Alabama bind

Redfish Series Championship qualifiers hemmed in by Mother Nature, culling laws

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – Every year when 100 of the best redfish teams converge on the Alabama-Florida border on the Gulf Coast for the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Championship, the question always begs, “East or west?”

For the most part, anglers who qualified from the top 50 teams of the Redfish Series Western Division try to run as far back to the west as possible, and the top 50 qualifiers from the Eastern Division try to run as far as possible to the east.

Those running west want to tap the redfish-rich waters of Louisiana, and those going east want to get to the bays around Panama City, Fla., and beyond.

One reason these teams will sacrifice so much fishing time to make 70- to 100-mile runs to these locations is because the slot redfish (16 to 26 inches per Alabama law) tend to school up better and are usually heavier when plucked from those distant locations, allowing anglers to get well in a very short amount of time.

Another reason is that there is a potential $100,000 top prize in this championship. Since this is a no-entry-fee, season-ending event, there is no “laying up” and playing conservative here this week. All these teams have just one place in mind – first – and they want to put themselves around the fish that will make that happen.

But for this year’s Redfish Series Championship out of Orange Beach, Ala., Mother Nature has intervened. A front moving slowly across the Gulf Coast has brought persistent south winds of 20 mph and plenty of rain, dashing the hopes of many Louisiana-bound anglers.

“I just don’t think it can be done in this kind of wind,” said redfish pro Andy Mnichowski of going back to his home waters in Louisiana. “Even on the best weather day, it’s six hours of boat riding and gassing up. With wind like this, there’s no way.”

Crossing Mobile Bay in heavy south wind is the biggest impediment to those wanting to run west. Teams will have to ride through 4- to 6-foot waves for up to an hour just to get to Pascagoula, Miss.

Meanwhile, those who had notions of running to the east are being hampered by Florida’s culling laws.

There is a “no cull” rule in the state of Florida, which basically means that once you put a redfish in your livewell, you cannot replace it with a bigger one.

When holding redfish events in Florida, FLW Outdoors always secures culling permits from the state, which allows anglers to cull. But since this event is being held in Alabama, those culling permits have not been obtained, and anglers going to Florida will have to abide by state law. In essence, there will be no culling in the state of Florida.

“The decision making gets dicey,” said Evinrude pro C.A. Richardson of going to Florida. “If you go over there and catch a 21-incher on your first cast, do you keep it or release it and hope for a bigger a one? Because once you put it in the well, it’s yours.”

With wind preventing long runs to the west and dicey culling laws to the east, the upshot is many anglers are planning to spend their fishing time right in the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach area.

There are plenty of redfish to catch in nearby waters, they’re just not as schooled up and not as heavy as fish from the far west or east.

“We’re going to stay close and fish water we’ve never fished before,” Mnichowski said. “What else can we do?”

Former Redfish Series Championship winners Tommy Ramzinsky and Todd Adams are planning to stay close as well.

“No matter which way we go, we’ve got some nasty weather coming this way today,” said Adams. “So we’re going to stay close, try to hold ground with a couple of keepers today and then maybe make a run tomorrow.”

“This kind of weather really excites us,” Ramzinsky added. “It levels the playing field. Anyone who had promising schools way over in Louisiana can forget it. All the best laid plans for staking out on nice schools of sight-fish in Florida are out the window. It’s time to just put the trolling motors down and fish, right here, right now.”

Another redfish pro who was clearly fired up this morning was Tadd VanDemark, who won the Redfish Series Championship out of Pensacola, Fla., in 2006.

VanDemark piloted that win by staying close in Pensacola and focusing on a few deep-water reds that others had overlooked in their rush to get to Louisiana.

Ever since that big win, VanDemark has dedicated himself to finding deep-water redfish near the takeoff to maximize fishing time.

“Let’s just say I won’t have to fill up my gas tank at all this week,” VanDemark said of his plans.

Logistics

Anglers will take off at 7 each morning from The Wharf located at 23101 Canal Road in Orange Beach. Weigh-ins will also be held at The Wharf beginning at 3 p.m. on Thursday and Friday.

Saturday’s weigh-in will begin at 4 p.m. at The Wharf. The FLW Redfish Series Family Fun Zone will open at noon Saturday and will include a National Guard HD theater, rock climbing wall and Humvee display. Admission to all activities is free.

The winning team will receive a guaranteed $50,000 cash award. If Ranger, Hydra-Sports or Wellcraft contingency guidelines are met, the winning team will also receive a $25,000 cash bonus. If Yamaha or Evinrude contingency guidelines are met, the winning team will receive an additional $25,000 cash bonus for a total of $100,000.

The full field will compete Thursday and Friday, and the top five teams based on accumulated weight from both days will advance to Saturday’s competition. Final standings will be determined by the total weight from all three days.

Thursday’s conditions

Sunrise: 6:54 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 74 degrees

Expected high temperature: 80 degrees

Water temperature: 77 degrees

Forecasted winds: SSW at 10 to 20 mph

Day’s outlook: thunderstorms and wind