04-07-2010, 11:11 AM
LIZELLA, GEORGIA- David "Boola" Mills and Brent Ballay, both of Venice, Louisiana, weighed in a two-redfish limit totaling 16.59 pounds to win the 2009 IFA Redfish Tour event at Grand Isle, Louisiana, on Saturday. To win the one-day event, which launched out of Bridgeside Marina, Mills and Ballay bested a field of other two-angler teams to win the final regular-season event in the Louisiana Division.
No strangers to catching redfish in Louisiana, the pair ran from Grand Isle to their hometown of Venice, stopping to fuel before running 30 miles further past the famed redfishing destination. Targeting small ponds in shallow water, the pair worked to locate quality slotfish - no easy task in a region known for lots of giant redfish. The team located its best fish early - a 9.17-pound red that won big-fish honors for the tournament - and worked the rest of the day to add another big slotfish to their catch.
"We caught maybe 50 today and could have caught 150," Ballay said. "We were running small ponds, sight fishing for big slot fish. We'd see probably five fish to every one we cast to. The rest were either too big or too small."
With the win, the pair won a 2009 Ranger Banshee Extreme valued at more than $30,000. The boat is powered by a 60-horsepower, four-stroke Yamaha outboard and is equipped with a Bob's four-inch Ultra Light Jackplate, Power-Pole shallow water anchor, Minn Kota trolling motor, Humminbird electronics, Blue Point Fabrication metal work and Loadmaster trailer.
The second-place team of Jay Cedotal, of Deinnar, La., and Chad Dufrene, of Purvis, Miss., brought 16.40 pounds to the scales on Saturday, including a 8.54-pound kicker redfish. Also making the run to Venice, the pair boated approximately 35 redfish on Saturday, experiencing fishing conditions much different from their pre-tournament practice.
"It was different out there from practice," Dufrene said. "The water was higher and the fish just moved around on us."
Cedotal and Dufrene might not have found the fish they were after, but the team's second-place finish gave the pair the IFA Redfish Tour's Louisiana Division Team of the Year title. The pair edged out Grand Isle's third-place finishers, Bruce Linheim and Fred Myers, for the highly contested title, qualifying to compete for the Cabela's Overall Divisional Team of the Year Award at November's IFA Redfish Tour Championship in Orange Beach, Ala.
The third-place team of Lindheim and Myers, from Pensacola, Fla., and Panama City, Fla., respectively, weighed in a two-fish limit that tipped the scales at 16.25 pounds. Opting to run the river instead of making the run to Venice, the team boated approximately 17 fish on the day, spending most of its time wading through heavy concentrations of over-sized redfish.
Along with its third-place finish, Lindheim and Myers also pocketed the $1,000 Ranger Cup Award as the highest-finishing Ranger Cup-qualified team in the tournament. Mills and Ballay took home a $1,500 prize for the Rapala Big Fish Award with their 9.17-pound kicker. Finishing in 50th place, the team of Tom Shockley and Jack Hains claimed the $100 SolarBat prize.
The IFA Redfish Tour continues to draw redfish anglers from Texas to the Carolinas and beyond, 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 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. Teams fishing any three of the IFA's 18 regular-season events are automatically qualified for a no-entry-fee championship event, pitting qualifiers from each of the six divisions for a combined $77,000 in payouts and prize packages, as well as a shot at the coveted Cabela's Overall Divisional Team of the Year Award for the six regular-season division winners.
Added this year as an incentive for the very active anglers capitalizing on the opportunities to fish close to home for big money and valuable prizes, teams fishing at least six tournaments in any combination of divisions are automatically eligible to compete for the IFA Redfish Tour "Ultra 6" award. The award consists of a $5,000 cash prize, presented to the highest-finishing eligible team at the IFA Redfish Tour championship tournament.
