FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. – Chris Joseph of Holmes Beach, Fla., and John Jernigan of Venice, Fla., caught a three-day total of six redfish weighing 31 pounds, 3 ounces to win the Walmart FLW Redfish Series Eastern Division event in Fernandina Beach, Fla. Their top prize of $50,000 included a $15,000 Ranger bonus and a $15,000 Yamaha bonus.
Tropical Storm Hanna’s landfall caused a shift in competition days at the Redfish Series event. Instead of running Thursday to Saturday, the event began Thursday, took Friday off for safety reasons and finished up on Saturday and Sunday.
Joseph and Jernigan opened the tournament with two fish weighing 11-8 Thursday. They added another two fish weighing 8-12 Saturday and capped off the win with two more fish weighing 10-15 Sunday.
The team fished south of Fernandina Beach and threw Exude Darts in golden bream color on ¼-ounce Saltwater Assassin jigheads along a secondary channel of the Intracoastal Waterway.
Rounding out the top five teams are Michael Dotson and Linda Dotson, both of Fernandina Beach, Fla. (six redfish, 30 pounds, 4 ounces, $4,372); Manny Perez of Punta Gorda, Fla., and Paul Jueckstock of Port Orange, Fla. (six redfish, 29 pounds, 14 ounces, $3,086); Scott Owens of Brunswick, Ga., and Robert Aldridge of Jacksonville, Fla. (four redfish, 21 pounds, 8 ounces, $2,425); and Christopher Cenci of Jacksonville, Fla., and Eric Taylor of Rockledge, Fla. (four redfish, 19 pounds, 13 ounces, $1,980).
The $1.9 million FLW Redfish Series consists of two divisions – Eastern and Western – and the $318,500 Redfish Open. Each division is comprised of four $170,000 qualifying tournaments. The top 50 teams from each division based on Land O’Lakes Team of the Year standings will advance to the no-entry-fee $300,000 Walmart FLW Redfish Series Championship to be held Oct. 30-Nov. 1 in Biloxi, Miss. The championship winner will take home as much as $100,000.
Tournament anglers aren’t the only ones winning big this season. With the introduction of FLW Fantasy Fishing, FLW Outdoors offered anyone the opportunity to enter for their chance to land the catch of a lifetime with the opportunity to win $7.3 million in cash and prizes. Players could become a virtual pro angler by signing up for Player’s Advantage, which provided them with exclusive insider information that could have guided them to a $100,000 victory at every Walmart FLW Tour stop and the Forrest Wood Cup. Player’s Advantage gave them an edge over the competition and increased their shot for the $1 million cash grand prize awarded to the FLW Fantasy Fishing cumulative points winner. Visit FantasyFishing.com today to find out more information and to register for next season.
Coverage of the FLW Redfish Series stop in Fernandina Beach will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program airing Nov. 2. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast in Canada on WFN (World Fishing Network) and to more than 429 million households in the United Kingdom, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East through a distribution agreement with Matchroom Sport, making it the most widely distributed fishing program in the world. The program airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time in most markets. Check local listings for times in your area.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. In 2008 alone the organization is offering more than 90,000 anglers the chance to win over $40 million through 230 tournaments in 10 circuits targeting bass, walleye, redfish, kingfish and striped bass. FLW Outdoors is also taking fishing mainstream with the largest cash awards in the history of fantasy sports, $7.3 million.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.
Awards are based on a full field of 125 boats in every tournament.