PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (May 2, 2008) – Blair Wiggins of Cocoa, Fla., and Travis Tanner of Titusville, Fla., landed two redfish weighing 15 pounds, 9 ounces Friday to lead the Wal-Mart FLW® Redfish Series Eastern event in Panama City Beach, Fla., with a two-day total of four redfish weighing 31-7.
Teams are competing in the tournament for as much as $50,000 cash.
“We got to our first spot and it was a little bit cloudy, and we got worried because the water was up about a foot and a half higher that what it had been,” said Wiggins, who had a fifth-place finish with Tanner at the Redfish Series event in Sarasota in March. “We started blind casting the area because we couldn’t see the fish at the time. We caught two small ones that were legal size, and then at 9:30 the sun popped out and lit the flat up and we were able to sight fish.”
Wiggins said he and Tanner caught at least 20 fish during the second day of competition, and could have caught more, but they were targeting big fish. Wiggins said the team caught their fish on two baits – an Electric Chicken D.O.A. C.A.L. Series bait, and a D.O.A Bait Buster. Wiggins said the Bait Buster’s larger and stronger hook was especially effective when they found a large school of fish.
“I’d throw it at the school, and as soon as it hit, they’d eat it,” Wiggins said. “I’d get them in really, really quick.”
Wiggins said as long as the weather doesn’t change drastically, he feels very confident about his team’s chances going into the final day of competition.
“We should only have to catch 12 pounds since we have a three-pound lead,” Wiggins said. “We’re the only team that has brought in a 15-pound stringer, and we’ve had two of them. All we’re looking to do is to get out and catch a couple of nice fish.”
Rounding out the top five teams who will advance to the final round are Frank Jackson of Saint Petersburg, Fla., and Charles Espenlaub of Lutz, Fla. (four redfish, 27 pounds, 15 ounces); Tadd Vandermark of Key Largo, Fla., and Kevin Shaw of Corpus Christie, Texas (four redfish, 27 pounds, 7 ounces); Roger Crafton of Boca Grande, Fla., and John Ochs of Englewood, Fla. (four redfish, 26 pounds, 9 ounces) and Terry Seagraves of Kissimmee, Fla., and Bill Edwards of Pembroke, Ga. (four redfish, 26 pounds, 8 ounces).
Teams caught 91 redfish Friday weighing 502 pounds, 14 ounces.
Qualifying tournaments in the $1.9 million Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series – the most lucrative redfish tournament trail in the world – are three-day events. The winning team will be determined Saturday based on the heaviest three-day accumulated weight.
Boats will launch from Bay Point Marina Saturday morning at 6 a.m. The final weigh-in will be held Saturday at the Wal-Mart store located at 10270 Front Beach Road in Panama City Beach beginning at 4 p.m.
The FLW Redfish Series consists of two divisions – Eastern and Western – and the $318,500 Redfish Open. Each division is comprised of four $170,000 qualifying tournaments. The top 50 teams from each division based on Land O’Lakes Team of the Year standings will advance to the no-entry-fee $300,000 Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Championship to be held Oct. 30-Nov. 1 in Biloxi, Miss. The championship winner will take home as much as $100,000.
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, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.
Awards are based on a full field of 125 boats in every tournament.