02-26-2009, 12:10 PM
LIZELLA, GEORGIA - Floridians Ron Schurr of Jacksonville and Jim Chalkley of Panama City caught a two-redfish limit that weighed 15.29 pounds to win the 2009 IFA Redfish Tour season opener in Jacksonville on Saturday. To win the one-day event, which operated out of Sister's Creek Marina, Schurr and Chalkley bested 101 other two-angler teams take to the early points lead in the Florida East Coast Division.
Late-winter weather conditions proved to be the X-factor in the 2009 IFA Redfish Tour season opener, with fog limiting visibility and near-freezing air temperatures limiting some teams' ability to search for fish.
"We practiced on Friday and found fish, but today it didn't matter," said Schurr, explaining the change in the fishing conditions from practice day to competition day. "Everything went out the window. But we caught our first fish at 11 a.m. and we just kept on it."
With the win in the first tournament that the pair has fished together, Schurr and Chalkley took home 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.
Second-place team Ray Trudeau of St. Cloud, Fla., and Thad Lacinak of Orlando, Fla., caught only two redfish all day on a Gulp! Jerk Shad, but the two fish weighed a combined 14.73 pounds. Their second-place finish was the highest for any Ranger Cup participating team, adding $1,000 to the team's $3,550 second-place payout.
"It was a rough day," Trudeau said. "We made the wrong choice first thing off, so we went to our back-up spot. But we wound up only catching two fish all day."
Jeffrey Crumpton and Carl Rauer or Fernandina Beach, Fla., finished third with 13.97 pounds while Rapala Big Fish honors and a $1,500 Rapala prize package went to Sean McDonald and John Taylor for a 7.97-pounder.
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.
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 and Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.
IFA Florida East Coast Division
Jacksonville Results (Top 10)<br />
1. Schurr/Chalkley - 15.29 lbs.
2. Trudeau/Lacinak - 14.73 lbs.
3. Crumpton/Rauer - 13.97 lbs.
4. Looper/Walters - 13.66 lbs.
5. Keating/McBride - 13.35 lbs.
6. Cox/Hardage - 13.31 lbs.
7. Lacoss/Lacoss - 13.27 lbs.
8. Hughey/Ingram - 13.16 lbs.
9. (tie) McGovern/Crown; Kelly/Brockman - 13.13 lbs.
Ranger Cup Award ($1,000): Trudeau/Lacinak<br />
Solar Bat ($100): Lockyer/Klier<br />
Rapala Big Fish ($1,500): McDonald/Taylor - 7.97 lbs.
Media Contact<br />
Josh Ward Blue Heron Communications, (800) 654-3766 or Josh@blueheroncomm.com
Late-winter weather conditions proved to be the X-factor in the 2009 IFA Redfish Tour season opener, with fog limiting visibility and near-freezing air temperatures limiting some teams' ability to search for fish.
"We practiced on Friday and found fish, but today it didn't matter," said Schurr, explaining the change in the fishing conditions from practice day to competition day. "Everything went out the window. But we caught our first fish at 11 a.m. and we just kept on it."
With the win in the first tournament that the pair has fished together, Schurr and Chalkley took home 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.
Second-place team Ray Trudeau of St. Cloud, Fla., and Thad Lacinak of Orlando, Fla., caught only two redfish all day on a Gulp! Jerk Shad, but the two fish weighed a combined 14.73 pounds. Their second-place finish was the highest for any Ranger Cup participating team, adding $1,000 to the team's $3,550 second-place payout.
"It was a rough day," Trudeau said. "We made the wrong choice first thing off, so we went to our back-up spot. But we wound up only catching two fish all day."
Jeffrey Crumpton and Carl Rauer or Fernandina Beach, Fla., finished third with 13.97 pounds while Rapala Big Fish honors and a $1,500 Rapala prize package went to Sean McDonald and John Taylor for a 7.97-pounder.
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.
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 and Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.
IFA Florida East Coast Division
Jacksonville Results (Top 10)<br />
1. Schurr/Chalkley - 15.29 lbs.
2. Trudeau/Lacinak - 14.73 lbs.
3. Crumpton/Rauer - 13.97 lbs.
4. Looper/Walters - 13.66 lbs.
5. Keating/McBride - 13.35 lbs.
6. Cox/Hardage - 13.31 lbs.
7. Lacoss/Lacoss - 13.27 lbs.
8. Hughey/Ingram - 13.16 lbs.
9. (tie) McGovern/Crown; Kelly/Brockman - 13.13 lbs.
Ranger Cup Award ($1,000): Trudeau/Lacinak<br />
Solar Bat ($100): Lockyer/Klier<br />
Rapala Big Fish ($1,500): McDonald/Taylor - 7.97 lbs.
Media Contact<br />
Josh Ward Blue Heron Communications, (800) 654-3766 or Josh@blueheroncomm.com