11-15-2008, 12:10 PM
Lizella, Georgia - After securing a two-fish limit during both days of competition weighing a combined 27 .08 pounds, the team of Glenn Finley and Dodd Wood captured the 2008 IFA Redfish Tour Championship on Saturday in Panama City Beach, Florida.
Faced with clear-water fishing conditions unlike those in their native South Carolina, the two Belton, South Carolina, natives called on their bass fishing backgrounds and targeted deeper water during the two-day championship event. After weighing in one of the tournament's largest fish on day one, a 7.43-pounder, the team edged out the second-place team of Jay Cedotal and Chad Dufrene, who finished with 26.92 pounds.
Cedotal and Dufrene, who had the highest finish of the six regular-season division winners, captured the Team of the Year Award.
"This is our first time fishing Panama City Beach. We came in the Sunday before the tournament started to pre-fish and we caught only a handful," Finley said. "We have a bass fishing background and really had to go back to that to help us find the fish. We had to fish deeper water. We fish a lot in the Charleston (SC) area and there is no clear water there like there is here."
With the win, the Finley and Wood team were awarded a new Ranger 173 Ghost powered by a 115-horsepower, four-stroke Yamaha outboard, equipped with a Power Pole shallow-water anchor, Minn Kota trolling motor and Humminbird electronics. The value of the prize boat is $34,000.
Rounding out the Top 3 finishing teams, the team of Pete Dixon and Ron Hobbs finished with 26.90 pounds over two days, putting them .02 pounds behind second-place finishers Cedotal and Dufrene. Dixon and Hobbs, natives of Jacksonville, Fla., stayed close during the tournament, but were unable to break the seven-pound barrier during the two-day event.
"We practiced for two days, ran two miles and only burned five gallons of gas for the tournament," Dixon said. "We used mostly spoons and Gulp! baits to catch our fish. We lost count of the fish we caught today but we only caught three on Friday."
More than 250 anglers from six different divisions and from across the Gulf and Atlantic coasts competed for the 2008 IFA Redfish Tour Championship, which ran November 7-8, 2008. These two-angler teams qualified for the no-entry-fee IFA Redfish Tour Championship by fishing a minimum of three IFA Redfish Tour events during 2008.
The IFA Redfish Tour continues to draw redfish anglers from across the southeast, offering two-angler teams the opportunity to compete in six different divisions, each offering a three-event regular season. With low entry fees for the one-day, regular-season tournaments, the events allow anglers to fish close to home and minimize expenses, while still being a part of a premier inshore, catch-and-release redfish tournament organization.
Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans safely tagged and released 281 redfish of the 283 caught during the event. The results of the tagging will aid in conservation efforts for redfish in the future, helping to ensure healthy redfish populations and a successful recreational fishing industry in the Panama City Beach area.
"Once again, Panama City Beach provided the ideal backdrop for the IFA Redfish Tour Championship. From our facilities at Edgewater Beach Resort to our launch site at RiverCamps on Crooked Creek and the fishing conditions, this city continues to prove itself as a top destination for anglers and tourists alike," said the IFA Redfish Tour's Bart Schad. "With our conservation efforts in place, our goal is for our events to not only provide a competitive outlet for serious anglers but also to leave the tournament site and fishing waters in better shape than they were when we arrived. I know we have succeeded."
Cabela's Overall Divisional Team of the Year
In addition to the winner-take-all championship event, an event within the event - the Cabela's Overall Divisional Team of the Year race - pitted the six division winners against each other for an additional $5,000 in prize money and the coveted Cabela's Team of the Year Award. The award, presented this year to the team of Jay Cedotal and Chad Dufrene, went to the highest-finishing, division-winning team.
After winning the Louisiana Division in the regular season, Jay Cedotal - from Geismar, La., and Chad Dufrene, from Purvis, Miss., made long runs to capitalize on fish they located during their week of pre-tournament scouting.
"This is the greatest win of my career," Dufrene said. "We ran four hours and fished for three. Being from Louisiana, it was tough fishing clear water. We are used to seeing fish and knowing they will bite, but we just had to fish to our strengths."
