TITUSVILLE, Fla. (March 23, 2007) – John Oliverio, of Brandon, Fla., and Howie Green, of Bushnell, Fla., caught a four-redfish total weighing 26 pounds, 3 ounces to lead day two of the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Eastern Division event in Titusville presented by Evinrude, where teams are competing for a top award of as much as $50,000 cash.
Running 15 miles north of Titusville to the upper end of the Indian River Lagoon, the leaders worked sandy troughs in approximately two feet of water on the edge of a long bar. Depth, water clarity and fish temperament prohibited sight-fishing, so they resorted to more patient tactics.
“We could see the fish flashing and rolling and every now and then they would rise up to the surface, but we couldn’t really see them eating,” Oliverio said. “They were grubbing along the bottom.”
The anglers fished Berkley Gulp! Shrimp in the molting color on 3/8-ounce Bass Assassin jig heads. Slowly dragging the scented baits along the bottom fooled 10 redfish, the largest of which bit around 11 a.m.
“If you threw the bait near the fish and they saw it moving, they’d run,” Oliverio said. “But we knew from experience that if you let them find it on the bottom, they’ll eat it.”
Oliverio said that positioning with their backs to a stiff wind facilitated long casts. Downsizing to 10-pound Berkley FireLine also helped their casting distance. Moreover, fishing an 18-foot Ranger Ghost skiff allowed the team to maximize their game plan.
“We were fishing in deep water, but we kept the boat parked in shallow water, so it was nice to be able to move laterally from spot to spot. If we were in a bigger boat, we would have had to get out there where the fish were and that would have been a problem.”
On Saturday, Oliverio and Green intend to replicate the pattern that got them to the final round. “We plan on doing the exact same thing,” Oliverio said. “We hope to locate the fish, get ahead of them, Power-Pole down and let them find the baits. We’ll use the exact same crabs and fish the exact same spot the exact same way.”
Rounding out the top five teams are Rick Worman and Alon Beja, both of Rockledge, Fla. (four redfish, 25 pounds, 13 ounces); Joseph Porcelli, of Edgewater, Fla., and Jeff Stellinga, of Windermere, Fla. (four redfish, 25 pounds, 7 ounces); Tony Vercillo, of Fort Pierce, Fla., and Monte Peters, of Vero Beach, Fla. (four redfish, 25 pounds); and Scott Hughes, of Punta Gorda, Fla., and Mike Laramy of Tampa, Fla. (four redfish, 24 pounds, 9 ounces).
Teams caught 168 redfish Friday weighing 800 pounds, 6 ounces.
Qualifying tournaments in the $1.9 million Wal-Mart Redfish Series – the most lucrative redfish tournament trail in the world – are three-day events. Up to 150 teams compete 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 Sand Point Park Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. The final weigh-in will be held Saturday at the Wal-Mart store located at 3175 Cheney Highway in Titusville, beginning at 4:30 p.m.
The FLW Redfish Series consists of two divisions – Eastern and Western. Each division is comprised of four qualifying 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 Orange Beach, Ala., Oct. 18-20. 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, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, 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 of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most-respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.