Legends in the making at Port Lavaca
Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Western Division anglers have one final day to qualify for the finals, survive top-five cut
PORT LAVACA, Texas – With the intense winds finally dying down and sunny conditions projected throughout the afternoon hours, Redfish Series anglers no longer have to worry about the weather. However, that’s the good news. The bad news is that by the end of Friday’s competition, 91 Redfish Series teams will be asked to pack their bags to make room for the top-five finalists who survive today’s cut.
As the full field departed Lighthouse Beach marina shortly after 7 a.m. Friday morning, many teams – as well as some pre-tournament favorites – have plenty of ground to make up.
“We’re right there on the bubble,” said Chief Tauzin, a Redfish Series veteran who currently resides in 37th place along with pro partner Clark Jordan. “I think we’re going to need 17 pounds today to make the cut. As a team, we’re really hungry to get another win. We’re not going to worry about points. We’re going to roll the dice and go for the win.”
For a good number of teams, yesterday’s blustery conditions threw a real monkey wrench in many of the carefully developed pre-tournament plans.
“We had originally planned to head south yesterday, but the weather played a big part in our decision to go north. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get the right bites and the decision to head north really didn’t work out for us,” said Tauzin. “Today, we’re heading back south. That’s where we spent the most time practicing and we have some areas where we think we can do well. We have a two-hour one-way trip ahead of us. But in this sport, you have to take some risks.”
Currently, the team of Blair Wiggins of Cocoa, Fla., and Travis Tanner of Titusville, Fla., are in first place with a total catch of 16 pounds, 6 ounces. But while second-place competitors Dwayne Eschete and Blake Pizzolato are nearly a full pound behind the duo of Wiggins and Tanner, the day-one leaders’ grasp on first place is far from secure. With numerous redfish lurking in the 8- and 9-pound range, as well as some monstrous 10-pounders already recorded, the Port Lavaca event represents one of the few redfish venues where angling teams can make up some serious ground in just a few hours.
“These fish are really fat right now,” said Tauzin. “And if the sun comes out today and sight-fishing comes into play, you could see some real big bags.”
The competition
The Port Lavaca event, scheduled to run from April 10-12, represents the first FLW Redfish Series Western Division tournament of the 2008 season. Per Redfish Series tournament rules, the full field of 96 teams will compete each of the first two days of competition. At the end of today’s action, the top five teams – based on total accumulated weight – advance to Saturday’s finals. Final standings are determined by the total weight from all three days.
Up to two redfish may be weighed in per team, per day. However, each fish must fall within the regulated 20- to 28-inch slot limit to be counted.
Anglers will be competing on two-man teams for a top award of as much as $50,000. In addition, they will also be vying for valuable points toward a berth into the no-entry-fee, $300,000 Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Championship in Biloxi, Miss., slated for Oct. 30-Nov. 1. The winning team at the championship will earn as much as $100,000.
Friday’s weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. Central time at Lighthouse Beach, located at 700 Lighthouse Beach Boulevard in Port Lavaca, Texas.
Friday’s conditions:
Sunrise: 7:05 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 75 degrees
Expected high temperature: 84 degrees
Water temperature: 67-70 degrees
Tides (at Sarasota, Fla.): low 7:06 a.m., high 7:33 p.m.
Wind: NNE at 10-20 mph
Maximum humidity: 57 percent
Day’s outlook: Partly cloudy conditions giving way to sun this afternoon