SARASOTA, Fla. – As the full field departed the Sarasota Cay Club marina shortly after 7:30 a.m. on Friday, the stakes were pretty clear for everyone involved in the second day of Redfish Series tournament action. By the end of Friday’s competition, 81 of 86 redfish teams will find that their Florida fishing “vacation” has officially come to a close.
In short, with a top-five cut looming, today is do or die for the field. And that goes for last-place competitors as well as the teams on top of the leaderboard.
“We’re very fortunate yesterday,” said Tadd VanDemark, who currently shares first place in the standings at the Sarasota event along with team partner Kevin Shaw. “Our main objective today is to catch two quality fish. It’s not going to be easy to make the cut. But we’re going to give it our best shot. No matter what happens, we’re going to give `em hell out there today.”
Despite a mediocre fishing history on Florida waters, VanDemark-Shaw demonstrated yesterday that fishing fortunes can turn around as quickly as the wind on Sarasota Bay. With less than an hour remaining in Thursday’s competition, VanDemark and Shaw stumbled upon a healthy school of reds, which ultimately vaulted them into first place in the standings.
“We’ve never found a school in my whole career here until yesterday,” said VanDemark, who boated two redfish yesterday weighing a combined 15 pounds, 9 ounces. “I told (Shaw) that if we went out and caught nothing today, I’d still be OK. Because at least we could say that we’re in first place for a day in the Eastern Division standings.”
Although VanDemark and Shaw netted their big stringer late in the day during yesterday’s competition, the majority of the field has had most of their success with the early-morning bite. And with sunny skies and light winds projected throughout the morning and afternoon hours, the same should hold true for today’s action.
The competition
Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Eastern Division competition at Sarasota is slated to run from March 13-15. Per Redfish Series tournament rules, the full field will compete both Thursday and Friday. At the end of the second day of tournament action, the top five teams – based on total accumulated weight – will advance to Saturday’s finals. The winning team will be determined by the total weight from all three days.
Up to two redfish may be weighed in per team, per day. However, each fish must fall within the regulated 18- to 27-inch slot limit to be counted.
Anglers will be competing on two-man teams for a top award of as much as $50,000. In addition, they will also be vying for valuable points toward a berth into the no-entry-fee, $300,000 Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Championship in Biloxi, Miss., slated for Oct. 30-Nov. 1. The winning team at the championship will earn as much as $100,000.
First-place competitors at the Sarasota event will win $20,000 cash. However, if a member of the winning team is also the original owner of a Ranger boat used during the tournament, the team will receive a $15,000 bonus. Additionally, 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 $15,000 bonus for a total award of $50,000.
Friday’s weigh-in begins at 4 p.m. Eastern time at the Sarasota Cay Club located at 7150 N. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota, Fla.
Friday’s conditions
Sunrise: 7:40 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 52 degrees
Expected high temperature: 76 degrees
Water temperature: 63-70 degrees
Tides (at Sarasota, Fla.): low 1:50 a.m., high 5:09 p.m.
Wind: SSE at 11 mph
Maximum humidity: 62 percent
Day’s outlook: sunny to partly cloudy skies