Defending Cabela's Overall Division Team of the Year winner, Dwayne Eschete returned to defend his title this year with a different partner, Fred Myers. After qualifying from the Gulf Coast Division this year, the Eschete/Myers team finished seventh in the championship event and third in the Team of the Year Award race.
Payouts<br />
First Place:<br />
Glenn Finley and Dodd Wood<br />
Ranger 173 Ghost powered by a 115 hp, four-stroke Yamaha outboard, Power Pole shallow-water anchor, Minn Kota trolling motor and Humminbird electronics.
Second Place:<br />
Jay Cedotal and Chad Dufrene<br />
$7,935
Third Place:<br />
Pete Dixon and Ron Hobbs<br />
$3,970
Fourth Place:<br />
Jeff Cronk and Mike Taylor<br />
$2,381
Fifth Place:<br />
Aaron Dill and Wayne Fuller<br />
$1,588
Sixth through 10th Place:<br />
Joe Porcelli and Jeff Stelinga<br />
Dwayne Eschete and Fred Myers<br />
Scott Ritter and Bobby Abruscato<br />
John Henninger and John Eggers<br />
Jeremy Humphreys and Joseph Wortham<br />
$1,191
11th through 15th Place:<br />
Scott Obrien and Wade Hastings<br />
Perry Beyer Jr. and Keith Mock<br />
Brady Nelson and Josh Ramsey<br />
Troy Perez and Christine Perez<br />
Marty Simmons and Frank Geib<br />
$875
16th through 20th Place:<br />
Bill Pittman and Nathan Turner<br />
Bob Looper and Rick Walters<br />
Joe Hebert and Chris Hebert<br />
Brian Sawyer and Kent Hickman<br />
Josh Rozier and Dusty Powers<br />
$794
21st through 25th Place:<br />
Mark Dillingham and Robert Osteen<br />
Mike Dotson and Lynn Dotson<br />
Keith Pratt and Scott Dalton<br />
Bryon Hughes and Chad Cavaleri<br />
JD Nobles and Randy Hartley<br />
$715
Bonus Payouts<br />
A host of IFA Redfish Tour sponsors awarded bonus payouts to the highest-finishing teams participating in the 2008 IFA Redfish Cup Championship. Team Cedotal/Dufrene were the top winners of the bonus payouts, parlaying their second-place finish in the championship event into an extra $4,750 in contingency money.
Cabela's presented a $2,500 gift card to Cedotal/Dufrene for being the highest-finishing team at the IFA Tour Championship. To win the Cabela's bonus requirements, Cedotal/Dufrene met the requirement of 15 purchases from Cabela's prior to the first day of competition at the 2008 Championship.
In addition, Minn Kota awarded $1,500 to the team for being the highest-finishing team to make a qualifying purchase of a Minn Kota trolling motor. The team also took home an additional $750 for being the highest-finishing team to make a qualifying Humminbird electronics purchase prior to the event.
The Big Fish Award, a $700 payout to the team that weighed in the largest fish during the two-day event, went to the team of Lee Crider and Steve Fradette. The team weighed in a 7.64-pound redfish on the first day on their way to an 80th-place finish.
A pair of $100 bonuses from Solar Bat and Sperry Topsider Shoes were awarded to the teams of Dwayne Eschete and Fred Myers, respectively. The winning team of Finley/Wood were also awarded a Wrap This, Ink! boat wrap to display for the upcoming year.
Sponsors<br />
IFA Redfish Tour sponsors include Cabela's, Ranger Boats, Yamaha Outboards, Minn Kota, Humminbird, Loadmaster, Sebile Lures, Wrap This Ink., Power Pole, Solar Bat, Navionics, Sperry Topsider Shoes, DriGrip Sunscreen, CW Crab, Charter Lakes Marine Insurance and Gemini Custom Jerseys & Apparel.
The IFA Redfish Tour wishes to thank the Panama City Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau, RiverCamps on Crooked Creek and Edgewater Beach Resort for their participation as 2008 Championship venue sponsors.
