TIERRA VERDE, Fla. (Feb. 23, 2006) – Dennis Cox of Edgewater, Fla., and Jim Armstrong of Chuluota, Fla., caught a two-redfish limit weighing 13 pounds, 8 ounces to lead day one of the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Eastern Division event in Tierra Verde, Fla., where a field of 144 teams is competing for a top award of as much as $50,000 cash.
Dense fog across Tampa Bay delayed the tournament’s start by three hours. Cox said the lost time was not a big hindrance for his team. He and Armstrong caught their fish a few minutes from the launch site at Tierra Verde Resort Marina.
“We had already planned on not running very far, because we had already found fish,” Cox said. “It kind of worked out for us when the fog rolled in. I knew some guys who were going to run a long way south because they were on good fish. They probably would have done well today.”
Cox said he found his tournament fish by accident during Tuesday’s practice. “I couldn’t run because of the fog, so I drifted up to a bank to eat a sandwich and the fish rose up,” he said. “It was meant to be. It just fell in my lap.”
The duo fished Berkley Gulp! Shrimp in new penny and pearl color. They rigged their baits on 1/8-ounce jig heads and 3/0 worm hooks with 1/8-ounce split shots. Cox said they found their fish on the deep edge of a grass flat.
Rounding out the top five teams are Daniel Benson of Brandon, Fla., and Steven Howie of St. Cloud, Fla. (two redfish, 13 pounds, 6 ounces); Jim Huddleston of Palm Harbor, Fla., and James Bond of Dunedin, Fla. (two redfish, 13 pounds); Scott Guthrie of Jacksonville, Fla., and Rick Murphy of Homestead, Fla. (two redfish, 12 pounds, 14 ounces); and Bryan Watts of Lithia, Fla., and Greg Watts of Eagle Lake, Fla. (two redfish, 12 pounds, 10 ounces).
Anglers caught a total of 97 redfish Thursday weighing 457 pounds, 13 ounces, with 97 being released alive. Thirty-three teams caught limits.
FLW Redfish Series qualifying tournaments are three-day events. The entire field competes Thursday and Friday, and the top five teams, based on heaviest combined weight, advance to Saturday’s final round. The winning team is determined Saturday based on the heaviest three-day accumulated weight.
Boats will launch from Tierra Verde Resort and Marina in Tierra Verde Friday and Saturday at 7 a.m. Friday’s weigh-in will be held at Tierra Verde Resort Marina beginning at 3 p.m., and the final weigh-in will be held at the St. Petersburg Wal-Mart located at 3501 34th Street South beginning at 3 p.m.
The next FLW Redfish Series Eastern Division event will be held March 30-April 1 in Englewood, Fla.
The FLW Redfish Series consists of two divisions – Eastern and Western. Each division is comprised of four events with a $200,000 purse for each event. The top 100 teams – 50 from each division after four qualifying events – will qualify for the three-day, no-entry-fee $300,000 Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Championship to be held in Pensacola, Fla., Oct. 19-21. The championship winner will take home as much as $100,000.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series, as well as the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Stratos Owners’ Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $36.9 million through 241 events in 2006.
For more information on FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information on Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.