This year, in addition to $47,000 in payouts per event (based on a 100-boat field), the first-place prize package for all 18 IFA Redfish Tour regular-season events has been increased. In 2009, every regular-season tournament winner is guaranteed - regardless of field size - a fully loaded 2009 Ranger Banshee Extreme. The boat is powered by a 60-horsepower, four-stroke Yamaha outboard and is equipped with a Bob's four-inch Ultra Light Jackplate, Power-Pole shallow water anchor, Minn Kota trolling motor, Humminbird electronics, Blue Point Fabrication metal work and Loadmaster trailer. The entire first-place prize package is valued at $30,000.
For more information on the IFA Redfish Tour, to become a member of the IFA or to become a part of the fastest-growing inshore fishing tournament series in the United States, go online to redfishtour.com.
IFA Redfish Tour events are made possible through the sponsorship and continued support of the fishing industry's most respected brands: Ranger Boats, Hobie Fishing, Cabela's, Yamaha Outboards, Rapala, Trigger X, Sufix, Minn Kota, Humminbird, Power-Pole, Wrap This, CW Crab, Charter Lakes Marine Insurance, Solar Bat, Gemini Custom Apparel, Navionics, Bob's Machine Shop, Blue Point Fabrication, Terminator, VMC Hooks, Loadmaster Trailers, Powertex Group, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and Bridgeside Marina.
IFA Louisiana Division
Grand Isle, La. (Top 10)<br />
1. Mills/Ballay - 16.59 lbs.
2. Cedotal/Dufrene - 16.40 lbs.
3. Lindheim/Myers - 16.25 lbs.
4. White/White - 16.03 lbs.
5. Guilbeau/Lafleur - 15.71 lbs.
6. McCrossen/Davis - 15.34 lbs.
7. Gefland/Monstead III - 15.20 lbs.
8. Barrois/Benoit - 15.18 lbs.
9. Lott/Pruett - 15.14 lbs.
10. Champion/Brown - 15.01 lbs.
Ranger Cup Award ($1,000): Lindheim/Myers<br />
Rapala Big Fish ($1,500): Mills/Ballay - 9.17 lbs.<br />
SolarBat Prize ($100): Shockley/Hains
IFA Redfish Tour Louisiana Division Final Point Standings<br />
1. Cedotal/Dufrene - Louisiana Division Team of the Year<br />
2. Lindheim/Myers<br />
3. (TIE) McCrossen/Davis & Floyd/Davidson Jr.
Media Contact<br />
Josh Ward, Blue Heron Communications (800) 654-3766 or Josh@blueheroncomm.com
No strangers to catching redfish in Louisiana, the pair ran from Grand Isle to their hometown of Venice, stopping to fuel before running 30 miles further past the famed redfishing destination. Targeting small ponds in shallow water, the pair worked to locate quality slotfish - no easy task in a region known for lots of giant redfish. The team located its best fish early - a 9.17-pound red that won big-fish honors for the tournament - and worked the rest of the day to add another big slotfish to their catch.
"We caught maybe 50 today and could have caught 150," Ballay said. "We were running small ponds, sight fishing for big slot fish. We'd see probably five fish to every one we cast to. The rest were either too big or too small."
With the win, the pair won a 2009 Ranger Banshee Extreme valued at more than $30,000. The boat is powered by a 60-horsepower, four-stroke Yamaha outboard and is equipped with a Bob's four-inch Ultra Light Jackplate, Power-Pole shallow water anchor, Minn Kota trolling motor, Humminbird electronics, Blue Point Fabrication metal work and Loadmaster trailer.
The second-place team of Jay Cedotal, of Deinnar, La., and Chad Dufrene, of Purvis, Miss., brought 16.40 pounds to the scales on Saturday, including a 8.54-pound kicker redfish. Also making the run to Venice, the pair boated approximately 35 redfish on Saturday, experiencing fishing conditions much different from their pre-tournament practice.
"It was different out there from practice," Dufrene said. "The water was higher and the fish just moved around on us."
Cedotal and Dufrene might not have found the fish they were after, but the team's second-place finish gave the pair the IFA Redfish Tour's Louisiana Division Team of the Year title. The pair edged out Grand Isle's third-place finishers, Bruce Linheim and Fred Myers, for the highly contested title, qualifying to compete for the Cabela's Overall Divisional Team of the Year Award at November's IFA Redfish Tour Championship in Orange Beach, Ala.
