07-02-2009, 11:10 AM
LIZELLA, GEORGIA - Bob Looper and Rick Walters, both of Brooksville, Florida, caught a two-redfish limit that weighed 13.23 pounds to win the 2009 IFA Redfish Tour event at Englewood, Florida, on June 27. To win the one-day event, which launched out of Stump Pass Marina, Looper and Walters bested a field of other two-angler teams to win the event, adding 200 points to their IFA Florida West Coast Division point total.
The pair ran its Ranger boat approximately 40 miles south of the takeoff on Saturday en route to their second IFA Redfish Tour win in as many seasons (2008 Sarasota event). Targeting redfish with Gulp! Jerk Shads, the pair boated 10 fish on the day, including a 6.64-pound kicker, which anchored their winning weight.
"We worked the baits really slow in deep waters and it was the trick today," Looper said of the team's methodical approach to the tournament.
With the win, the pair won a 2009 Ranger Banshee Extreme valued at more than $30,000. The boat is powered by a 60-horsepower, four-stroke Yamaha outboard and is equipped with a Bob's four-inch Ultra Light Jackplate, Power-Pole shallow water anchor, Minn Kota trolling motor, Humminbird electronics, Blue Point Fabrication metal work and Loadmaster trailer.
As the tournament's winners and the highest-finishing Ranger Cup participants, Looper and Walters also won the $2,000 Ranger Cup award for competing from their Ranger boat.
The second-place team of Mike Tindal of Mobile, Ala., and Artie Price Jr. of Port Richey, Fla., brought 12.17 pounds to the scales on Saturday, buoyed by a 6.11-pound kicker redfish. The team, which already has a first-place finish to its credit this season after winning the Bay St. Louis event last month, ran 25 miles in its Ranger boat, targeting hard-to-catch redfish with Gulp! baits.
"Artie and I have a lot of experience catching spooky redfish and they were spooky here," Tindal said. "You just have to take your time and be patient and that's what we did."
The third-place team of Greg Devault of Port Richey, Fla., and Jon Turner of Myakka City, Fla., weighed in a two-fish limit that tipped the scales at 12.12 pounds. Using jerk baits to sight fish for cruising reds, the team reported catching around 40 fish in two separate locations identified during practice.
"Once you've made up your mind that you're going to sight fish all day," Devault said, "you've got to have your Power-Pole shallow-water anchor to keep you from blowing off of spots and a good pair of polarized sunglasses. I couldn't see a thing out there without my Solar Bats."
The 13th-place team of Tony Katsaralas and Dave Turgeon pocketed the $100 Solar Bat Prize for being the highest-finishing team competing while wearing the popular sunglasses. Ray Trudeau and Clinton Lacinak brought one redfish to the scales on their way to finishing 27th, but the 6.86-pound catch was the largest of the tournament, winning the $1,500 Rapala Big Fish Award for the team.
The IFA Redfish Tour continues to draw redfish anglers from Texas to the Carolinas and beyond, offering two-angler teams the opportunity to compete in six different divisions, each offering a three-event regular season. With low entry fees for the one-day, regular-season tournaments allow anglers to fish close to home and minimize expenses, while still being a part of a premier inshore, catch-and-release redfish tournament organization. Teams fishing any three of the IFA's 18 regular-season events are automatically qualified for a no-entry-fee championship event, pitting qualifiers from each of the six divisions for a combined $77,000 in payouts and prize packages, as well as a shot at the coveted Cabela's Overall Divisional Team of the Year Award for the six regular-season division winners.
Added this year as an incentive for the very active anglers capitalizing on the opportunities to fish close to home for big money and valuable prizes, teams fishing at least six tournaments in any combination of divisions are automatically eligible to compete for the IFA Redfish Tour "Ultra 6" award. The award consists of a $5,000 cash prize, presented to the highest-finishing eligible team at the IFA Redfish Tour championship tournament.
