PORT LAVACA, Texas – Coming into the Port Lavaca event, the team of Recie Tisdale of Dickenson, Texas, and Judd Johnson of Houston had never finished higher than 10th place in any Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series tournament. However, that all changed Friday afternoon. Bolstered by a whopping 16-pound, 11-ounce catch, the duo leapfrogged from a sixth-place tie to first place overall heading into tomorrow’s finals.
“It feels good,” said Johnson, whose team made a 200-mile roundtrip run to Corpus Christi during today’s competition. “We’ve been close before, but we’ve never been able to break into the top five … until today.”
Johnson’s partner was equally excited about qualifying for today’s top-five cut.
“We had a good day. We caught all of our fish in about 30 minutes,” said Tisdale, whose team managed a two-day total of 31 pounds, 4 ounces. “Everything just worked out for us. We only had six bites in two days, but they were good bites. I knew we had a good stringer, but it turned out to be a little heavier catch than I thought.”
Johnson said the team targeted redfish in 2 feet of water, blind-casting and drift fishing with gold spoons.
“We had our limit today by about 10:30 a.m.,” said Johnson. “So that helped take the pressure off a bit.”
However, despite being in first place, the team acknowledged that tomorrow’s finals won’t be easy by any stretch. With windy conditions predicted for Saturday’s competition, the team’s scheduled long run could be trying both mentally and physically.
“We’re a little concerned with the limited fishing time tomorrow,” said Johnson. “Also, the teams fishing close by the marina will definitely have an advantage because they’re going to have a lot more time than us to cull out. But if we get 45 minutes to an hour to fish, we should be all right. Our fish are there, and we’ve been able to catch a limit pretty quickly each day. But essentially, we’re going to have to make a long run, catch two fish and turn right around and head back.”
Wiggins-Tanner drop to runner-up spot
Although the team of Blair Wiggins of Cocoa, Fla., and Travis Tanner of Titusville, Fla., had hoped to maintain their day-one lead after today’s competition, the duo was more than happy to settle for second place and a trip to a Redfish Series finals.
“We didn’t do quite as well as we did yesterday, but we probably caught twice as many fish,” said Wiggins, whose team recorded a two-day catch of 30 pounds, 8 ounces. “The way the day started out, I was just hoping for 13 pounds. So, I am pretty happy with where we’re at right now. Anywhere in the top five is fine with me.”
Like yesterday, the team made another 80-mile one-way run south, targeting redfish with DOA Glow Shrimp Equalizer Rigs and DOA Cow baits.
“It was a good day,” said Tanner. “One more good bite and we would have had 16 pounds easily.”
As far as Saturday’s finals are concerned, the team acknowledges that it’s anybody’s game right now.
“Tomorrow is going to be a crapshoot because it’s now the best of the best,” said Wiggins. “If we can get the right two bites, I think we’ll have a good shot at winning this. But no matter how it turns out, it’s a real honor to be fishing with these guys.”
Team M&M’s nets third place
Heading into the first day of competition at the Port Lavaca event, Team M&M’s members Dewayne Eschete of Mandeville, Texas, and Blake Pizzolato of Montgomery, Texas, had very limited expectations. They had had a horrible practice and weren’t on any fish to speak of.
But then the tournament started, the weather changed, and so did their fortunes.
“How do I feel overall? Going into this tournament, we hadn’t found anything. So to be here in the top five is just amazing,” said Eschete. “We feel lucky, blessed and thankful – all at the same time.”
Unlike the other top-five finalists, the team of Eschete and Pizzolato are fishing very close to takeoff – an improvised strategy, which could pay big dividends if tomorrow’s weather, as expected, turns nasty.
“The weather could be to our advantage tomorrow,” said Eschete, whose team recorded a two-day catch of 29 pounds. “They’re calling for 20- to 25-mph winds tomorrow, so some of those teams making long runs will probably have less time to fish.”
However, there is another advantage to fishing close to the marina.
“Before the tournament started, we’re planning on making a 100-mile run. So, the way we figure it, we’ve already saved $600 in gas money alone,” joked Eschete. “By tomorrow, we’re going to be up $900 no matter how we finish. We’re feeling pretty good about that.”
Shaw-VanDemark grab fourth place
After the first day of competition, the team of Kevin Shaw of Corpus Christi, Texas, and Tadd VanDemark of Key Largo, Fla., found themselves tied for 13th place. As such, the team knew a lot of things would have to go their way in today’s competition to make the top-five cut. Well, as it turned out, that’s exactly what happened. Using a catch of 14 pounds, 11 ounces, the team shot up the leaderboard and netted fourth place overall as today’s weigh-in concluded.
“We needed some teams to falter, and we needed to fish well. And that’s pretty much what happened,” said VanDemark. “I’m really proud of what we accomplished today. Our main goal was to get to our spot, catch two quality fish and get back safely. And that’s what we did.”
Shaw said the team had no idea how today’s weigh-in was going to play out.
“With what we caught yesterday, we were pretty worried,” said Shaw, whose team managed a total two-day catch of 28 pounds, 10 ounces. “We thought, if we could just catch a good stringer today, that we’d have a chance. Basically, we accomplished what we wanted to accomplish.”
The team said they used Precision Tackle Flats Intruder spoons in a copper color to land the majority of their catch.
Ritter-Billiot eke out top-five finish
By the grand total of 1 ounce, the team of Scott Ritter of Dauphin Island, Ala., and Chad Billiot of Racelend, Ala., secured a berth in the finals. Remarkably, the team had been in 20th place after the first day of tournament action. However, a 15-pound catch in today’s competition proved to be just enough to finish ahead of the sixth-place team of Steve Reupke and Frank Duxstad, both of Port Aransas, Texas.
“It all comes down to a game of ounces,” said Billiot, whose team recorded a total catch of 28 pounds, 5 ounces. “And ounces have killed us plenty of times before. It’s nice to finally have it work to our advantage.”
Ritter said the team’s gamble to hold off fishing their prime location until today paid off.
“We got beat up pretty badly today with the wind,” said Ritter. “But we finally went to a spot that we found on Sunday. We had left those fish alone all week. And today, we’re just able to get the right bites.”
Saturday’s Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series action continues at tomorrow’s takeoff, scheduled to take place at 7 a.m. Central Time at Lighthouse Beach, located at 700 Lighthouse Beach Blvd. in Port Lavaca, Texas.