The third-place team of Lindheim and Myers, from Pensacola, Fla., and Panama City, Fla., respectively, weighed in a two-fish limit that tipped the scales at 16.25 pounds. Opting to run the river instead of making the run to Venice, the team boated approximately 17 fish on the day, spending most of its time wading through heavy concentrations of over-sized redfish.
Along with its third-place finish, Lindheim and Myers also pocketed the $1,000 Ranger Cup Award as the highest-finishing Ranger Cup-qualified team in the tournament. Mills and Ballay took home a $1,500 prize for the Rapala Big Fish Award with their 9.17-pound kicker. Finishing in 50th place, the team of Tom Shockley and Jack Hains claimed the $100 SolarBat prize.
The IFA Redfish Tour continues to draw redfish anglers from Texas to the Carolinas and beyond, 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 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. Teams fishing any three of the IFA's 18 regular-season events are automatically qualified for a no-entry-fee championship event, pitting qualifiers from each of the six divisions for a combined $77,000 in payouts and prize packages, as well as a shot at the coveted Cabela's Overall Divisional Team of the Year Award for the six regular-season division winners.
Added this year as an incentive for the very active anglers capitalizing on the opportunities to fish close to home for big money and valuable prizes, teams fishing at least six tournaments in any combination of divisions are automatically eligible to compete for the IFA Redfish Tour "Ultra 6" award. The award consists of a $5,000 cash prize, presented to the highest-finishing eligible team at the IFA Redfish Tour championship tournament.
This year, in addition to $47,000 in payouts per event (based on a 100-boat field), the first-place prize package for all 18 IFA Redfish Tour regular-season events has been increased. In 2009, every regular-season tournament winner is guaranteed - regardless of field size - a fully loaded 2009 Ranger Banshee Extreme. The boat is powered by a 60-horsepower, four-stroke Yamaha outboard and is equipped with a Bob's four-inch Ultra Light Jackplate, Power-Pole shallow water anchor, Minn Kota trolling motor, Humminbird electronics, Blue Point Fabrication metal work and Loadmaster trailer. The entire first-place prize package is valued at $30,000.
For more information on the IFA Redfish Tour, to become a member of the IFA or to become a part of the fastest-growing inshore fishing tournament series in the United States, go online to redfishtour.com.
IFA Redfish Tour events are made possible through the sponsorship and continued support of the fishing industry's most respected brands: Ranger Boats, Hobie Fishing, Cabela's, Yamaha Outboards, Rapala, Trigger X, Sufix, Minn Kota, Humminbird, Power-Pole, Wrap This, CW Crab, Charter Lakes Marine Insurance, Solar Bat, Gemini Custom Apparel, Navionics, Bob's Machine Shop, Blue Point Fabrication, Terminator, VMC Hooks, Loadmaster Trailers, Powertex Group, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and Bridgeside Marina.
IFA Louisiana Division
Grand Isle, La. (Top 10)<br />
1. Mills/Ballay - 16.59 lbs.
2. Cedotal/Dufrene - 16.40 lbs.
3. Lindheim/Myers - 16.25 lbs.
4. White/White - 16.03 lbs.
5. Guilbeau/Lafleur - 15.71 lbs.
6. McCrossen/Davis - 15.34 lbs.
7. Gefland/Monstead III - 15.20 lbs.
8. Barrois/Benoit - 15.18 lbs.
9. Lott/Pruett - 15.14 lbs.
10. Champion/Brown - 15.01 lbs.
Ranger Cup Award ($1,000): Lindheim/Myers<br />
Rapala Big Fish ($1,500): Mills/Ballay - 9.17 lbs.<br />
SolarBat Prize ($100): Shockley/Hains
IFA Redfish Tour Louisiana Division Final Point Standings<br />
1. Cedotal/Dufrene - Louisiana Division Team of the Year<br />
2. Lindheim/Myers<br />
3. (TIE) McCrossen/Davis & Floyd/Davidson Jr.
Media Contact<br />
Josh Ward, Blue Heron Communications (800) 654-3766 or Josh@blueheroncomm.com