TIERRA VERDE, Fla. (Feb. 24, 2006) – Scott Guthrie of Jacksonville, Fla., and Rick Murphy of Homestead, Fla., caught a two-day total of four redfish weighing 26 pounds to lead day two 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.
After a three-hour fog delay on day one, anglers got in a full day of fishing Friday. Competing in cool, overcast conditions, 42 teams caught limits.
“It was just a matter of being where the fish were and making a lot of casts,” Murphy said. “It was just cast and wind, cast and wind. We call it `Putting Money in the Bank.’ Each cast you’re making a deposit, and eventually you’ll get to make a withdrawal.”
The duo caught their best redfish around 11:30 a.m. while casting gold and black spoons over grass beds in Sarasota Bay. Murphy said the area receives a high level of fishing pressure, so catching redfish required distant blind casting.
“The key was to make long casts and to keep the lures out in front of the boat,” he said. “In Sarasota, when you see a redfish, he already knows that you’re there and his attitude has been drastically affected.”
Using 7-foot spinning outfits with 10-pound braided line and four feet of fluorocarbon leader, the team caught seven redfish Friday.
Rounding out the top five teams are Bryan Watts of Lithia, Fla., and Greg Watts of Eagle Lake, Fla. (four redfish, 25 pounds, 2 ounces); Mike Anderson and Kenny Hyatt, both of Riverview, Fla. (four redfish, 24 pounds, 14 ounces); Geoffrey Page of Venice, Fla., and Ed Zyak of Jensen Beach, Fla. (four redfish, 24 pounds, 10 ounces); and Warren Girle of Longboat Key, Fla., and Billy Harris of Bradenton, Fla. (four redfish, 23 pounds, 1 ounce).
Anglers caught a total of 121 redfish Friday weighing 584 pounds, 5 ounces, with 120 being released alive.
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 Marina in Tierra Verde Saturday at 7 a.m. 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.