Texas title on the line

Top-five Walmart FLW Redfish Series finalists hit the Gulf Coast for a third straight day in search of tournament title

ROCKPORT, TEXAS – Shortly after 7 a.m. Saturday morning, the remaining top-five team finalists departed Saltwater Pavilion at Rockport Beach Park with one more day of fishing to go and virtually everything on the line. With only 2 pounds separating the entire field, plenty of huge redfish for the taking and the lion’s share of the $170,000 total purse still up for grabs, the Rockport event could prove to be one of the most exciting Redfish Series finals in recent memory.

Making matters even more compelling is the fact that both of last year’s top-two finalists at Rockport are fishing once again for a tournament title. In short, with a top prize of $50,000 on the line and old scores to settle, today should amount to the most intriguing day of fishing yet.

“I don’t care what happens as long as we beat the Culpeppers,” joked Eddie Curry, whose team currently sits in second place overall. “Last year, the Culpeppers got us by 3 ounces. So, we’ve got a score to settle.”

However, as far as the Culpeppers are concerned, they are here simply to defend their 2007 Redfish Series Rockport title.

“Being able to defend our title really makes it fun,” said Jonathan Culpepper, whose team currently resides in fourth place. “But it’d be 10 times better to win it. We’re going to fish hard today and hopefully everything will work out.”

However, with some crazy weather looming in the background and the field tightly bunched together, there are plenty of opportunities for a big shakeup in the leaderboard by the time today’s first-place trophy is handed out.

“You just never know what’s going to happen here,” said Jonathan Culpepper. “With these conditions – a lot of storms hanging around and lots of local boat traffic – it really is going to be anybody’s game today. As far as we’re concerned, we’re shooting for over 16 pounds today. If we can do that, we have a really good shot at winning this.”

While Curry and teammate Skipper Mock have their sights set on the Culpeppers and vice versa, both teams know that they can’t lose track of the first-place team of Paul Heffernan and David Green – who lead the event with a total catch of 32 pounds, 4 ounces.

“We’re a little excited and a little nervous,” said Green, whose team is fishing in its first-ever FLW Redfish Series finals. “We’re in first place right now and we hope to stay there. Our main goals are to catch two fish and bring in at least 16 pounds today.”

The competition

For the first two days of Rockport competition, 96 teams battled it out for one of the five qualifying spots in today’s finals. During today’s weigh-in, the champion will be determined by the team that brings the heaviest total weight to the scales over the course of the three-day competition.

First-place competitors at the Rockport 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.

Up to two redfish may be weighed in per team during today’s competition. However, each fish must fall within the regulated 20- to 28-inch slot limit to be counted.

In addition, teams 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.

Saturday’s weigh-in begins at 4:30 p.m. Central time at the Wal-Mart Supercenter, located at 2401 Highway 35 North in Rockport, Texas.

Saturday’s conditions:

Sunrise: 7:403 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 80 degrees

Expected high temperature: 88 degrees

Water temperature: 85-89 degrees

Tides (at Rockport, Texas) high 7:48 a.m., low 6:56 p.m.

Wind: ESE at 8 mph

Maximum humidity: 76 percent

Day’s outlook: Partly cloudy with chance of scattered thunderstorms throughout the day