PORT ARANSAS, Texas – Danny Coppin of Belton, Texas, and Grant Coppin of Corpus Christi, Texas caught a four-redfish total weighing 28 pounds, 14 ounces to lead day two of the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Western Division event in Port Aransas presented by Yamaha, where teams are competing for a top award of as much as $50,000 cash.
The father-son team fished the Sea Drift area approximately 55 miles north of Port Aransas. Casting homemade 1/2-ounce spinnerbaits along the drop-offs between shallow flats and deep cuts, they found their biggest fish in the low spots.
“We were mainly throwing our baits into shallow water and reeling them into deep water,” said Grant Coppin. “The fish tend to be on the higher end of the slot there. You’ll get your 21- to 22-inch fish, but most of the bigger fish are in the deeper water.”
The Coppins boated their first of three redfish at 11 a.m., and didn’t get another bite until noon. Grant Coppin said the waiting was tough, but diligent focus kept them on target.
“Today was a little nerve-racking until we got that first fish,” he said. “Our morale dropped a little early on. But we just kept chunking, because it could happen in the first five minutes or the last five minutes. We just tried to keep our baits in the most productive spots.”
Windy conditions made for a challenging day on the water, but leeward shores provided occasional relief. “Some of our water was beautifully clear and some was like chocolate milk,” Grant Coppin said. “It all depended on what part of the shoreline we fished.”
Rounding out the top five teams are Jonathon and Kris Culpepper, both of Houston, Texas (four redfish, 28 pounds, 3 ounces); Jay Watkins and Jay Watkins Jr., both of Rockport, Texas (four redfish, 27 pounds, 7 ounces); Tommy Ramzinsky of Fulton, Texas, and Todd Adams of Rockport, Texas (four redfish, 27 pounds, 5 ounces); and Cory Walker of Stafford, Texas, and Jason White of Austin, Texas (four redfish, 27 pounds, 1 ounce).
Anglers caught a total of 172 redfish Friday weighing 828 pounds, 11 ounces – with 169 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 Port Aransas City Marina Saturday at 7 a.m., and the final weigh-in will be held at the Aransas Pass Wal-Mart located at 1920 W. Wheeler Road beginning at 3 p.m.
The next FLW Redfish Series Western Division event will be held June 15-17 in Cocodrie, La.
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, 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.