COCODRIE, La. – With an impressive sunrise and remarkable cloud formations once again greeting anglers as they departed Coco Marina, the full field set out for the Louisiana Gulf Coast early Friday morning with visions of that elusive 18-pound stringer dancing in their heads. Given the strict slot limits and two-fish maximum catch, 18 pounds represents, in many respects, the Holy Grail of tournament redfish stringers. And for many teams, that is exactly what will be required to advance to Saturday’s finals and survive today’s top-five cut.
However, while the majority of the field undoubtedly will be required to play catch up, the top end of the leaderboard is packed as tightly as the sardines that the redfish have been munching on all week. Heading into today’s competition, the top-17 teams were separated by a mere 1 pound, 4 ounces – meaning that the top of the standings could look completely different when all is said and done after Friday’s action.
Tides and weather should be big factors out on the coast today. A few teams misread the tides during yesterday’s competition and it cost them. Also, a good chunk of the field is sight fishing. If inclement weather does roll in and the skies get cloudy, sight-fishing techniques are going to be extremely difficult to pull off.
“The key today is execution,” said Kris Culpepper, who currently resides in 12th place with his brother and fellow team member Jonathan. “It’s obviously very important to get the right bites and get them in the boat. You really can’t miss any opportunities today. And the weather is going to be important for a lot of teams as well. Hopefully it will stay clear all day for us because our plan is to do a lot of sightfishing.”
Location will be a critical factor as well. As such, teams seem to have fallen into three categories – those that are staying local, those making a 100-mile run to the Venice, La., area and those making a similar run to the Lafitte, La., area. But while the current leaders, the team of Todd DuFour and Alden Bourgeois, are heading to Lafitte this morning, Culpepper believes those investing the time to travel to Venice might just have the upper hand.
“A lot of the top teams are heading to Venice,” said Kris Culpepper. “Some of the bigger fish are there and if they catch them, some of those teams are going to be tough to beat.”
The competition
The full field of 96 teams will continue to compete Friday. After today’s weigh-in, the competition will be cut to the top-five teams based on the heaviest accumulated two-day weight over the course of Thursday and Friday. The top-five teams will earn a berth in Saturday’s finals.
Up to two redfish may be weighed in per team, per day. However, each fish must fall into a 16- to 27-inch slot limit to qualify for weigh-in.
First-place competitors win $25,000 cash. However, if a member of the winning team is also the original owner of a Ranger, Champion, Wellcraft or Hydra-Sports boat used during the tournament, the team will receive an additional $12,500 bonus. Also, if a member of the winning team is the original owner of a qualifying Yamaha or Evinrude outboard that is used during the tournament, the team receives another $12,500 bonus from Yamaha for total award of $50,000. For complete Redfish Series contingency information, click here.
Teams also will be vying for valuable points toward a berth into the no-entry-fee, $300,000 Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Championship in Orange Beach, Ala., Oct. 18-20.
Friday’s weigh-in is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. Central time at Coco Marina located at 106 Pier 56 in Cocodrie, La.
Friday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:05 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 75 degrees
Expected high temperature: 90 degrees
Water temperature: 82-85 degrees
Tides (at Cocodrie, La.): high 10:53 a.m., low 10:33 p.m.
Wind: East-southeast at 6 mph
Maximum humidity: 67 percent
Day’s outlook: Mostly sunny