For more information about the IFA Redfish Tour tournaments, visit<br />
www.redfishtour.com, call (478) 836-4266 or email info@palmerconrad.com.
Media Contact<br />
Christy Schad info@palmerconrad.com
Faced with clear-water fishing conditions unlike those in their native South Carolina, the two Belton, South Carolina, natives called on their bass fishing backgrounds and targeted deeper water during the two-day championship event. After weighing in one of the tournament's largest fish on day one, a 7.43-pounder, the team edged out the second-place team of Jay Cedotal and Chad Dufrene, who finished with 26.92 pounds.
Cedotal and Dufrene, who had the highest finish of the six regular-season division winners, captured the Team of the Year Award.
"This is our first time fishing Panama City Beach. We came in the Sunday before the tournament started to pre-fish and we caught only a handful," Finley said. "We have a bass fishing background and really had to go back to that to help us find the fish. We had to fish deeper water. We fish a lot in the Charleston (SC) area and there is no clear water there like there is here."
With the win, the Finley and Wood team were awarded a new Ranger 173 Ghost powered by a 115-horsepower, four-stroke Yamaha outboard, equipped with a Power Pole shallow-water anchor, Minn Kota trolling motor and Humminbird electronics. The value of the prize boat is $34,000.
Rounding out the Top 3 finishing teams, the team of Pete Dixon and Ron Hobbs finished with 26.90 pounds over two days, putting them .02 pounds behind second-place finishers Cedotal and Dufrene. Dixon and Hobbs, natives of Jacksonville, Fla., stayed close during the tournament, but were unable to break the seven-pound barrier during the two-day event.
"We practiced for two days, ran two miles and only burned five gallons of gas for the tournament," Dixon said. "We used mostly spoons and Gulp! baits to catch our fish. We lost count of the fish we caught today but we only caught three on Friday."
More than 250 anglers from six different divisions and from across the Gulf and Atlantic coasts competed for the 2008 IFA Redfish Tour Championship, which ran November 7-8, 2008. These two-angler teams qualified for the no-entry-fee IFA Redfish Tour Championship by fishing a minimum of three IFA Redfish Tour events during 2008.
The IFA Redfish Tour continues to draw redfish anglers from across the southeast, offering two-angler teams the opportunity to compete in six different divisions, each offering a three-event regular season. With low entry fees for the one-day, regular-season tournaments, the events allow anglers to fish close to home and minimize expenses, while still being a part of a premier inshore, catch-and-release redfish tournament organization.
Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans safely tagged and released 281 redfish of the 283 caught during the event. The results of the tagging will aid in conservation efforts for redfish in the future, helping to ensure healthy redfish populations and a successful recreational fishing industry in the Panama City Beach area.
"Once again, Panama City Beach provided the ideal backdrop for the IFA Redfish Tour Championship. From our facilities at Edgewater Beach Resort to our launch site at RiverCamps on Crooked Creek and the fishing conditions, this city continues to prove itself as a top destination for anglers and tourists alike," said the IFA Redfish Tour's Bart Schad. "With our conservation efforts in place, our goal is for our events to not only provide a competitive outlet for serious anglers but also to leave the tournament site and fishing waters in better shape than they were when we arrived. I know we have succeeded."
Cabela's Overall Divisional Team of the Year
In addition to the winner-take-all championship event, an event within the event - the Cabela's Overall Divisional Team of the Year race - pitted the six division winners against each other for an additional $5,000 in prize money and the coveted Cabela's Team of the Year Award. The award, presented this year to the team of Jay Cedotal and Chad Dufrene, went to the highest-finishing, division-winning team.
After winning the Louisiana Division in the regular season, Jay Cedotal - from Geismar, La., and Chad Dufrene, from Purvis, Miss., made long runs to capitalize on fish they located during their week of pre-tournament scouting.
"This is the greatest win of my career," Dufrene said. "We ran four hours and fished for three. Being from Louisiana, it was tough fishing clear water. We are used to seeing fish and knowing they will bite, but we just had to fish to our strengths."