This year, in addition to $47,000 in payouts per event (based on a 100-boat field), the first-place prize package for all 18 IFA Redfish Tour regular-season events has been increased. In 2009, every regular-season tournament winner is guaranteed - regardless of field size - a fully loaded 2009 Ranger Banshee Extreme. The boat is powered by a 60-horsepower, four-stroke Yamaha outboard and is equipped with a Bob's four-inch Ultra Light Jackplate, Power-Pole shallow water anchor, Minn Kota trolling motor, Humminbird electronics, Blue Point Fabrication metal work and Loadmaster trailer. The entire first-place prize package is valued at $30,000.
For more information on the IFA Redfish Tour, to become a member of the IFA or to become a part of the fastest-growing inshore fishing tournament series in the United States, go online to redfishtour.com.
IFA Redfish Tour events are made possible through the sponsorship and continued support of the fishing industry's most respected brands: Ranger Boats, Cabela's, Yamaha Outboards, Rapala, Trigger X, Sufix, Minn Kota, Humminbird, Power-Pole, Wrap This, CW Crab, Charter Lakes Marine Insurance, Solar Bat, Gemini Custom Apparel, Navionics, Bob's Machine Shop, Blue Point Fabrication, Terminator, VMC Hooks, Loadmaster Trailers, Powertex Group, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, Stump Pass Marina and Beef O'Brady's of Englewood.
IFA Florida West Coast Division
Englewood, Fla. (Top 10)<br />
1. Looper/Walters - 13.24 lbs.
2. Tindal/Price Jr. - 12.17 lbs.
3. Devault/Turner - 12.12 lbs.
4. Jewett/Maddox - 11.59 lbs.
5. Massey/Jernigan - 11.23 lbs.
6. Lockyer/Lockyer - 11.19 lbs.
7. Dalrymple/Brewer - 11.18 lbs.
8. Cress/Weishaar - 10.83 lbs. (6.11-pound big fish tiebreaker)
9. Page/Murphy - 10.83 lbs.
10. Perez/Broxton - 10.60 lbs.
Ranger Cup Award ($2,000): Looper/Walters<br />
Rapala Big Fish ($1,500): Trudeau/Lacinak - 6.86 lbs.<br />
Solar Bat Award ($100): Katsaralas/Turgeon
IFA Redfish Tour Florida West Coast Division Point Standings<br />
(Through two events)<br />
1. Page/Murphy - 391 points<br />
2. Looper/Walters - 390 points<br />
3. Arsenault/Wonderling - 381 points
Media Contact<br />
Josh Ward, Blue Heron Communications (800) 654-3766 or Josh@blueheroncomm.com
The pair ran its Ranger boat approximately 40 miles south of the takeoff on Saturday en route to their second IFA Redfish Tour win in as many seasons (2008 Sarasota event). Targeting redfish with Gulp! Jerk Shads, the pair boated 10 fish on the day, including a 6.64-pound kicker, which anchored their winning weight.
"We worked the baits really slow in deep waters and it was the trick today," Looper said of the team's methodical approach to the tournament.
With the win, the pair won a 2009 Ranger Banshee Extreme valued at more than $30,000. The boat is powered by a 60-horsepower, four-stroke Yamaha outboard and is equipped with a Bob's four-inch Ultra Light Jackplate, Power-Pole shallow water anchor, Minn Kota trolling motor, Humminbird electronics, Blue Point Fabrication metal work and Loadmaster trailer.
As the tournament's winners and the highest-finishing Ranger Cup participants, Looper and Walters also won the $2,000 Ranger Cup award for competing from their Ranger boat.
The second-place team of Mike Tindal of Mobile, Ala., and Artie Price Jr. of Port Richey, Fla., brought 12.17 pounds to the scales on Saturday, buoyed by a 6.11-pound kicker redfish. The team, which already has a first-place finish to its credit this season after winning the Bay St. Louis event last month, ran 25 miles in its Ranger boat, targeting hard-to-catch redfish with Gulp! baits.
"Artie and I have a lot of experience catching spooky redfish and they were spooky here," Tindal said. "You just have to take your time and be patient and that's what we did."
The third-place team of Greg Devault of Port Richey, Fla., and Jon Turner of Myakka City, Fla., weighed in a two-fish limit that tipped the scales at 12.12 pounds. Using jerk baits to sight fish for cruising reds, the team reported catching around 40 fish in two separate locations identified during practice.
