ENGLEWOOD, Fla. – John Jernigan of Venice, Fla., and Chris Joseph, of Holmes Beach, Fla., caught a six-redfish total weighing 38 pounds, 9 ounces to win the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Eastern Division event in Englewood presented by Yamaha. The top prize of $50,000 included a $12,500 Ranger bonus and a $12,500 Yamaha bonus.
The winners placed third on both qualifying days and entered Saturday’s finale on the strength of their 25-pound, 9-ounce total. Jernigan said he and Joseph spent the entire tournament fishing the same area in South Sarasota Bay.
Fishing mangrove edges, docks and open flats, the duo tempted six redfish with Berkley Gulp! Shrimp in molting and new penny colors rigged on 1/16- and ¼-ounce jig heads. Joseph caught the team’s first weight fish on a flat in two feet of water about 9 a.m. Jernigan sealed the deal around noon by winning a hard-fought battle and wrestling a 7-pounder from under a dock in about six feet.
“That redfish did not want to leave his home and we had a very difficult time getting him away from the dock,” Jernigan said. “He kept making surges back into the structure. Fortunately we had braided line, but the leader was getting (frayed) on the dock.
“We had boat wakes at the same time we were fighting that fish. So we were rocking and rolling. But when we got that fish in the boat, we thought we would be competitive with the other teams.”
Jernigan said that the combination of incoming tides and southerly winds on days one and two created strong water movement that stimulated the redfish. Saturday saw a northwest wind working against the morning tide, and fishing suffered.
“Today, it was very slow fishing and we were a little concerned early,” Jernigan said. “We thought that when the tide started to go out the fishing would pick up. But when it did not improve, we took a gamble and switched over to our B spot on the docks. Just a few minutes after arriving, I hooked that 7-pounder.”
Jernigan said that adapting to the day’s conditions proved intrinsic to his team’s success. “The key for us was having confidence in our technique – working the Gulps very slowly,” he said. “The fish were kind of lethargic today, so we had to fish patiently.”
Rounding out the top five teams are Paul Lambert, of Punta Gorda, Fla., and Donald Lambert, of Port Charlotte, Fla. (six redfish, 35 pounds, 10 ounces, $8,744 plus $1,000 Yamaha bonus); Bo Johnson of Cape Coral, Fla., and Richard Hudec, of Naples, Fla. (six redfish, 33 pounds, 9 ounces, $3,934 plus $1,000 Evinrude bonus); Chuck Cress, of Sarasota, Fla., and Gary Weishaar, of Nokomis, Fla. (six redfish, 32 pounds, 5 ounces, $3,496); and Troy and Christine Perez, both of Mimms, Fla. (six redfish, 32 pounds, 3 ounces, $3,058 plus $1,000 Ranger bonus and $1,000 Evinrude bonus).
Teams caught 10 redfish Saturday weigh 44 pounds, 1 ounce. All were released alive.
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.
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 Walmart.com.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.