in what you’re doing; it sets up a collective energy for the boat, and that makes good things happen. It’s no different out here.”
Today’s final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 3501 34th St. S. in St. Petersburg, Fla., starting at 4 p.m.
Saturday’s conditions
Sunrise: 7:02 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 66 degrees
Expected high temperature: 78 degrees
Water temperature: 70-75 degrees
Forecasted winds: SSE at 10-20 mph
Day’s outlook: sunny, warm and breezy