Pursuing perfection

Dufour and Bourgeois seeking a final day of 8-pounders at Redfish Series Venice event

VENICE, La. – Three months ago, Todd Dufour and Alden Bourgeois settled for second and third place in the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Open in New Orleans. Today, they’re intent on sharing the top spot in the Series’ Western Division event whose final weigh-ins, coincidentally, will be held in Harvey, La. just across the Mississippi River from the Big Easy.

“I’m back for some revenge,” Bourgeois joked after he and Dufour took the lead at the day-two weigh-ins.

“Me too,” Dufour added. “We both came up short in that event, so we have to get it done this time.”

To complete their quest, these seasoned guides will have to reach deep into their significant well of experience and match their local knowledge with razor-sharp execution. With a 33-pound, 1-ounce total, Dufour and Bourgeois lead the second-place team of Tony Grose and Sal Fontana (31-15) by just over a pound, so their position is far from secure.

With two days of double 8-pounders behind them, Dufour and Bourgeois will likely need another 16-pound stringer to seal the deal. The leaders said they feel confident that they still have plenty of big fish to catch. “We didn’t hit all of our spots yesterday, so we still have some fish that we can go to.”

The key, Dufour said will be maximizing each opportunity. Asked how it feels to enter the final round in the top position, he said: “It feels great, but it’s a double-edged sword because it’s ours to lose. As long as we go out and make no mistakes we should be ok.”

Among the concerns facing anglers in the final round:

Size selection – Leaving your destiny in fate’s hand is never wise, but depending on the luck of the draw in Southern Louisiana puts you on the fast track to tournament failure. On any given day, you could just about sink a bay boat with 5-pound redfish, but two of those pretty much guarantees a back-of-the-pack finish.

Moreover, as Grose points out, time spent winding in little fish is time that could be devoted to larger reds. With all boats due in by 2 p.m., no one has time to spare.

Day-one leaders Trey Hallmark and Steve Snopek enter the final round in fifth place. They’ll probably return to the Delacroix Marsh area and beat the edges of thick hydrilla with spinnerbaits.

Hallmark summarized his team’s time-management strategy: “We’re going to run as fast as we can, get there as quickly as we can, fish as long as we can and come back as safely as we can.”

Essential for time-effective fishing is knowing where you’re throwing. Blind casting certainly factors into a team’s strategy, particularly when searching for fish. However, the teams that fished their way to the final round have done a good job of putting their baits in front of the right fish and, in most cases, they’ve seen their targets first.

Even when cloudy skies prevent true sight-fishing, anglers will look for wakes, pushes and any signs of active redfish. Casting platforms and towers – fixed or collapsible – benefit this game with elevated views.

Storms – At the morning check-out, ominous clouds were already billowing on the horizon. Day one saw fierce afternoon storms chasing anglers out of prime areas, while lightning forced some to seek shelter under drilling rig platforms and on marsh cabins. One of those storms rushed into Venice Marina and drenched the weigh-in stage, but the spectator crowd stayed dry thanks to the new event shelter that marina owners Bill and Mike Butler recently erected.

Day two brought milder meteorological conditions, but the day-three forecast calls for thunderstorms by mid morning.

Heat – Keeping fish healthy during a long, hot day is often as challenging as catching them in the first place. Particularly with weight fish caught early in the day, anglers will have to double as personal trainers/relaxation therapists by frequently checking on their fish to ensure that the live well temperature and oxygen levels are where they should be. Oxygen infusers keep the fish breathing well and frozen bottles of water placed in the well can help moderate the temperature.

Logistics

All teams will compete during the first two days, and the top five teams based on accumulated weight advance to day three. Final standings are determined by the total weight from all three days.

Saturday’s final weigh-ins start at 4 p.m. at the Wal-Mart store located at 1501 Manhattan Blvd. in Harvey, La. Take-offs and weigh-ins are free, and the community is invited to attend the festivities.

The Venice FLW Redfish Series event is hosted by Venice Marina.

The top award of $50,000 includes $20,000 cash plus a $15,000 cash bonus from Ranger Boats and a $15,000 cash bonus from Yamaha or Evinrude if contingency guidelines are met.

The top 50 teams in each division of the 2008 FLW Redfish Series, based on Land O’Lakes Team of the Year points standings at the end of the season, will advance to the $300,000 Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Championship Oct. 30-Nov. 1 in Biloxi, Miss. The winning team at the championship will earn as much as $100,000.

Saturday’s conditions:

Sunrise: 5:58 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 80

Expected high temperature: 86

Water temperature: 76

Wind: NW 4 mph, shifting NE 5 mph

Humidity: 65

Day’s outlook: Partly sunny early, scattered thunderstorms