Rookie redfish team romps $50,000

Jernigan-Joseph claim victory in Englewood

ENGLEWOOD, Fla. – John Jernigan, a deputy sheriff in Sarasota, Fla., and Chris Joseph, a shipping manager at DHL in Sarasota, shocked the redfish world Saturday by crushing a star-studded field of five teams. With two redfish that weighed 13 pounds even, Jernigan and Joseph won $50,000 in their first ever Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series tournament.

Over the course of the three-day Eastern Division event, Jernigan, a local who calls Venice, Fla., home, and Joseph, who lives in nearby Holmes Beach, Fla., weighed six redfish that went 38 pounds, 9 ounces. That equates to a little more than $8,000 per fish – a ton of money considering their largest prior redfish payday was a grand total of $1,000.

“I can’t describe it,” said Joseph. “It’s beyond my belief. I just can’t believe that we’re actually standing here. This was an amazing tournament.”

Jernigan and Joseph landed their first weigh fish at approximately 9 this morning. The two were working docks on the south end of Sarasota Bay. The first fish came out of approximately 18 inches of water.

The action was pretty slow for the next few hours. Jernigan and Joseph then decided to cross from the west side of the bay to the east side. When the clock struck noon, fish No. 2 bit in approximately 4 feet of water. Jernigan sealed the deal by wrestling the 7-pounder from deep underneath the dock.

“That redfish did not want to leave his home, and we had a very difficult time getting him away from the dock,” Jernigan said. “He kept making surges back into the structure. Fortunately we had braided line, but the leader was getting frayed.”

Both fish fell victim to 3-inch Berkley Gulp shrimp. Joseph used new-penny color while Jernigan threw white-pearl and molting. The baits were rigged on 1/16- and 1/4-ounce jigs.

“We had boat wakes at the same time we were fighting that fish,” added Jernigan. “So we were rocking and rolling. But when we got that second fish in the boat, we knew we’d at least be close.”

Jernigan said that the combination of incoming tides and southerly winds on days one and two created strong water movement that stimulated the redfish. Saturday saw a northwest wind working against the morning tide, and fishing suffered.

“The key for us was having confidence in our technique – working the Gulps very slowly,” Jernigan said. “The fish were kind of lethargic today, so we had to fish patiently.”

“We’re a perfect team,” added Joseph. “I’m strong on the flats, and he’s strong on the docks.”

Lambert cousins second

Cousins Paul Lambert of Punta Gorda, Fla., and Donald Lambert of Port Charlotte, Fla., finished second with a three-day total of 35 pounds, 10 ounces – roughly 3 pounds off the lead.

The two, who have been fishing redfish tournaments together for over 20 years, ran 30 miles to the south end of Pine Island Sound. On day three, they managed six fish total. On days one and two, they were typically catching around a dozen. Still, they were the only team besides the winners who registered a double-digit limit Saturday.

“We really get in these tournaments to win,” said Paul Lambert. “We’re disappointed in that we were on the fish to win it.”

The Lamberts used almost identical baits as Jernigan and Joseph. The only difference was that the Lamberts also used Berkley Gulp Jerk Shad.

“We were on three big schools there,” said Paul, referring to their area in Pine Island Sound. “They just shut down on us. I wish I knew why. We fished fast, we fished slow, we were even dead-sticking them.”

For their second-place finish, the Lamberts earned $9,744.

Johnson-Hudec slip to third

Also wetting their lines in Pine Island Sound was the well-known redfish team of Bo Johnson and Richard Hudec. This event marked Johnson and Hudec’s third appearance in the top five. Noteworthy is that at each of those three tournaments they ran to Pine Island Sound, the long-established redfish factory.

The Florida team, Johnson of Cape Coral and Hudec of Naples, brought in two redfish for 7 pounds, 12 ounces on day three. Their total weight for three days was 33 pounds, 9 ounces.

“The bite was really tough for us,” said Johnson. “We fished hard all day, and were around redfish all day.”

The duo did catch a giant red drum, but it was over the 27-inch slot limit. The team spent the week skipping 4-inch Berkley Gulp shrimp (molting) and 5-inch Gulp jerkbaits (white) under mangrove trees.

“My hat is off to them (Jernigan-Joseph),” said Hudec. “They absolutely spanked us.”

Win No. 1 in the Redfish Series continues to elude Johnson-Hudec, but they did collect $4,934 for third.

Cress-Weishaar finish fourth

Picking up $3,496 for a fourth-place finish was the team of Chuck Cress and Gary Weishaar. The two anglers had a 5-ounce lead heading into day three, but were only able to catch two redfish that weighed 6 pounds, 3 ounces on Gulp Jerk Shads.

Just two weeks ago, Cress and Weishaar won an Inshore Fish Association tournament held out of Sarasota, Fla. At that event, their prize was a fully loaded Ranger Banshee boat and trailer. Although they missed out on winning back to back, the two can take solace in the fact that they were on the right fish.

One of only two teams to run north, Cress and Weishaar fished just yards away from the tournament winners. The Florida team, Cress of Sarasota and Weishaar of Nokomis, mainly targeted flats rather than docks.

Husband-and-wife team fifth

Troy and Christine Perez of Mims, Fla., caught their third consecutive two-redfish limit Saturday. Unfortunately, it was their lightest, going only 7 pounds even. Their three-day total of 32 pounds, 3 ounces placed them fifth. They cleared $5,058 with $2,000 of it coming from Ranger and Evinrude contingencies.

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.

With one Eastern Division event remaining, the Perezes sit fourth in the Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year race with 393 points. The two were also the second husband-and-wife team to ever make the final round of five teams. Leading the Eastern Division AOY race is the young Chivas boys, who have accumulated 430 points.

FLW Redfish Series competition resumes May 10-12 in Port Aransas, Texas. The final Eastern Division event takes place May 31-June 2 in Fernandina Beach, Fla.