05-05-2011, 03:10 PM
LIZELLA, Ga. - Mike Davis, of Palmetto, Fla., and Charlie Brown, of Lakeland, Fla., weighed in a two-redfish limit that totaled 13.36 pounds to win the IFA Redfish Tour event at Sarasota, Fla., on April 30. To win the event, which operated out of Centennial Park, the team topped a large field of two-angler teams, taking home a new, fully rigged Ranger Banshee Extreme powered by a 60-horsepower, four-stroke Yamaha outboard and equipped with a Power-Pole shallow water anchor, Minn Kota trolling motor, Humminbird electronics, Blue Point Fabrication metal work, Bob's four-inch Ultra Light Jackplate, an OPTIMA battery and a Loadmaster trailer valued at $30,000.
In capturing the team's first IFA win after three seasons with the tour, Davis and Brown battled low tides, high winds and rough waters to motor 50 miles north of Sarasota. There the team focused on drop offs, using Berkley Gulp! Sinking Minnows to boat its tournament-winning fish.
"It was kind of a slow day and we didn't catch that many fish," Davis said. "The low tide might have had something to do with that, but it's a relief to get the first win."
Second-place finishers, Rusty Jewitt, of Clearwater, Fla., and Rick Maddox, of Largo, Fla., brought 13.35 pounds to the scaled during the Sarasota event, spending the bulk of their time fishing an area within 10 minutes of the tournament launch site. Using Berkley Gulp! baits, the pair also took home the $1,000 Cabela's Angler Cash prize in addition to their second-place winnings.
"All we had to do was idle up to our spot just about 10 minutes from here," Jewitt said. "It was a great day fishing. It's always a great day when you can spend all day fishing with your best friend and finish second in a tournament like this."
The third-place team of Jules Rauch and James Stephen weighed in 12.54 pounds during the tournament, also fishing close to the tournament launch site. Using Berkley Gulp! baits to land their prize-winning catch, the team reported boating four fish on the day.
Fourth-place finishers, Billy Alstrom and Will Osborne, won the Berkley Gulp! Big Fish Award with their 7.36-pound redfish, winning $500 plus a $500 Cabela's gift card from Berkley for catching the fish on a Gulp! bait.
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. Low entry fees for the one-day, regular-season tournaments allows 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 $78,200 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.
In addition to a possible $60,000 in payouts per event (based on a 100-boat field), the first-place prize package for all 18 IFA Redfish Tour regular-season events remains extremely lucrative. In 2011, every regular-season tournament winner is guaranteed - regardless of field size - a fully loaded 2011 Ranger Banshee Extreme. The boat is powered by a 60-horsepower, four-stroke Yamaha outboard and is equipped with a Power-Pole shallow water anchor, Minn Kota trolling motor, Humminbird electronics, Blue Point Fabrication metal work, Bob's four-inch Ultra Light Jackplate, an OPTIMA battery and a Loadmaster trailer. The entire first-place prize package is valued at $30,000. Lucrative contingency programs added for 2011 include $50 prize to the team claiming the big fish award in an IFA Redfish Tour event if the fish is landed with an EGO Net, $25 prize for both the big redfish and big trout in IFA Kayak Tour events; $250 prize to a qualifying winning team which competes from a boat equipped with OPTIMA Batteries; PENN reels for tournament-winning anglers who compete with PENN reels.
For more information or to become a member of the IFA, the fastest-growing inshore fishing tournament series in the United States, go online to www.redfishtour.com or www.ifakayakfishingtour.com. To discover more about kayaking and Hobie Fishing go to www.hobiefishing.com.
IFA events are made possible through the sponsorship and continued support of the fishing industry's most respected brands: Ranger Boats, Hobie Fishing, Cabela's, Gulp!, Gulp! Alive, PENN reels, Yamaha Outboards, Columbia Sportswear, Minn Kota, Humminbird, OPTIMA Batteries, Power-Pole, Wrap This, Blue Point Fabrication, EGO Nets, Spiderwire, Sebile, Bob's Machine Shop, 321fish.com, Kayak Angler Magazine, Loadmaster, NBOA Marina Insurance, Powertex Group, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and Trader Vic's.
IFA Florida West Division
Sarasota, Fla. (Top 10)<br />
1. Davis/Brown - 13.36 lbs.
2. Jewitt/Maddox - 13.35 lbs.
3. Rauch/Stephen - 12.54 lbs.
4. Alstrom/Osborne - 12.52 lbs.
5. Brantley/Witt - 12.28 lbs.
6. Tillett/Lynn - 12.12 lbs.
7. Gibbs/Heimes - 12.09 lbs.
8. Moore/Taylor - 11.66 lbs.
9. Watts/Walls - 11.58 lbs.
10. Reutter/Naeve - 11.51 lbs.
Berkley Gulp! Big Fish Award ($500) + Cabela's Gift Card ($500):<br />
Alstrom/Osborne (7.36 lbs.)
