Cox-Armstrong take early lead in Redfish Series

Florida team uses fog delay for advantage

TIERRA VERDE, Fla. – After missing three hours of fishing time Thursday due to a fog delay this morning, many anglers fishing the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Eastern event had to resort to plan B, plan C, and in some cases, plans D, E and F.

For many teams, it wasn’t so much the loss of time as the loss of timing that impacted their primary plans.

With low tide falling on the 6 a.m. hour at St. Pete Beach this morning, many anglers had fishing strategies that centered on low water first thing in the morning. But by the time they got to their primary areas after the fog delay, the incoming tide had already flushed into their best sand holes and depressions, causing the redfish to scatter.

One team able to stick to their plan A despite the lengthy fog delay was that of Dennis Cox of Edgewater, Fla., and Jim Armstrong of Chuluota, Fla., who weighed in two redfish for 13 pounds, 8 ounces to take the day-one lead.

Cox and Armstrong were fishing just a few minutes from the takeoff. And what’s more, they had located a school of deeper-water reds that were less affected by the tides.

“The delay probably helped us,” Cox surmised. “I’m guessing a lot of these guys were thrown off by the fog; it just happened that some of the best fish we found in practice are nearby. And they’re deeper fish, in the 4-foot range, so we’re not counting on certain tides to make them bite.”

Benson-Howie second

Just 2 ounces off the lead are Daniel Benson of Brandon, Fla., and Steven Howie of Saint Cloud, Fla., in second place with two redfish weighing 13 pounds, 6 ounces.

“The fog delay really messed with us because it allowed other boats into our area before we got there,” Benson said. “The place we’re fishing is only about 10 to 12 inches deep on low tide. We run a Ranger Phantom because it gets us into places like that before bigger boats can float in there. But with the fog delay, we missed the low-tide window. By the time we got there, the higher water had allowed other boats to get in ahead of us; essentially, the fog delay cost us our low-draft advantage.”

“We wanted to be the first ones in because we’ve been sight-fishing these fish when the water is lowest,” Howie added. “Once high water and other boats get in there, the fish act totally different. We had to do a lot more blind-casting today than we have all week.”

Huddleston-Bond third

Jim Huddleston of Palm Harbor, Fla., and James Bond of Dunedin, Fla., are in third place, thanks in large part to a monstrous slot red that weighed 8 pounds, 5 ounces.

Their second fish brought their weight total to 13 pounds even.

The big redfish bit a Big Fish Tackle 6-inch soft-plastic jig, and the other keeper came on a spoon.

“We’re not on a whole bunch of fish, but they’re the right size,” Bond said. “Hopefully the fog will hold off and we’ll have more fishing time tomorrow. We’re making a pretty good run, so more time will help.”

Guthrie-Murphy fourth

Scott Guthrie of Jacksonville, Fla., and Rick Murphy of Homestead, Fla., are in fourth place with a pair of redfish weighing 12 pounds, 14 ounces.

Guthrie and Murphy adapted to the fog delay this morning by going to plan C.

“One thing I’ve learned in my years doing this is that you can’t get locked into any one plan because you never know what’s going to happen,” Murphy offered. “You can’t get tunnel vision; you have to go into each day with eyes wide open and be ready to adjust if you’re thrown a curve ball – and that’s what we did today.”

“Instead of going to our primary spot, we went to the third play in the plan book, so to speak,” Guthrie added. “The third play was our high-water spot, and it paid off.”

The team spent most of the day staked down, blind-casting Exude RT Slugs in golden bream color on 1/8-ounce jigheads.

Watts brothers fifth

Bryan Watts of Lithia, Fla., and Greg Watts of Eagle Lake, Fla., are in fifth place with two redfish weighing 12 pounds, 10 ounces.

The Watts brothers found a silver lining in the fog when they scrapped their plan to run 90 miles and instead stayed relatively close to fish an area that had been good to them in the past.

“It worked out for the best,” Greg Watts said of the fog. “It was a mixed blessing because we ended up stopping on a spot and doing pretty well. Given the circumstances, we’re pretty happy with the outcome.”

The team caught their fish blind-casting Berkley Gulp! Shrimp on Bass Assassin jigheads along a shallow ridge.

“The Power-Pole was the real key to our success today,” Bryan Watts said. “These fish are so spooky, and the Power-Pole lets you stake down without making a sound. As soon as one of us would get a bite, we’d just stick the Power-Pole down and fan-cast the area until we caught another fish.”

Page-Zyak sixth

Geoff Page of Venice, Fla., and Ed Zyak of Jensen Beach, Fla., are in sixth with a pair of redfish weighing 12 pounds.

Page and Zyak were banking on the early low-tide window this morning and had to adapt by moving shallow.

“Not only did we miss the low water, but by the time we got to our best spot, locals had already been fishing there,” Page said. “When you’re dealing with such spooky fish, it helps to be the first boat in a place.”

The team compensated by moving to a nearby shallow bar.

“Instead of fishing the depression, we moved up onto the hump, staked down and made long casts to groups of fish,” Page said. “We stayed in one spot the entire time.”

Page and Zyak reported catching their fish on Mister Twister Exude Darts in golden bream and natural colors rigged on 1/16-ounce Norton jigheads.

New weigh-in system

If you’re wondering what the aquarium-like tanks are in some of the photos, FLW Outdoors is implementing a new in-water weigh-in system for the FLW Redfish Series that allows fish to stay submerged in oxygenated water for the entire weigh-in process.

Not only is the procedure less stressful on the fish, but it gives the weigh-in crowd a unique “fish-eye view” of the quarry.

Day two of the Redfish Series Eastern begins Friday at 7 a.m. Eastern at the Tierra Verde Marina.