ROCKPORT, Texas – As the sun began to rise lazily over the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway at Rockport, Texas, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series anglers prepared for a second day of tournament action in dead-calm and humid conditions. Friday marks the last time many of these teams will compete this year, as this event constitutes the last regular-season event of the 2007 Redfish Series.
Fifty teams from the Western Division will go on to the Oct. 18-20 Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Championship in Orange Beach, Ala. Five teams will qualify for Saturday’s final round in the Rockport event and a shot at a top prize of up to $50,000. One team will be awarded the Land O’Lakes Western Division Team of the Year title. And all of this will most likely be determined by the end of this afternoon’s weigh-in.
Whereas many competitors could be heard razzing each other, whistling along to their boat radios or just lightheartedly visiting with one another during preparations for takeoff on day one, things were much quieter around the dock Friday morning. But you could almost hear the thoughts of the anglers still in contention: One more shot at busting a big limit. One more shot at a fat check. One more shot at a championship berth. One more shot at making the grade. One more shot at glory.
Right now a scant 1 pound, 4 ounces separates the tournament leaders from fifth place, and 18th place is only back 3 pounds. That means that competition to make today’s cut and be among the high five teams to compete for the lion’s share of this event’s $200,000 purse will assuredly be fierce – and exciting.
Leading the redfishing pack at this point is the local father-son team of Jay Watkins and Jay Watkins Jr., who hit the 16-pound mark yesterday with a two-fish limit. And brothers Kris and Jonathan Culpepper of Houston used a 15-3 limit Thursday to grab fourth place and position themselves for a possible Team of the Year takeover from the Florida team of Tadd VanDemark and Kevin Shaw, the current points leaders in the Western Division, who only managed a 26th-place slot yesterday. But here’s how tight the weights are in this event: VanDemark-Shaw is only 3 pounds, 1 ounce behind Culpepper-Culpepper, so anything can still happen here in Rockport.
Most teams reported fishing either near Rockport or to the south in the waters of and around the Aransas and Corpus Christi bays. Very few mentioned fishing to the north in the Laguna Madre area, which is typically a redfishing hot spot this time of year, but that was due to strong winds. With today’s calmer conditions, it is likely that more teams will venture north, enhancing the chances of an impressive weigh-in this afternoon.
The tournament limit for redfish is two, and Texas fishing regulations stipulate that only reds between 20 and 28 inches in length may be kept (though FLW Redfish Series events release weighed catches alive).
Today’s weigh-in, which is open to the public, begins at 3 p.m. at Rockport Beach Park located at 210 Sea Breeze Drive in Rockport.
Logistics
Competition among the 87-boat field began Thursday and will conclude Friday, when all but the top five teams will be cut. The top five teams will compete a final day Saturday, when the winning team and final standings will be determined by the total weight from all three days. All FLW Redfish Series events are three-day tournaments (Thursday, Friday and Saturday).
Anglers will take off at 7 each morning from Saltwater Pavilion at Rockport Beach Park located at 210 Sea Breeze Drive in Rockport. Weigh-ins will also be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Thursday 
and Friday and 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free, and the community is invited to attend the festivities.
The event is hosted by the Rockport-Fulton Area Chamber of Commerce.
The top 50 teams in the FLW Redfish Series based on Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year points standings at the end of the season will advance to the $300,000 Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Championship presented by BP Oct. 18-20 in Orange Beach, Ala. The winning team at the championship will earn as much as $100,000.
Friday’s conditions
Sunrise: 7:09 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 80 degrees
Expected high temperature: 90 degrees
Water temperature: 84 degrees (warmer in shallows)
Tides (at Rockport, Texas): high 12:15 p.m.; low 10:54 p.m.
Wind: calm at takeoff; south winds expected to reach 10 to 15 mph later in the day
Maximum humidity: 90 percent
Day’s outlook: partly cloudy with less than a 20-percent chance of showers