FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. (July 15, 2006) – Ron Hueston of Naples, Fla., and Chris Hueston of Miami, Fla. caught a six-redfish total weighing 34 pounds, 7 ounces to win the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Eastern Division event in Fernandina Beach presented by Yamaha. Their $37,500 prize included a $12,500 bonus from Yamaha.
The brothers started their day south of Fernandina Beach in the Sisters Creek backwaters of Jacksonville. “We fished as far back in the creeks as we could fish,” Ron Hueston said. “We were looking for fish with their backs out of the water. We call that `slithering’.
“Later in the day, when the tide got high, we fished along the edges of Spartina grass in Fernandina. We were catching the fish on the edges of the grass as they were coming out. You had to be right on the edge in that 3-foot zone.”
The Huestons’ early sight-fishing pattern favored Saltwater Assassin jerk baits in watermelon red flake color on 5/0 worm hooks. Topwater tactics with Rapala Skitterwalks in the orange/black/gold pattern and ¼-ounce Booyah Samurai spinnerbaits worked best along the grass lines.
Ron said he and his brother fished the same patterns throughout the tournament. “Everyday we left Sisters Creek with two fish in the well and then our bigger fish came later on the grass lines.”
Ron attributed his team’s success to patterning a good group of redfish during a month of prefishing, but then giving them a rest the week before the tournament. Specific spot selection also factored into their victory.
“We knew the weather pattern for the whole week, and it basically didn’t change. Sunny and hot – the typical summer pattern,” Ron said. “Every spot we fished was protected. We knew which direction the wind was coming every day, so those were the areas we targeted.”
The Huestons have fished together competitively for a dozen years. In this event, Ron poled the boat to avoid spooking redfish with a trolling motor while Chris fired from the bow. “I had confidence in knowing that Chris would make the right cast – and he did every single time,” Ron said.
Rounding out the top five teams were Randy Hendrick of Clearwater, Fla., and Bret Gamrot of St. Petersburg, Fla. (six redfish, 34 pounds, 3 ounces, $9,000, plus $1,000 Ranger bonus and $1,000 Yamaha bonus); Scott Guthrie of Jacksonville, Fla., and Rick Murphy of Homestead, Fla. (six redfish, 30 pounds, 3 ounces, $4,624 plus $1,000 Yamaha bonus); Warren Girle of Long Boat Key, Fla., and Billy Harris of Bradenton, Fla. (six redfish, 29 pounds, 7 ounces, $3,624 plus $1,000 Ranger bonus and $1,000 Yamaha bonus); Scott Hughes of Punta Gorda, Fla., and Mike Laramy of Tampa, Fla. (five redfish, 28 pounds, 12 ounces, $3,250 plus $1,000 Ranger bonus and $1,000 Yamaha bonus).
Teams caught nine redfish Saturday weighing 44 pounds, 7 ounces, with all 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. The next FLW Redfish Series event will be held September 7-9 in Lafitte, 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 Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Stratos Owners’ Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 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.