FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. (May 31, 2007) – Gary McKenzie, of Bartow, Fla., and Sam Bertha, of Bunnell, Fla., caught a two-redfish limit weighing 13 pounds, 3 ounces to lead day one of the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Eastern Division event in Fernandina Beach, where teams are competing for a top award of as much as $50,000 cash.
“We made a pretty long run down to St. Augustine,” said McKenzie, who is fishing his third year of the FLW Redfish Series. “We had the fish that we weighed in within 25 to 30 minutes of takeoff. We only made about 15 or 20 casts.
“It was just perfect timing,” McKenzie added. “The tide was right and we had a very good area where there were quite a few fish. We landed three fish in our spot and then left.”
McKenzie said an early topwater bite produced his keepers in a 125-yard stretch of water, but the team kept fishing after they had boated their weigh-in fish to find suitable backup spots for the rest of the tournament.
“Conditions were perfect today,” McKenzie said. “It was overcast with a little bit of wind and a little bit of a chop on the water – perfect for topwater fishing. Tomorrow the wind might blow a little harder and we might end up switching to a different tactic.”
Rounding out the top five teams are Diane Winters and Fred Winters, both of Port Charlotte, Fla. (two redfish, 12 pounds, 13 ounces); Shawn Walker, of Crystal River, Fla., and Mark Sansom, of Ocala, Fla. (two redfish, 12 pounds, 12 ounces); Daniel Benson, of Brandon, Fla., and Steven Howie, of Saint Cloud, Fla. (two redfish, 12 pounds, 9 ounces) and Tommy Derringer, of St. Augustine, Fla., and Chris Herrera, of Palm Coast, Fla. (two redfish, 12 pounds, 8 ounces).
Teams caught 71 redfish Thursday weighing 566 pounds, 4 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 Fernandina Harbor Marina Friday morning at 6:30 a.m. Saturday’s take-off will be at 6:45 a.m. Friday’s weigh-in will be held at Fernandina Harbor Marina beginning at 3:30 p.m. The final weigh-in will be held Saturday at the Wal-Mart store located at 1757 S. 14th St. in Fernandina Beach, beginning at 4 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 Walmart.com.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.