Defending Cabela's Overall Division Team of the Year winner, Dwayne Eschete returned to defend his title this year with a different partner, Fred Myers. After qualifying from the Gulf Coast Division this year, the Eschete/Myers team finished seventh in the championship event and third in the Team of the Year Award race.
Payouts<br />
First Place:<br />
Glenn Finley and Dodd Wood<br />
Ranger 173 Ghost powered by a 115 hp, four-stroke Yamaha outboard, Power Pole shallow-water anchor, Minn Kota trolling motor and Humminbird electronics.
Second Place:<br />
Jay Cedotal and Chad Dufrene<br />
$7,935
Third Place:<br />
Pete Dixon and Ron Hobbs<br />
$3,970
Fourth Place:<br />
Jeff Cronk and Mike Taylor<br />
$2,381
Fifth Place:<br />
Aaron Dill and Wayne Fuller<br />
$1,588
Sixth through 10th Place:<br />
Joe Porcelli and Jeff Stelinga<br />
Dwayne Eschete and Fred Myers<br />
Scott Ritter and Bobby Abruscato<br />
John Henninger and John Eggers<br />
Jeremy Humphreys and Joseph Wortham<br />
$1,191
11th through 15th Place:<br />
Scott Obrien and Wade Hastings<br />
Perry Beyer Jr. and Keith Mock<br />
Brady Nelson and Josh Ramsey<br />
Troy Perez and Christine Perez<br />
Marty Simmons and Frank Geib<br />
$875
16th through 20th Place:<br />
Bill Pittman and Nathan Turner<br />
Bob Looper and Rick Walters<br />
Joe Hebert and Chris Hebert<br />
Brian Sawyer and Kent Hickman<br />
Josh Rozier and Dusty Powers<br />
$794
21st through 25th Place:<br />
Mark Dillingham and Robert Osteen<br />
Mike Dotson and Lynn Dotson<br />
Keith Pratt and Scott Dalton<br />
Bryon Hughes and Chad Cavaleri<br />
JD Nobles and Randy Hartley<br />
$715
Bonus Payouts<br />
A host of IFA Redfish Tour sponsors awarded bonus payouts to the highest-finishing teams participating in the 2008 IFA Redfish Cup Championship. Team Cedotal/Dufrene were the top winners of the bonus payouts, parlaying their second-place finish in the championship event into an extra $4,750 in contingency money.
Cabela's presented a $2,500 gift card to Cedotal/Dufrene for being the highest-finishing team at the IFA Tour Championship. To win the Cabela's bonus requirements, Cedotal/Dufrene met the requirement of 15 purchases from Cabela's prior to the first day of competition at the 2008 Championship.
In addition, Minn Kota awarded $1,500 to the team for being the highest-finishing team to make a qualifying purchase of a Minn Kota trolling motor. The team also took home an additional $750 for being the highest-finishing team to make a qualifying Humminbird electronics purchase prior to the event.
The Big Fish Award, a $700 payout to the team that weighed in the largest fish during the two-day event, went to the team of Lee Crider and Steve Fradette. The team weighed in a 7.64-pound redfish on the first day on their way to an 80th-place finish.
A pair of $100 bonuses from Solar Bat and Sperry Topsider Shoes were awarded to the teams of Dwayne Eschete and Fred Myers, respectively. The winning team of Finley/Wood were also awarded a Wrap This, Ink! boat wrap to display for the upcoming year.
Sponsors<br />
IFA Redfish Tour sponsors include Cabela's, Ranger Boats, Yamaha Outboards, Minn Kota, Humminbird, Loadmaster, Sebile Lures, Wrap This Ink., Power Pole, Solar Bat, Navionics, Sperry Topsider Shoes, DriGrip Sunscreen, CW Crab, Charter Lakes Marine Insurance and Gemini Custom Jerseys & Apparel.
The IFA Redfish Tour wishes to thank the Panama City Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau, RiverCamps on Crooked Creek and Edgewater Beach Resort for their participation as 2008 Championship venue sponsors.
For more information about the IFA Redfish Tour tournaments, visit<br />
www.redfishtour.com, call (478) 836-4266 or email info@palmerconrad.com.
Media Contact<br />
Christy Schad info@palmerconrad.com