Perez duo dominates day one

Husband-and-wife team takes early lead in Englewood

ENGLEWOOD, Fla. – Despite a strong Gulf breeze, many boats were in early on day one of the Wal-Mart Redfish Series event in Englewood, Fla. The winds, and perhaps some unwanted boat traffic, were about the only things preventing today from being a perfect day on the water.

The gin-clear waters of Charlotte Harbor are known for having some of the best redfishing in the entire Gulf of Mexico. And they did not disappoint on day one of the third Eastern Division qualifier. Out of the 127 teams, 114 weighed in and 92 brought in two-redfish limits. The heaviest limit came from the husband-and-wife team of Troy and Christine Perez.

Team Perez caught their best two fish right away Thursday morning, working mangrove edges in Pine Island Sound, south of Englewood. After boating two fish that measured just shy of 27 inches, the duo immediately left the area. They continued fishing throughout the day, but never did upgrade from their early lunkers. They didn’t need to though, with those two redfish going to 14 pounds, 8 ounces.

“We were just in the right spot,” said Troy. “A lot of this is luck, and we were really lucky today. We actually didn’t see the fish – we’d just pitch up under the bushes. We’d throw way out in front of the boat because we knew where they were sitting. I learned from the local guys not to look at the fish. We normally pole up to the spot and look for the fish, but now we stay back and blind-cast.”

In total, the two caught 13 keeper reds. Their success isn’t unexpected, considering that they’ve been fishing competitively together for nearly 25 years. Troy threw what he described as a “rusty, old gold spoon,” while his wife threw a combination of spoons and Berkley Gulp shrimp.

“We fished spoons because it was blowing about 30 mph, and we had to make long casts,” Troy said. “I told Christine we needed to cast as far as we could because I knew how edgy these fish were.

“Nobody is around us,” added Troy. “That’s our only advantage right now. The biggest question is, Can we do it again tomorrow?”

Troy and Christine found this area in practice two days ago, but they’ve known about it for years. They just wanted to check it one last time before the tournament began. This day-one honeyhole isn’t the only thing they’ve got going, either.

In fact, the two fish they weighed did not come from what they termed their “best spot.” They caught several fish in their best spot, but most were around 4 pounds.

“We’ve been leading before like this and just bombed out the next day. Tomorrow is what counts. I think we’ll be alright if no one joins us.”

Cress-Weishaar second

The team of Chuck Cress of Sarasota, Fla., and Gary Weishaar of Nokomis, Fla., are in second place with a pair of redfish weighing 14 pounds, 2 ounces total.

Cress and Weishaar are blind-casting with jigs and spoons to catch their fish. The two started their day by heading north. The windy conditions made the run tough, but manageable. The team was fishless for over an hour until their 26 1/2-incher bit.

Roughly three hours later, the second big one hit, this one measuring just less than 27 inches.

“We fished hard all day,” said Cress, who together with Weishaar caught six fish total. “When the second one measured, it was time to get in. We made it back with only five minutes to spare.”

The two tried topwater baits early, but they were largely unproductive. Once Cress switched to his preferred jig and Weishaar to his beloved spoon, things started clicking.

“We were fishing potholes, natural shorelines and docks,” added Cress. “We caught fish everywhere. We’re glad that last fish measured. We just have got to go do this again tomorrow. I’d like to not have to work so hard again tomorrow.”

Jernigan-Joseph third

Coming in third place was the team of John Jernigan of Venice, Fla., and Chris Joseph of Holmes Beach, Fla. The two combined for a total weight of 13 pounds, 10 ounces. The team sits 14 ounces behind the leaders.

Points leaders fourth

Brothers Cody and Kyle Chivas of Belleair, Fla., are fourth with two redfish weighing 13 pounds, 3 ounces. Despite lacking in age and experience, this dynamic duo is causing quite a stir. If they execute tomorrow, they could make their third consecutive trip to the finals. Even more impressive is that this is only the third event of their Redfish Series careers.

The 18-year-old Cody and soon-to-be 17-year-old Kyle (his birthday is Saturday) have put in the necessary preparation to succeed at redfishing’s top level.

“We practice literally from 6 a.m. until past dark,” said Cody. “We’re literally putting in a 12-hour day.”

The extra preparation is paying off in Englewood, as the two found their fish at 4:30 p.m. yesterday, right before they had to leave for the mandatory pretournament captain’s meeting.

That spot, located on the south side of Charlotte Harbor, yielded 10 fish total, several of which were similar in size.

“We caught a lot of snook early in the morning,” said the older brother. “But as the tide came in, the fish started moving up on the flat.”

Tomorrow the Chivas boys take off as boat No. 2, so no one should get to their spot before them.

McCullough-Liles fifth

In fifth place is the team of Greg McCullough and Richard Liles. The two Floridians, McCullough of Lithia and Liles of Ruskin, caught a two-redfish limit that weighed 12 pounds, 15 ounces.

Top-five cutoff takes place tomorrow

The top-five cutoff will be made after Friday’s weigh-in, signaling the five teams that will advance to Saturday’s finals. Early speculation calls for a cut-weight of around 24 pounds.

The day-two takeoff will begin at 7 a.m. Eastern time at Stump Pass Marina.