Guthrie-Murphy win Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series event in Tierra Verde
TIERRA VERDE, Fla. – Scott Guthrie of Jacksonville, Fla., and Rick Murphy of Homestead, Fla., caught a three-day total of six redfish weighing 36 pounds, 5 ounces to win the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Eastern Division event in Tierra Verde, Fla., and $37,500 cash.
“There are so many variables that are out of your control in tournament fishing,” Guthrie said. “So when you win one, it really makes you fish with confidence.”
Fishing shallow grass flats near a channel in Sarasota Bay, the anglers caught their heaviest fish at 1 p.m. and 2:41 p.m. They concluded their day at a spot close to the weigh-ins. That stop yielded the winning margin.
“Realistically, we won this tournament on the last cast of the day,” Murphy said. “We added a 6 ¼-pound fish on our last spot. We had one in the well that was 5 ¾, so we gained a half pound by culling that one. That’s why you fish until you have to go.”
The duo started the day with gold spoons, but when the sky cleared out around 11 a.m., they switched to Exude RT Slugs in golden bream color with 1/8- and 1/16-ounce jigheads. Slowly twitching the baits proved most effective.
Guthrie said he and Murphy normally fish 15-pound PowerPro braided line on their 7-foot spinning outfits. Downsizing to 10-pound braid enabled them to fish a stealth pattern.
“The way you’re going to catch the fish in this area is with long casts with the PowerPole down,” Guthrie said. “You can’t run in on the fish. They are so spooky here. We caught our fish by staying off of them.”
Rounding out the top five teams were Geoffrey Page of Venice, Fla., and Ed Zyak of Jensen Beach, Fla. (six redfish, 35 pounds, 14 ounces, $10,600); Mike Anderson and Kenny Hyatt, both of Riverview, Fla. (six redfish, 35 pounds, 13 ounces, $5,850); Warren Girle of Longboat Key, Fla., and Billy Harris of Bradenton, Fla. (six redfish, 35 pounds, 11 ounces, $5,850); and Bryan Watts of Lithia, Fla., and Greg Watts of Eagle Lake, Fla. (six redfish, 33 pounds, 11 ounces, $4,400).
Anglers caught a total of 10 redfish Saturday weighing 53 pounds, 11 ounces, with all being released alive. Five teams caught limits.
FLW Redfish Series qualifying tournaments are three-day events. The entire field competes 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 next FLW Redfish Series Eastern Division event will be held March 30-April 1 in Englewood, Fla.
The FLW Redfish Series consists of two divisions – Eastern and Western. Each division is comprised of four 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 Pensacola, Fla., Oct. 19-21. 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 Redfish Series, as well as the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Stratos Owners’ Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $36.9 million through 241 events in 2006.
For more information on FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information on Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.