2006 Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Championship
Pensacola, Fla.
Final round, Saturday
Lucky charm returns a bit of magic … Heading into the final day of competition of the 2006 Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Championship, the team of Blair Wiggins and Tadd Vandemark had many things going for them. They had years of redfish angling experience, they were only 1 pound, 6 ounces out of first place, and they were riding a hot streak – finishing the most recent Redfish Series Western Division event at Lafitte, La., in third place the previous month. However, there was one thing they didn’t have – a tournament win in the FLW Redfish Series circuit. But while a tournament title had eluded the duo for quite some time, they also had one ace up their sleeve that no other team possessed – a true lucky charm. “I’ve been getting a lucky charm from my daughter for every tournament I’ve fished,” said Vandemark. “And it was this lucky charm, right here, that kept us going when things got tough this tournament. I haven’t taken it off since Friday, and I even slept with it on last night.” So, when Wiggins and Vandemark finally realized that their three-day total of 35 pounds, 1 ounce was good enough to claim the prestigious year-end championship trophy and their first-ever FLW Redfish Series win, Vandemark could barely contain his emotions. “It’s my daughter Rebecca’s birthday today, and I couldn’t be there to celebrate it with her. But hopefully this win is the best birthday present I could give her. I’m just the happiest guy you’ll ever meet right now. There are no words to really describe what I’m feeling right now. It’s definitely one of the happiest days of my life. I’m going to keep Rebecca’s lucky charm and hang it around that trophy when I bring it back home.”
Retirement? … Shortly before capturing his first-ever title, Blair Wiggins issued a somewhat surprising public announcement. “The FLW Redfish Series is the best redfish tournament trail I’ve ever fished,” he said. “But I’m taking next year off to spend more time with my wife.” Although Wiggins also hinted that the retirement could be permanent, Redfish Series tournament host Dan Grimes did his best to leave the door open. “You know Blair, no matter what you decide, there is always a place here for you.” So will Wiggins play the John Elway card and retire at the top of his game? Stay tuned.
Solitary confinement … The Castrol team of Chief Tauzin and Clark Jordan thought they had a great chance at taking home the title. However, the duo ran into the most difficult conditions they’d faced all week at completely the most inopportune moment, turning in the only one-fish stringer of the day. “We caught only one keeper fish all day,” said Tauzin of his solitary redfish. “It just flat out stunk out there. Our water dropped another foot from yesterday, and we didn’t really have any other options. I don’t know what else to say. It was definitely disappointing.” But while it was disappointing, the team still managed to walk away with a healthy check worth $10,000 for their fifth-place finish.
Another leader bites the dust … After the first day of competition, the team of Bo Johnson and Richard Hudec found themselves in the enviable position of leading the 100-team tournament field in the biggest redfish competition of their careers. However, by the time day two rolled around, Johnson and Hudec were packing their bags, heading for home in 52nd place. Unfortunately for day-two leaders John Eggers and John Henninger, both of Jacksonville, Fla., they fared little better when trying to hold down the lead. “All day long we struggled,” said Henninger. “But that’s just the way it goes. When you’re not on a ton of fish, you have to land everything that bites.” And that clearly didn’t happen. “We pulled up to our very first dock and I get a big bite, but the fish breaks off,” said Eggers. “But the saddest part is that we went back to that same dock later in the day and hooked another big fish, and that pulled off as well. Sometimes it’s just not meant to be.” In the end, the team settled for third place and a $16,000 payday.
Fishing pressure hurts … According to the team of Travis Tanner and Jason Hughey, it wasn’t the conditions that sabotaged their chances of a title so much as it was the local boater traffic. “I think one of the problems was that we’re fishing an area that got hit pretty hard with fishing pressure,” said Hughey. “There were at least five or six boats in our area, and I think that hurt us.” Tanner said that their catches seemed to dry up as well. “It definitely wasn’t as good as it has been,” he said. “On the first day we went from 20 to 25 keepers to about eight keepers yesterday to five or six today. But we fished hard, did our best and didn’t lose any fish. You can’t hope for much better than that.”
Quick numbers:
0: Total number of Redfish Series wins for the team of Wiggins-Vandemark before today’s championship finals.
35-7: Total weight, in pounds and ounces, of redfish caught by first-place team over three days of competition.
263: Total number of redfish caught over three days of Redfish Series Championship action.
1,195-12: Total weight, in pounds and ounces, of redfish caught during entire duration of Redfish Series Championship.
100: Percentage of fish released alive throughout entire three-day competition.
100: Total prize money, in thousands of dollars, awarded to first-place team of Wiggins-Vandemark during finals.
Sound bites:
“Our strategy was to stick to the quality fish that were there. We didn’t get perfect fish today, but we got really close. We basically swung for the fences. I don’t fish for second place – FLW Redfish Series pro Kris Walter, talking about his team’s strategy heading into the finals. Walter and partner Danny Winters ultimately finished in second place, taking home a check for $15,000.
“The East took a real beating last year, and we really wanted to make a good showing this year – FLW Redfish Series pro Jason Hughey, commenting on the Eastern Division’s extra motivation heading into the 2006 FLW Redfish Series Championship.
“I’ve traveled about 120 days tournament fishing this year, and my rear end has about 40,000 miles on it.” – Winning team member Vandemark on his hardcore travel schedule for the 2006 fishing season.
“We tried to act cool out there in front of the TV cameras, but inside we’re really feeling the pressure.” – Second-place team member Walter on what it’s like fishing for a $100,000 top prize.
“Everybody else had multiple areas with fish in them. But for us, it was like an Easter egg hunt. We just kept going from dock to dock hoping to find something,” – Third-place team member Henninger on the difficulties of employing a `run-and-gun’ strategy with $100,000 on the line.