ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – Although the start of the second day of the 2007 Redfish Series Championship offered more of the same for the already drenched and beleaguered field – heavy rains, thunder, lightning and rough seas – there finally appears to be a silver lining to the dense, black clouds that have dominated the landscape for the past 36 hours.
As the full field made its way out of the marina and onto the previously unforgiving waters of Alabama’s Gulf Shores region shortly after 7 a.m. Friday morning amid yet another torrential downpour, the good news was that the extended outlook appears much brighter. To the delight of all, the National Weather Service is finally calling for a break in the nasty weather, predicting clear skies by early afternoon.
However, that doesn’t mean that anglers will have an easy go of things by any stretch.
“Now that the runoff is everywhere and everything is muddied up, it’s going to be hard to find the fish,” said Capt. Danny Coppin, who currently sits tied for 12th place along with fishing partner and son, Grant Coppin. “The muddy water is going to make things real, real tough. I’d really like to be the leaders right now.”
Coppin said that angling teams that had hoped to be able to sight-fish during the championship are going to have to regroup and figure out a new strategy.
“There will be no sight-fishing today; I’m 100-percent sure of that,” said Coppin. “You’d have to run 100 miles from here to get clear water, and that’s just not going to happen.”
But which strategies will work?
“I’m just going to go back and rely on my old bass-fishing skills,” said Coppin. “I’m going to be focusing on structure near some sort of current. This is not a typical flats-fishing situation, so everyone is going to have to adapt. But it’s going to be tough no matter what you fish today. The team that perseveres is the team that’s going to win this.”
Throw in the no-culling rule, applicable to all Florida waters, and the continuation of early-morning rains, and it’s clear that whichever teams qualify for today’s top-five cut will have earned it.
Tournament logistics, rules
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.
In addition, all keeper redfish must also fall into the 16- to 26-inch slot limit.
Currently, the team of Mike Patterson and Brett Phillips, both of Rockport, Texas, has the overall lead after weighing in a two-fish catch of 13 pounds.
Friday’s weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. CDT at The Wharf, located at 23101 Canal Road in Orange Beach, Ala.
Friday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:56 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 72 degrees
Expected high temperature: 80 degrees
Water temperature: 71-72 degrees
Tides (at Perdido Pass): low tide – 4:07 a.m.; high tide – 4:35 p.m.
Wind: WNW at 12 mph
Maximum humidity: 69 percent
Day’s outlook: heavy rain giving way to clear skies later this afternoon