"Once you've made up your mind that you're going to sight fish all day," Devault said, "you've got to have your Power-Pole shallow-water anchor to keep you from blowing off of spots and a good pair of polarized sunglasses. I couldn't see a thing out there without my Solar Bats."
The 13th-place team of Tony Katsaralas and Dave Turgeon pocketed the $100 Solar Bat Prize for being the highest-finishing team competing while wearing the popular sunglasses. Ray Trudeau and Clinton Lacinak brought one redfish to the scales on their way to finishing 27th, but the 6.86-pound catch was the largest of the tournament, winning the $1,500 Rapala Big Fish Award for the team.
The IFA Redfish Tour continues to draw redfish anglers from Texas to the Carolinas and beyond, offering two-angler teams the opportunity to compete in six different divisions, each offering a three-event regular season. With low entry fees for the one-day, regular-season tournaments allow anglers to fish close to home and minimize expenses, while still being a part of a premier inshore, catch-and-release redfish tournament organization. Teams fishing any three of the IFA's 18 regular-season events are automatically qualified for a no-entry-fee championship event, pitting qualifiers from each of the six divisions for a combined $77,000 in payouts and prize packages, as well as a shot at the coveted Cabela's Overall Divisional Team of the Year Award for the six regular-season division winners.
Added this year as an incentive for the very active anglers capitalizing on the opportunities to fish close to home for big money and valuable prizes, teams fishing at least six tournaments in any combination of divisions are automatically eligible to compete for the IFA Redfish Tour "Ultra 6" award. The award consists of a $5,000 cash prize, presented to the highest-finishing eligible team at the IFA Redfish Tour championship tournament.
This year, in addition to $47,000 in payouts per event (based on a 100-boat field), the first-place prize package for all 18 IFA Redfish Tour regular-season events has been increased. In 2009, every regular-season tournament winner is guaranteed - regardless of field size - a fully loaded 2009 Ranger Banshee Extreme. The boat is powered by a 60-horsepower, four-stroke Yamaha outboard and is equipped with a Bob's four-inch Ultra Light Jackplate, Power-Pole shallow water anchor, Minn Kota trolling motor, Humminbird electronics, Blue Point Fabrication metal work and Loadmaster trailer. The entire first-place prize package is valued at $30,000.
For more information on the IFA Redfish Tour, to become a member of the IFA or to become a part of the fastest-growing inshore fishing tournament series in the United States, go online to redfishtour.com.
IFA Redfish Tour events are made possible through the sponsorship and continued support of the fishing industry's most respected brands: Ranger Boats, Cabela's, Yamaha Outboards, Rapala, Trigger X, Sufix, Minn Kota, Humminbird, Power-Pole, Wrap This, CW Crab, Charter Lakes Marine Insurance, Solar Bat, Gemini Custom Apparel, Navionics, Bob's Machine Shop, Blue Point Fabrication, Terminator, VMC Hooks, Loadmaster Trailers, Powertex Group, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, Stump Pass Marina and Beef O'Brady's of Englewood.
IFA Florida West Coast Division
Englewood, Fla. (Top 10)<br />
1. Looper/Walters - 13.24 lbs.
2. Tindal/Price Jr. - 12.17 lbs.
3. Devault/Turner - 12.12 lbs.
4. Jewett/Maddox - 11.59 lbs.
5. Massey/Jernigan - 11.23 lbs.
6. Lockyer/Lockyer - 11.19 lbs.
7. Dalrymple/Brewer - 11.18 lbs.
8. Cress/Weishaar - 10.83 lbs. (6.11-pound big fish tiebreaker)
9. Page/Murphy - 10.83 lbs.
10. Perez/Broxton - 10.60 lbs.
Ranger Cup Award ($2,000): Looper/Walters<br />
Rapala Big Fish ($1,500): Trudeau/Lacinak - 6.86 lbs.<br />
Solar Bat Award ($100): Katsaralas/Turgeon
IFA Redfish Tour Florida West Coast Division Point Standings<br />
(Through two events)<br />
1. Page/Murphy - 391 points<br />
2. Looper/Walters - 390 points<br />
3. Arsenault/Wonderling - 381 points
Media Contact<br />
Josh Ward, Blue Heron Communications (800) 654-3766 or Josh@blueheroncomm.com