2006 Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Championship
Pensacola, Fla.
Opening round, Friday
Change is good … After finishing the first day of competition in 11th place, John Henninger and John Eggers, both of Jacksonville, Fla., realized that they had to step up their game to qualify for the finals. In the end, the team accomplished the goal – but in the most unlikely fashion. “We wound up doing exactly the opposite of what we did yesterday,” said Eggers. “The day before, we ran all the way to Mississippi, but the weather was way too rough to do that again today. The conditions were just terrible, so we decided to stay a lot closer to the marina. We ran around a bit, and then we decided to fish some docks no more than five miles from (weigh-in). Right away we hooked a fish that weighed in at about 8 pounds. And then it ran under the dock and around five different pilings. When we finally landed it, we exchanged a couple of high-fives.” However, things didn’t get much easier from there. “After that, it took us the rest of the day (2:30 p.m.) to catch our second legal fish. Honestly, we didn’t think we’d do anything today because the only fish we could count on were in Mississippi. So we’re definitely happy we changed to a dock plan.” The change of plans not only landed the team in the finals, but also in first place with a total two-day catch of 23 pounds, 11 ounces.
Chief not in charge … The way Team Castrol member Chief Tauzin tells it, the main reason his team squeaked into the top five, qualifying for FLW Redfish Series Championship finals, by a mere 6 ounces had everything to do with the prowess of fishing partner Clark Jordan. “My partner put on a clinic today,” said Tauzin. “As a team we caught 10 keepers today, but honestly, I didn’t catch a single one of them. It’s funny. When my partner catches most of the fish, we usually do really well in tournaments. But when I catch the majority of the fish, we don’t seem to do quite as well. But I guess that’s why these are team events.” Tauzin admitted that the rough weather and long drive to the tournament really hurt the team’s pre-fishing preparations. “We only prefished two days in Mississippi and Alabama, and having to come all the way to Texas, we didn’t have a lot of time to figure things out. But today we just got the right bites. We got lucky.” Tauzin said that the team ran approximately 60 miles each way, landing the majority of its catch using a 3-inch Berkley Gulp bait in a New Penny color.
Western anglers revel in team award … After a year of grinding it out in the FLW Redfish Series, the Folgers angling team of Todd Adams and Tommy Ramzinsky finally got what they were looking for – the coveted 2006 Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Western Division Team of the Year trophy. “This was one of our main goals this year. We really wanted it badly,” said Adams. “It’s a pretty prestigious award. And to be considered the best angling team over the course of an entire year is just fantastic.” Ramzinsky, who finished in ninth place in the team standings along with Adams in 2005, agreed. “It’s a big accomplishment, and we’re really proud of it.”
Eastern anglers prove rookie season worthy of top honor … Although Adams-Ramzinsky is arguably the top FLW Redfish Series team in the history of the circuit (finishing in the top 10 in seven of its first eight tournaments), the pairing of Steven Howie and Daniel Benson could prove to be just as potent in the long run. In their very first year of fishing competitive redfish tournaments together, the team amassed enough points to qualify for the 2006 Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Eastern Division Team of the Year award – a remarkably impressive accomplishment to say the least. “We’ve been really good friends since high school, and we both fish, so we finally decided this year to put a team together,” said Howie. “Daniel has been fishing competitive tournaments for six years, but this is my first. And our main goal this year was to weigh in two fish every day at every tournament, and that’s exactly what we did.” As a result, the duo walked away with one of the most prestigious awards in redfishing. “To know we’ve been consistent all year long is a big, big honor. We’ve grown up fishing together, and we know how each other thinks. It’s just a great combination.”
Greatest comeback, almost … After languishing in 46th place after day one, Scott Hughes and Mike Laramy knew something drastic had to change in order to make a run at the finals. So, as any good angling team would do, they swung for the proverbial fences – and just missed hitting it out of the ballpark. “It would have been the biggest comeback ever,” said Laramy. “Coming all the way back from 46th place to fifth, that would have been amazing. We’re on good fish in practice, but when we went back to that spot on the first day of competition, the fish just weren’t there. So we went for broke today. We knew we needed a miracle, and it almost worked out. It was exciting to say the least.” In the end, the team turned in the biggest stringer of the tournament – a 13-pound, 10-ounce limit – but it was only enough to garner sixth place overall.
Quick numbers:
91: Total number of teams fishing at this week’s Redfish Series event at Pensacola.
64: Total number of teams that weighed in on the second day of competition.
528-7: Total weight, in pounds and ounces, of redfish caught during the second day of competition.
100: Percentage of fish released alive during the second day of competition.
100: Total prize money, in thousands of dollars, to be awarded to the first-place team during Pensacola event.
113: Total redfish caught during Friday’s action.
Sound bites:
“You fish enough times when things go wrong, and when things go right, it feels like a miracle.” – Eggers, commenting on his team’s magical first-place finish in today’s competition.
“We knew we were in the hunt today, but we really couldn’t get anything going until we changed to a dock plan.” – Eggers, talking about the pattern change that potentially changed the course of history of the 2006 FLW Redfish Series Championship.
“It’s an easy changeover. You use a lot of the same baits and a lot of the same techniques. The only difference is when you hook a redfish, you don’t just yank it into the boat.” – FLW Redfish Series pro David Walker, on making the transition from bass fishing to the redfish circuit.
“It’s a little harder to fish out East because there is a lot more fishing pressure. But for the most part, fishing is pretty much the same out West and out East. We feel confident pretty much wherever we go.” – Ramzinsky, on whether his Texas-based, 2005 FLW Redfish Series Championship team was at a slight disadvantage having to come out East to defend its title.
Day three of Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Championship action at Pensacola, Fla., continues at Saturday’s takeoff, scheduled to take place at 7 a.m. CDT at Shoreline Park, South 800 Shoreline Park, Gulf Breeze, Fla.