TITUSVILLE, Fla. (March 24, 2007) – Rick Worman and Alon Beja, both of Rockledge, Fla., caught a six-redfish total weighing 39 pounds to win the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Eastern Division event in Titusville presented by Evinrude. The top prize was $25,000.
The winners got off to a strong start by besting the field on day one. They initially entered the final round in second place but moved into the top spot when the second day leaders John Oliverio, of Brandon, Fla. and Howie Green of Bushnell, Fla. voluntarily removed themselves from the competition after acknowledging a rules infraction.
Worman and Beja sealed their victory by adding 13 pounds, 3 ounces on Saturday to their 2-day qualifying total of 25-13. They returned to the same area they had fished the previous two days – a system of troughs on the east side of the Indian River Lagoon near Titusville. Beja said he and Workman push poled their boat and used their Power-Pole to stake out and work depths of one to three feet, as they watched for redfish movement.
“We were basically looking for their wakes and casting ahead of the fish,” Beja said. “We were also blind casting, because you can often spook the fish up. They feel the baits (dropping) near them and that makes them move long enough for you to see them.”
The anglers fished Berkley Gulp! Jerk Shads in sardine and cammo colors on 3/0 weedless worm hooks with 1/16-ounce weighted shanks. They caught about 13 redfish between 7:30 and 9:30 a.m. Later in the morning, the bite shut off and the wind increased to about 15-20 knots. Confident with their catch, Worman and Beja decided to head back to the weigh-in site early. They arrived around noon and waited until the scales opened at 4:30.
“We felt like we had two nice fish and we decided to go back to the ramp and nurture them,” Beja said. “We eased back, stopped along the way to switch our (live well) water out and returned slowly.”
Worman pointed to his team’s diligent practice regimen as the key to their success. “We put in a lot of prefishing time and found fish that we thought we could catch. We felt we could get these fish to eat every day and have a consistent bag. Everything really came together today. This was the best three days of fishing I’ve ever had.”
Timing proved critical for the winning team. The anglers had identified a strong tendency for morning feeds among their targeted redfish. The Indian River Lagoon is a non-tidal environment, so waiting on water movement to stimulate fish was not an option.
“Getting there early was important,” Worman said. “We knew these fish would bite early, so we didn’t waste any time. We got there and got right on the fish to bump them up and get the ones we needed.”
Rounding out the top five teams are Scott Hughes, of Punta Gorda, Fla., and Mike Laramy, of Tampa, Fla. (six redfish, 37 pounds, 7 ounces, $7,820 plus $1,000 Evinrude bonus); Joseph Porcelli, of Edgewater, Fla., and Jeff Stellinga, of Windermere, Fla. (six redfish, 36 pounds, 12 ounces, $3,518 plus $1,000 Ranger bonus and $1,000 Yamaha bonus); Tony Vercillo, of Fort Pierce, Fla., and Monty Peters, of Vero Beach, Fla. (six redfish, 36 pounds, 3 ounces, $3,126 plus $1,000 Yamaha bonus); and Cody Chivas and Kyle Chivas, both of Bellair Bluffs, Fla. (six redfish, 35 pounds, 12 ounces, $2,734 plus $1,000 Yamaha bonus).
Teams caught 10 redfish Saturday weighing 60 pounds, 4 ounces. All were released alive.
Qualifying tournaments in the $1.9 million Wal-Mart Redfish Series – the most lucrative redfish tournament trail in the world – are three-day events. Up to 150 teams compete Thursday and Friday, and the top five teams, based on heaviest combined weight, advance to Saturday’s final round. The winning team is determined Saturday based on the heaviest three-day accumulated weight.
The FLW Redfish Series consists of two divisions – Eastern and Western. Each division is comprised of four qualifying events with a $200,000 purse for each event. The top 100 teams – 50 from each division after four qualifying events – will qualify for the three-day, no-entry-fee $300,000 Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Championship to be held in Orange Beach, Ala., Oct. 18-20. The championship winner will take home as much as $100,000.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most-respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.