Wiggins-Tanner widen lead in Panama City Beach

Popular Florida team cracks 15-pound mark again, leads by 3-8

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. – For the second day in a row, the redfish team of Blair Wiggins of Cocoa, Fla., and Travis Tanner of Titusville, Fla., were the only team in FLW Redfish Series event to break the 15-pound mark.

Now their two-day total comes to 31 pounds, 7 ounces, which gives them a 3-1/2-pound lead going into day three.

“We’re pretty pumped,” said Wiggins, the popular television show host for Addictive Fishing. “We’re on a huge school of redfish. Yesterday, the school was all broken up; today the school came back together and it’s enormous. When they come up together, it turns the water red for half an acre.”

The Florida team is making a run of some 60 miles to the east, well outside of East and West bays.

With such a feeding frenzy going on, Wiggins said the fish will eat just about anything tossed into the school.

“I powered fished them today,” Wiggins said. “I went to a D.O.A. Bait Buster because it has a big strong hook in it. I tied it to 65-pound test Power pro on my signature series Wright and McGill rod. I can sail that bait buster out there on the wind and as soon as it hits the water one gets it.”

One trick Wiggins and Tanner are using to segregate the big fish is to skim the lure on the surface at a fast rate of speed until the “right size fish” starts chasing it.

“Five or six fish will chase that thing on the surface at one time,” he said. “Little ones will get up behind it and we try and keep it away from them until a big one humps up behind it, then we kill the bait and hope that bigger fish gets it.”

Despite his lead, Wiggins is still a bit apprehensive about naming himself as the winner.

“Believe me, in these tournaments anything can happen,” he said. “We were leading out in Port Lavaca, Texas a couple weeks ago and strong winds killed us the last day. We still have to make things happen tomorrow. I won’t feel comfortable until we get about 12 pounds in the boat.”

Jackson-Espenlaub hold onto second

While the leading team is making a long run in a big bay boat to their fish, the team Frank Jackson of St. Petersburg, Fla., and Charles Espenlaub of Lutz, Fla., are fishing very close to the launch site in a tiny technical skiff to hold onto second place.

Jackson and Espenlaub now have a two-day total of 27 pounds, 15 ounces.

“It’s all about stealth for us,” said Jackson. “We’re staking down and waiting for the fish to come to us. We have to be ultra-quiet and reduce motion in the boat to avoid spooking the fish.”

“We’re just trying to become part of the environment out there,” Espenlaub added. “If you sit still and quiet for a long time, the fish will eventually get used to you being there and get back into their comfort zone.”

Including practice, the team has burnt only 13 gallons of gas this week.

“That’s the challenge for us,” Jackson added. “We like to stay within the waters of the venue and out-stealth the fish that live here. There are plenty of good fish right here in this bay where we’re putting in so we don’t feel like we need to run a hundred miles a day to catch fish.”

Shaw-Vandemark jump into third

Kevin Shaw of Corpus Christi, Texas and Tadd Vandemark of Key Largo, Fla., are in third place with 27 pounds, 7 ounces.

Shaw and Vandemark are making one of the longest runs of the event – some 80 miles – to the east.

“We’ve got two large schools located and we’re kind of bouncing back and forth between them,” Vandemark said. “We’re blind-casting Sebile Flatshads around the area and catching a few on that. When a school comes up, we cast D.O.A. CAL series (white with a chartreuse tail) at them and usually double up.”

Shaw and Vandemark have bettered their weight each day, weighing 13-06 and 14-01 respectively, and Vandemark thinks they can go higher tomorrow.

“I think the best we could possibly do out of our area is about 15 pounds,” he added. “If we can get the right bites, we can have that tomorrow.”

Ochs-Crafton fourth

John Ochs of Englewood, Fla., and Roger Crafton of Boca Grande, Fla., are in fourth place with 26-09.

Ochs and Crafton are fishing near the leading team of Wiggins-Tanner, which means they are making a lengthy run as well.

Crafton backs up Wiggins’ assessment of the sheer size of the school the two teams are fishing.

“It’s clearly one of the most impressive schools I’ve ever seen,” said Crafton. “And I’ve seen some big ones in Mosquito Lagoon and Boca Grande. What’s so unbelievable to me about the school is how tightly packed the fish are together. When they come up, it’s not just a couple of flashes of bronze here and there, the water turns completely red. And there’s every size fish in there from 19 to 30 inches – it’s just incredible.”

Segraves-Edwards round out top 5

Terry Segraves of Kissimmee, Fla., and Bill Edwards of Pembroke, Fla., round out the top-5 teams who will be fishing Saturday’s final round with a two-day total of 26-08.

Day three of the FLW Redfish will begin Saturday morning at 6 a.m. at Bay Point Marina in Panama City.