Fernandina finale

Final regular-season event of Redfish Series Eastern Division promises to be different

FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. – For many, the zenith of redfishing is to be staked down in bathtub-deep water on a vast flat, watching fat, lazy redfish across a mottled mix of sand and grass.

And for the first three events of the 2006 Redfish Series Eastern Division schedule, many teams got to do just that.

But for the fourth and final event out of Fernandina Beach on Florida’s Atlantic coast, it’s a whole different ballgame.

Fishing for redfish on this part of the East Coast is different due to the terrain and tides. Instead of expansive flats of sand and turtle grass with little tidal change, Amelia Island and Nassau Sound are riddled with an intricate network of tidal creeks and rivers connected by the Intracoastal Waterway.

Add to that a 5-foot tide that fluctuates twice a day, and the result is a yo-yoing labyrinth of water which favors local anglers.

The last time the Redfish Series visited this area in April 2005 out of Mayport, the top five teams were all from the Jacksonville, Fla., area.

The winners of that event, Rick Murphy of Homestead, Fla., and Scott Guthrie of Jacksonville, relied on Guthrie’s homegrown knowledge to win.

“It’s going to be a real similar tournament, in that the low tides are in the morning,” Guthrie said. “Except this year the tides will be even lower because of the full moon.”

With a 5-foot tidal flush, the tidal element is so dynamic, the water level changes approximately 3 inches every 15 minutes.

“You can get stranded here in a matter of minutes, and before you know it, your boat will be on dry land,” Guthrie offered.

And in the same way, redfish get stranded too, in tidal ditches and pools, making them easy targets for redfish anglers, but only for a very short period of time.

“The low tide here is the premium window,” Guthrie explained. “The low tide this morning is about 5 o’ clock, and the tournament blasts off at 6. That’s going to give everyone about two hours to capitalize on the best tidal window. Once the tide comes in and gets flush with the grass, the reds will spread out and catching them will be much more difficult. I’m betting the guys that do good in this tournament will have their fish by 9:30 each morning.”

Since this is the last Redfish Series event in the Eastern Division, also at stake is the Eastern Division points title and a last chance to qualify, by finishing the season in the top 50, for the Redfish Series Championship to be held in Pensacola, Fla., in October.

Currently, there is a tie in the points for team-of-the-year honors between the teams of Andrew Bostick-Mark Sepe and Daniel Benson-Steven Howie, both with 420 points.

Logistics

Anglers will take off at 6 a.m. Eastern time each day from Fernandina Harbor Marina. Weigh-ins on day one and day two will be held at the marina beginning at 2 p.m. Day three’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 1757 S. 14th St. in Fernandina Beach starting at 4 p.m.

The full field will compete Thursday and Friday, and the top five teams, based on heaviest accumulated weight from the first two days, will compete on Saturday. Two redfish may be weighed in per team, per day. The winning team will be determined by the heaviest combined weight from Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Thursday’s conditions

Sunrise: 6:26

Temperature at takeoff: 80 degrees

Water temperature: 85 degrees

Expected high temperature: 88 degrees

Wind: SE at 10-20 mph

Tides: low – 5:01 a.m.; high – 12:14 p.m.

Day’s outlook: sunny, breezy and hot