Cabela's Angler Cash ($1,000):
Jewitt/Maddox
Media Contact<br />
Josh Ward<br />
Blue Heron Communications<br />
(800) 654-3766<br />
Josh@blueheroncomm.com
In capturing the team's first IFA win after three seasons with the tour, Davis and Brown battled low tides, high winds and rough waters to motor 50 miles north of Sarasota. There the team focused on drop offs, using Berkley Gulp! Sinking Minnows to boat its tournament-winning fish.
"It was kind of a slow day and we didn't catch that many fish," Davis said. "The low tide might have had something to do with that, but it's a relief to get the first win."
Second-place finishers, Rusty Jewitt, of Clearwater, Fla., and Rick Maddox, of Largo, Fla., brought 13.35 pounds to the scaled during the Sarasota event, spending the bulk of their time fishing an area within 10 minutes of the tournament launch site. Using Berkley Gulp! baits, the pair also took home the $1,000 Cabela's Angler Cash prize in addition to their second-place winnings.
"All we had to do was idle up to our spot just about 10 minutes from here," Jewitt said. "It was a great day fishing. It's always a great day when you can spend all day fishing with your best friend and finish second in a tournament like this."
The third-place team of Jules Rauch and James Stephen weighed in 12.54 pounds during the tournament, also fishing close to the tournament launch site. Using Berkley Gulp! baits to land their prize-winning catch, the team reported boating four fish on the day.
Fourth-place finishers, Billy Alstrom and Will Osborne, won the Berkley Gulp! Big Fish Award with their 7.36-pound redfish, winning $500 plus a $500 Cabela's gift card from Berkley for catching the fish on a Gulp! bait.
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. Low entry fees for the one-day, regular-season tournaments allows 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 $78,200 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.
In addition to a possible $60,000 in payouts per event (based on a 100-boat field), the first-place prize package for all 18 IFA Redfish Tour regular-season events remains extremely lucrative. In 2011, every regular-season tournament winner is guaranteed - regardless of field size - a fully loaded 2011 Ranger Banshee Extreme. The boat is powered by a 60-horsepower, four-stroke Yamaha outboard and is equipped with a Power-Pole shallow water anchor, Minn Kota trolling motor, Humminbird electronics, Blue Point Fabrication metal work, Bob's four-inch Ultra Light Jackplate, an OPTIMA battery and a Loadmaster trailer. The entire first-place prize package is valued at $30,000. Lucrative contingency programs added for 2011 include $50 prize to the team claiming the big fish award in an IFA Redfish Tour event if the fish is landed with an EGO Net, $25 prize for both the big redfish and big trout in IFA Kayak Tour events; $250 prize to a qualifying winning team which competes from a boat equipped with OPTIMA Batteries; PENN reels for tournament-winning anglers who compete with PENN reels.
For more information or to become a member of the IFA, the fastest-growing inshore fishing tournament series in the United States, go online to www.redfishtour.com or www.ifakayakfishingtour.com. To discover more about kayaking and Hobie Fishing go to www.hobiefishing.com.
IFA events are made possible through the sponsorship and continued support of the fishing industry's most respected brands: Ranger Boats, Hobie Fishing, Cabela's, Gulp!, Gulp! Alive, PENN reels, Yamaha Outboards, Columbia Sportswear, Minn Kota, Humminbird, OPTIMA Batteries, Power-Pole, Wrap This, Blue Point Fabrication, EGO Nets, Spiderwire, Sebile, Bob's Machine Shop, 321fish.com, Kayak Angler Magazine, Loadmaster, NBOA Marina Insurance, Powertex Group, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and Trader Vic's.
IFA Florida West Division
Sarasota, Fla. (Top 10)<br />
1. Davis/Brown - 13.36 lbs.
2. Jewitt/Maddox - 13.35 lbs.
3. Rauch/Stephen - 12.54 lbs.
4. Alstrom/Osborne - 12.52 lbs.
5. Brantley/Witt - 12.28 lbs.
6. Tillett/Lynn - 12.12 lbs.
7. Gibbs/Heimes - 12.09 lbs.
8. Moore/Taylor - 11.66 lbs.
9. Watts/Walls - 11.58 lbs.
10. Reutter/Naeve - 11.51 lbs.
Berkley Gulp! Big Fish Award ($500) + Cabela's Gift Card ($500):<br />
Alstrom/Osborne (7.36 lbs.)
Cabela's Angler Cash ($1,000):
Jewitt/Maddox
Media Contact<br />
Josh Ward<br />
Blue Heron Communications<br />
(800) 654-3766<br />
Josh@blueheroncomm.com