CLEARWATER, Fla. – One of the exciting aspects of the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series is that on any given day, anything can happen. Just ask John Henninger and John Eggers of Jacksonville, Fla.
Saturday morning, when the two anglers left the dock, they were in fourth place, over 4 pounds off the lead.
Then, after a crazy day of shifting winds and weekend boat traffic that caused two of the leading teams to zero on the final day, Henninger and Eggers found themselves on top of the heap, victorious in Clearwater with over a 3-pound margin of victory.
“This is a dream come true for us,” said an elated Henninger after he and Eggers weighed in two redfish for 13 pounds, 4 ounces to win with a three-day total of 37 pounds, 1 
ounce. “We’ve been fishing redfish tournaments for seven or eight years waiting for this day to happen.”
Since the team was contingency qualified through Ranger and Yamaha, they secured $50,000 for their win.
Henninger and Eggers’ strategy for the week involved fishing a small group of redfish in the Long Bar area near Sarasota, Fla.
“Greg Watts gave me some words of wisdom long ago,” Henninger said. “He said don’t worry about the giant schools everyone else is fishing, just find a small group of fish that no one else is fishing and concentrate on those.”
“And that’s exactly what we did,” Eggers added. “There were a lot of bigger schools in the Long Bar area, but we concentrated on one little pack that had about 15 or 20 good slot fish in it, and we had them to ourselves.”
The fish were relating to a small trough in the bar that was about 30 yards long and mottled with light brown spots.
“The actual school had more redfish in it,” Eggers continued. “But they were all small. There was one group of bigger ones in there with the small ones.”
The team relied on Berkley Gulp 4-inch shrimp on what they call the “John-n-John rig,” which features a Mustad Ultra-lock weighted hook with a “Hitchhiker” screw-in keeper fastened to the hook eye.
“The Mustad comes with a keeper, but I take it off and put a Hitchhiker in its place,” Eggers explained. “Then we take a 4-inch Gulp, bite the tail off and screw the shrimp onto the keeper; it helps cast it farther.”
All week, the team kept the wind to their backs, drifting up to their key areas, Power Poling down and firing long casts, propelled by the wind, to hit their targeted trough.
“This morning, we caught two slot fish back to back,” Henninger said. “That got us settled down and feeling good. Then we worked into the trough until we found that pack of bigger reds, and we began culling up from there. It was just a perfect day.”
Chivases runners-up
This Redfish Series Eastern Division event saw an impressive display of youthful fishing talent by young brothers Cody Chivas and Kyle Chivas of Belleair Bluffs, Fla.
Despite their ages, 17-year-old Cody and 16-year-old Kyle showed amazing focus and poise as they
battled their way up through the field all week with consistent limits.
They started in fifth place this morning, and after weighing two redfish for 11 pounds, 3 ounces on the final day, they jumped to second place with a three-day total of 34 pounds.
The teenagers collected $9,744 for their finish, which their proud father, Frank, quickly confiscated for investment in future tournaments.
The Chivas brothers are well-known young anglers in the Clearwater, Fla., area, and they fished their home waters all week.
“We never went farther than about three miles from the launch,” Cody Chivas noted. “Fishing can be tough in this area, but we’re familiar with it. We know if you can get two or three slot fish a day, you’re going to be doing well. So that was our plan: Stay close and maximize fishing time.”
“We used gold spoons on the flats in the morning, and we fished docks in about 8 feet of water in the afternoon,” Kyle added. “Our dock-fishing bait was a gold Exude Dart with a 1/2-ounce jighead.”
Sapps hold on to third
Holding ground in third place with one redfish weighing 5 pounds, 10 ounces was the husband-wife team of Troy and Jill Sapp of Odessa, Fla. They had a three-day total of 31 pounds, 7 ounces and collected $3,934.
The Sapps fished most the week in the Tarpon Springs area, but today they were overcome by the three B’s.
“That’s birds, boats and bottlenose dolphins,” Troy Sapp said. “And they all add up to bad when you’re trying to sneak up on a school of redfish.”
“Not to mention trout, though that doesn’t start with a B,” Jill Sapp added. “For a while, every cast we made into the hole produced a nice-size trout.”
“Overall it was a great fishing day,” said Troy, who guides in the area. “If I had a charter today, my customers would have been tickled because we caught a bunch of fish – including a lot of trout and smaller reds.”
The Sapps also used Berkley Gulp products. The 5-inch jerkshad was their best lure, teamed with a weightless 5/0 offset worm hook.”
“Going weightless was key,” Troy said. “The lure has a much softer presentation on those spooky reds. And we had to keep the wind to our backs to get extra distance on the weightless baits.”
Johnson-Hudec wind up fourth
When the final weigh-in began at the Clearwater, Fla., Wal-Mart, one team was missing: Bo Johnson of Cape Coral, Fla., and Richard Hudec of Naples, Fla.
The team was safe and later made an appearance on stage with no fish, but 
their long-run plan failed them on the last day.
Making light of being late, Hudec apologized to the Fox Sports Net camera crews covering the event.
“I’m sorry, but I think we broke your camera man today,” he joked of camera operator Mike Edwards, who boldly endured the long ride to Pine Island Sound and back with Johnson and Hudec. Actually, Edwards was unharmed in the journey.
Johnson was candid about the risks he and team partner Hudec assume with their long-range tournament strategy.
“Today had nothing to do with breaking down, running out of gas, running aground, getting lost or any of the other tragedies that have bitten me in the past,” Johnson joked. “Mechanically, everything was flawless. We got down to our best spot at about 9:20 this morning, and by then the local traffic had already gotten to it. We caught a 2-pounder and kept pushing for bigger ones until we ran out of time. Once it got to be about noon, I knew we were toast.
“This is what happens with long runs, and I don’t regret it one bit. I’d do it the same way tomorrow. Those people who were fishing down there have just as much of a right to be there as I do. I’m not blaming them one bit. Those recreational anglers are the reason we have a fishing industry, so in a way, I’m thankful for them.”
As a consolation for a lot of sore muscles and aching backs, Johnson and Hudec collected $4,496.
Mulletts take fifth
Ken Mullett and Jeff Mullett, cousins from Sarasota, Fla., also zeroed Saturday and finished the tournament in fifth place, which was worth $3,058.
The team, having started the day in second, was frustrated with not being able to capitalize on the shifting leaderboard.
“I mean, we’re tickled with a top-five, but agonized by knowing that another 11 pounds would have put us over the top,” said Jeff Mullett.
The team spent the week fishing in the Anclote River area using a Berkley Gulp 3-inch shrimp on a 2/0 Mustad Ultra-Lock weighted hook.
“Our water was high and stained today, and we really don’t know why,” Ken Mullett said. “All week we’ve been fishing the low-tide window, and for some reason today, the tide never dropped. It was actually coming in when it was supposed to be going out. The water was easily a foot higher, and we couldn’t see any of our fish.”