NEW ORLEANS – Pro Chad Dufrene of Purvis, Miss., and co-angler Eugene Abadie of Covington, La., caught two-redfish weighing 15 pounds, 2 ounces Thursday to lead day one of the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Open held in conjunction with the Southern Sportsman’s Expo in the Louisiana Superdome this week. Pros competing in the historic tournament, which features the sport’s first pro/co-angler format, are fishing for as much as $50,000 while co-anglers are casting for a top award of $5,000.
“I had a great day. I couldn’t ask for a better partner,” Dufrene said. “My partner helped me in every way he could to get the best fish possible. We saw a lot of fish and we caught a lot of fish.”
Dufrene said he went back to his home waters to catch his reds and caught 30 fish out of one spot. He traveled 156 miles round trip to his key area just west of Golden Meadow, La.
“Today, it was sunny so we could sight fish but it was windy and we drifted really fast,” Dufrene said. “We were drifting on top of fish and we didn’t have a lot of time. We had to make the right cast or it was over. The fish are scattered out more because the water is about a foot higher than it was in practice.
“I am fishing clear water around plenty of grass,” Dufrene said. “No matter how hard the wind blows the grass filters the water and keeps it clean.”
Dufrene caught his redfish throwing Berkley powerbaits, tubes, jerkbaits and gold spoons.
Rounding out the top five pros and co-anglers are Todd Dufour of Marrero, La., and Barnie White of Brewton, Ala. (two redfish, 14 pounds, 14 ounces); Jeff Steckler of Rockport, Texas, and Wes Pady of Rockport, Texas (two redfish, 14 pounds, 14 ounces); Andy Mnichowski of Marrero, La., and Jason Leblanc of Marrero, La. (two redfish, 14 pounds, 14 ounces); and David Nesloney Sr. of Rockport, Texas, and Gus Wilson of Gretna, La. (two redfish, 14 pounds, 14 ounces).
The FLW Redfish Open format is modeled after the highly successful Wal-Mart FLW® Walleye Tour, where randomly paired pros and co-anglers fish as a team and carry their combined catch weight to the next day of competition. The full field will compete for two days and then be cut to the top 30 pros and co-anglers for day three. After day three, the field will be cut to the top five pros and co-anglers for the fourth and final day of competition. Winners in each division will be determined by the accumulated weight of their respective catches during all four days of competition.
Anglers will take off from Bayou Segnette State Park located at 7777 Westbank Expressway in Westwego, La., at 6:30 each morning. Weigh-ins will be held at the Louisiana Superdome located at Sugar Bowl Dr. in New Orleans beginning at 5 p.m. each day.
Coverage of the FLW Redfish Open will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program airing April 27. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast in Canada on WFN (World Fishing Network) and to more than 429 million households in the United Kingdom, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East through a distribution agreement with Matchroom Sport, making it the most widely distributed fishing program in the world. The program airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time in most markets. Check local listings for times in your area.
The top award of $100,000 in the Pro Division includes $50,000 based on a full field of 100 boats plus a $25,000 Ranger bonus and a $25,000 Evinrude or Yamaha bonus based on a full field of 100 boats if contingency guidelines are met.
Tournament pros aren’t the only ones winning big this season. With the introduction of FLW Fantasy Fishing™, FLW Outdoors® offers anyone the opportunity to enter for their chance to land the catch of a lifetime with the opportunity to win $7.3 million in cash and prizes. Players can become a virtual pro angler by signing up for Player’s Advantage, providing them with exclusive insider information that could guide them to a $100,000 victory at every Wal-Mart FLW Tour® stop and the Forrest Wood Cup. Player’s Advantage will give them an edge over the competition and increase their shot for a $1 million cash grand prize that will be awarded to the FLW Fantasy Fishing cumulative points winner. Those who visit FantasyFishing.com today can sign up for Player’s Advantage and FLW Outdoors will include a $15 Wal-Mart gift card.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. In 2008 alone the organization is offering more than 90,000 anglers the chance to win over $40 million through 230 tournaments in 10 circuits targeting bass, walleye, redfish, kingfish and striped bass. FLW Outdoors is also taking fishing mainstream with the largest cash awards in the history of fantasy sports, $7.3 million.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.