02-24-2007, 04:25 PM
[size 1]Feb. 23, 2007 - Clearwater, FL)... Bo Johnson, of Cape Coral, Fla., and Richard Hudec, of Naples, Fla., caught a four-redfish total weighing 27 pounds, 15 ounces to lead day two of the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Eastern Division event in Clearwater, Fla., where teams are competing for a top award of as much as $50,000 cash.
"We got lucky again," said Hudec, who, along with Johnson, weighed two keepers for a second-day weight of 13 pounds, 13 ounces. "We made a long, rough run of 120 miles down to Pine Island. It took us more than two hours to get down there and over three hours to get back."
Hudec and Johnson decided to fish the same spot they fished the first day of competition, where they had marked a school of 200 to 250 fish in a shallow bowl in a corner. The shallow hole the fish were in ranged from 1 to 2 feet of water, but the fish were difficult to see because a wind of 15 knots kept a steady ripple on the water. The team deadsticked Berkley Gulp to catch their fish.
"Bo is an excellent sight fisherman and could see the fish much better than I could," Hudec said. "He was great. He caught both of the keeper fish."
Hudec and Johnson caught five fish during the course of the day, including two large fish - over 30 inches - which were over the legal slot limit.
Hudec said his plan for the final day of competition will depend on the weather.
"If the wind is anywhere out of the east tomorrow, we’ll be making the same run," Hudec said. "Eight or nine teams made the run the first day and we were the only team to go back. Everybody thinks we’re crazy. We say go hard or go home."
Rounding out the top five teams are Ken and Jeff Mullett, both of Sarasota, Fla. (four redfish, 26 pounds, 5 ounces); Troy and Jill Sapp, both of Odessa, Fla. (four redfish, 25 pounds, 13 ounces); John Henninger, of Jacksonville, Fla., and John Eggers, of Jacksonville Beach, Fla. (four redfish, 23 pounds, 13 ounces); and Cody and Kyle Chivas, both of Belleair Bluff, Fla. (four redfish, 22 pounds, 13 ounces).
Sixty of 125 teams caught 95 redfish Friday weighing 449 pounds, 13 ounces.
Qualifying tournaments in the $1.9 million Wal-Mart Redfish Series � the most lucrative redfish tournament trail in the world � are three-day events. Up to 150 teams compete 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.
Boats will launch from Coachman Park at 301 Drew Street in Clearwater, Fla., Saturday morning at 7 a.m. The final weigh-in will be held Saturday at the Wal-Mart store located at 23106 U.S. 19 N. in Clearwater, Fla., beginning at 4:30 p.m.
The FLW Redfish Series consists of two divisions � Eastern and Western. Each division is comprised of four qualifying 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 Orange Beach, Ala., Oct. 18-20. 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 Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 238 events in 2007.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most-respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000.[/size]
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[size 1]For the rest of the standings click [url "http://www.fishingworld.com/News/Read.php?ArtID=000019522&BID=000024230"][black][size 3]Here[/size][/black][/url][/size]
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"We got lucky again," said Hudec, who, along with Johnson, weighed two keepers for a second-day weight of 13 pounds, 13 ounces. "We made a long, rough run of 120 miles down to Pine Island. It took us more than two hours to get down there and over three hours to get back."
Hudec and Johnson decided to fish the same spot they fished the first day of competition, where they had marked a school of 200 to 250 fish in a shallow bowl in a corner. The shallow hole the fish were in ranged from 1 to 2 feet of water, but the fish were difficult to see because a wind of 15 knots kept a steady ripple on the water. The team deadsticked Berkley Gulp to catch their fish.
"Bo is an excellent sight fisherman and could see the fish much better than I could," Hudec said. "He was great. He caught both of the keeper fish."
Hudec and Johnson caught five fish during the course of the day, including two large fish - over 30 inches - which were over the legal slot limit.
Hudec said his plan for the final day of competition will depend on the weather.
"If the wind is anywhere out of the east tomorrow, we’ll be making the same run," Hudec said. "Eight or nine teams made the run the first day and we were the only team to go back. Everybody thinks we’re crazy. We say go hard or go home."
Rounding out the top five teams are Ken and Jeff Mullett, both of Sarasota, Fla. (four redfish, 26 pounds, 5 ounces); Troy and Jill Sapp, both of Odessa, Fla. (four redfish, 25 pounds, 13 ounces); John Henninger, of Jacksonville, Fla., and John Eggers, of Jacksonville Beach, Fla. (four redfish, 23 pounds, 13 ounces); and Cody and Kyle Chivas, both of Belleair Bluff, Fla. (four redfish, 22 pounds, 13 ounces).
Sixty of 125 teams caught 95 redfish Friday weighing 449 pounds, 13 ounces.
Qualifying tournaments in the $1.9 million Wal-Mart Redfish Series � the most lucrative redfish tournament trail in the world � are three-day events. Up to 150 teams compete 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.
Boats will launch from Coachman Park at 301 Drew Street in Clearwater, Fla., Saturday morning at 7 a.m. The final weigh-in will be held Saturday at the Wal-Mart store located at 23106 U.S. 19 N. in Clearwater, Fla., beginning at 4:30 p.m.
The FLW Redfish Series consists of two divisions � Eastern and Western. Each division is comprised of four qualifying 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 Orange Beach, Ala., Oct. 18-20. 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 Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 238 events in 2007.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most-respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000.[/size]
[size 1][/size]
[size 1]For the rest of the standings click [url "http://www.fishingworld.com/News/Read.php?ArtID=000019522&BID=000024230"][black][size 3]Here[/size][/black][/url][/size]
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