Motal-Motal move to top

Father-son duo leads Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Championship in Orange Beach

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – After bringing 12 pounds, 8 ounces to the scales Thursday, the father-son redfish team of Pat Motal and Chad Motal, both of Kyle, Texas, brought in another pair of redfish today for 13 pounds, 1 ounce, giving them a two-day total of 25 pounds, 9 ounces for the lead in the FLW Redfish Series Championship.

Even though the Motals are fishing closer to Orange Beach than many of the other top-10 qualifiers, they have not needed the extra time to fish.

“Just like yesterday, we caught our two keepers in the first hour and left,” Chad Motal said. “We came back in early, and spent most of the day right here near the marina, waiting for the scales to open.”

The Texas team has been fishing Strike King’s saltwater model spinnerbait around the same “structure” for two days.

Though the father-and-son team did not want to reveal the exact kind of “structure” they are fishing, they did reveal that it’s pretty gnarly stuff.

“We had to go to Wal-Mart and buy some 65-pound-test Power Pro braided line this week,” Pat Motal said. “This stuff we’re fishing around is really nasty. In fact, Chad got his first fish hung up in it this morning, and had it not been for that Power Pro, we would have never got the fish in.”

“We even sheered a trolling-motor prop pin on the structure,” Chad Motal added. “That’s how bad it is.”

Morel-Young hang tough for second

Matthew Morel and Peter Young, both of New Orleans, refused to give up their runners-up spot today. They added 12 pounds, 6 ounces to their weight of 12 pounds, 12 ounces from yesterday for a two-day total of 25 pounds, 2 ounces, staying within striking range of the leaders.

“Other than our boat coming apart, everything’s going according to plan,” Young said.

Young, who guides out of New Orleans, has been using a loaner boat since Hurricane Katrina ravaged his hometown in August.

“My tournament boat has been missing since the storm,” he said. “They found it the other day. A buddy called and said it’s wrapped around a tree in the woods. Needless to say, I didn’t bring it here.”

After several hard trips across Mobile Bay, Young’s loaner boat is not faring much better.

“The center console separated from the boat, and we had to tie it down with rope – but the redfish are biting, so it’s all good,” he reasoned.

Morel and Young continue to fish Gambler Flappin’ shads in a “bleeding shrimp” color on 1/4-ounce Flutter hooks.

“We’re basically sight-fishing,” he added. “We’re up in 12 to 13 inches of water. We caught about six fish today and saw about 30 more in the area. As long as the water doesn’t drop out due to wind, I think we should be OK.”

Adams-Ramzinsky slip to third

After leading Thursday, the team of Todd Adams of Rockport, Texas, and Tommy Ramzinsky of Fulton, Texas, slipped to third today with a catch of 11 pounds, 5 ounces, which brought their two-day total to 25 pounds even.

“It got much tougher on us today,” Adams said. “We only caught three reds, and it took us all day to do that.”

“What killed us was lack of water movement,” Ramzinsky offered. “The water has been ripping in there, and today it just went slack. In fact, it was moving the best when we first got there and it lightened up all day.

“That current is like the dinner bell,” he added. “When it doesn’t move, they don’t feed. We’ve got to have current tomorrow to catch up. It doesn’t matter if it moves in or out, we just need movement.”

Swensson-Mell hold tight to fourth

Jason Swensson of Key Largo, Fla., and Troy Mell of Islandmorada, Fla., brought in two reds for 11 pounds, 12 ounces today to hold tight in fourth place with a two-day total of 24 pounds, 1 ounce.

“It got a little tougher on us today,” Mell said. “The water fell out a little, and the current wasn’t as strong. We had to back out a little deeper to catch the fish.”

Swensson and Mell continue to use YUM Houdini Shads in smoke gold flake rigged on 1/8-ounce Hook-up jigheads.

Larson-Auld dig into fifth

Another team that held onto their position from yesterday was Jeff Larson of Friendswood, Texas, and Steven Auld of Baytown, Texas. The team weighed in two reds today for 11 pounds, 9 ounces, giving them a two-day total of 23 pounds, 14 ounces.

The Texas team is making a run all the way to Mississippi where they are fishing Norton Brass Rattle spoons and Redfish Magic spinnerbaits in 2 to 3 feet of water.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 teams that will fish tomorrow:

Chris Chapman of Winter Park, Fla., and Dan McGatlin of Lake Mary, Fla., moved from 19th to sixth place today with a two-day total of 23 pounds, 12 ounces.

Local anglers Scott Ritter of Dauphin Island, Ala., and Robert Abruscato of Mobile, Ala., moved into seventh place with a two-day total of 23 pounds, 10 ounces.

Sean Middleton and Brandon Buckner, both of Fort Myers, Fla., moved into eighth place with a two-day total of 23 pounds, 9 ounces.

The biggest stringer of the day was caught by Danny Coppin and John Guerra, both of Belton, Texas. The team brought in two redfish for a whopping 14 pounds even, which catapulted them from 37th place into ninth place with a two-day total of 23 pounds, 6 ounces.

Taking the last ticket into the top 10 was David Nesloney Sr. and David Nesloney Jr., both of Rockport, Texas, with a two-day total of 23 pounds, 1 ounce.

Tomorrow, the top 10 teams will fish the final round. They will carry their two-day cumulative weights over to tomorrow. The final-day action begins at 7 a.m. at Zeke’s Marina in Orange Beach, Ala.