Locked up in Lafitte

Two top teams stand even at 31-0; 12 ounces separates top five

LAFITTE, La. – You might say it’s neck and neck going into turn four: After day two of the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series in Lafitte, La., two teams share the top spot with a two-day total of 31 pounds, even.

Allen Welch of Picayune, Miss., and Robert Warren of Belle Chase, Miss., share the lead with Brett Phillips and Mike Patterson of Rockport, Texas. But, technically, Welch and Warren have the lead by tie-breaker, which is determined by the biggest one-day stringer.

And when it comes to the biggest one-day stringer, make no mistake about, Welch and Warren take the cake.

Today, Welch and Warren weighed in two redfish for 16 pounds, 12 ounces, the biggest limit of the tournament. Both anglers are charter guides in the Venice, La., area, so it comes as no surprise that’s where the team is fishing.

“We’re actually fishing on the Gulf side,” Welch said. “The other day I saw a shrimp boat loading its nets pretty close in, and that tipped me off to a bait migration going on with the warming water. I moved into a little pocket in the shoreline right off the Gulf and found a ton of bait – mullet and shrimp – moving into the area. And the redfish in there are just gorging themselves with bait.”

Welch described the water as being 2 1/2 feet deep and off-colored.

“We started the day throwing a Mann’s Baby 1-Minus and then switched to Gulp shrimp. We probably caught 35 fish today,” he added.

Phillips-Patterson second

After bringing in weights of 15-1 on day one and 15-15 on day two, Phillips and Patterson are as good as being in the lead going into day three with a two-day total of 31 pounds, even.

“We got a little smarter today,” Patterson said of his team’s fishing. “We had such a hard time getting the slot fish to eat yesterday, that we decided to back way off today and never let the fish see us. Instead of getting up there and looking at them, we made long casts to where we know the fish are located and it worked. We caught a lot more slot fish today.”

The team is relying on 1/8-ounce Bass Assassin screw-lock jigheads with 3-inch Bass Assassin Slurp paddle-tail shads.

“We’re actually swimming and ripping the Slurp pretty hard, trying to get the fish to react on it,” Patterson added.

Culpeppers move to third

Staking out third place with a two-day total of 30 pounds, 13 ounces are the Culpepper brothers, Jonathan and Kris, from Houston.

The Culpeppers are making a 115-mile run to the west of Cocodrie, La., to catch their fish.

“We’re not sight-fishing,” Kris Culpepper said. “And in a way, it’s killing us, because that’s what we like to do, but the water is too dirty to sight-fish. We’re not used to making a long run to fish we can’t see. At times it’s unnerving, because if we don’t get bites right away, we start wondering if the fish are there. But then they’ll start feeding on schooling shad, and we can see the shad scurry and shower everywhere.”

To imitate the shad, the team is using Berkley Gulp 4-inch Shaky Shad.

Former Lafitte champions rise to fourth

Edward Adams and Ray Chagnard of Metairie, La., 2006 Redfish Series champions here, brought in two redfish weighing 15 pounds, 14 ounces today to move into fourth place with a two-day total of 30 pounds, 5 ounces and putting them in position to repeat in Lafitte.

Although the Louisiana team is not fishing the same area as when they won in September, they are fishing the same pattern west of the Mississippi River.

“Just like in September, we’re still focusing on what we call `snot grass,'” Chagnard said. “It’s a slimy weed that’s a good environmental indicator of clean, healthy water that can support a lot of bait. And this time of year it’s an indicator of warmer water as well.”

To catch their fish, the team is fishing 1/2-ounce H&H The Secret spoons around the snot grass.

Friday-Dufrene scramble for fifth

Mike Friday of Naples, Fla., and Chad Dufrene of Purvis, Miss., snagged the last qualifying spot in the top five with a two-day total of 30 pounds, 4 ounces.

When the team arrived to their best spot this morning, they realized they had worn their primary area out yesterday.

From there the team had to scramble to catch two redfish to keep them in the hunt for a win on Saturday.

Now only 12 ounces separates first place from fifth place, making Saturday’s final round anyone’s game.

The final-day takeoff begins Saturday at 6 a.m. at Lafitte Harbor Marina.