LIZELLA, Ga. - Chris Logan, of Cat Spring, Texas, and Emil Reznicek, of Sealy, Texas, weighed in a two-redfish limit that totaled 16.69 pounds to win the IFA Redfish Tour event at Corpus Christi, Texas, on September 3. To win the event, which operated out of Marker 37, the duo topped a large field of two-angler teams to take home a new, fully rigged Ranger Banshee Extreme powered by a 60-horsepower, four-stroke Yamaha outboard and equipped with a Power-Pole shallow water anchor, Minn Kota trolling motor, Humminbird electronics, Blue Point Fabrication metal work, Bob's four-inch Ultra Light Jackplate, an OPTIMA battery and a Loadmaster trailer valued at $30,000.
Logan and Reznicek reported higher-than-normal tide activity during the event, focusing their efforts solely on an area within one mile of the tournament's launch site. Targeting pot holes with Berkley Gulp! and spoons, the team's catch included an 8.57-pound kicker redfish, which brought the team the $500 Berkley Big Fish Award as well as a $500 Cabela's gift card, courtesy of Berkley. The team also pocketed $882 in Anglers Advantage contingency money.
"The tides didn't affect our fishing at all," Logan said. "We fished the whole day with no mistakes, which is always a plus."
Second-place finishers, Tansel Basci, of League City, Texas, and John Gill, of Corpus Christi, brought 15.74 pounds to the scales during the event, the results of targeting schools of redfish in the Laguna Madre area, less than 12 miles away.
"We knew what kind of conditions to expect today, but the conditions that we had made it tougher to find and catch fish than it had been," said Basci, who along with Gill, took home second-place winnings. "Still, we were able to perform as we expected."
The third-place team of Kevin Akin, of Corpus Christi, and Brian Talley, of Houston, weighed in 15.64 pounds during the tournament, also coming from schools of redfish in the Laguna Madre area. Using Berkley Gulp! 4-inch shrimp as their only bait during the event, the pair competed through the high waters and winds on their way third-place prize money plus an addition $1,000 in Cabela's Angler Cash and $399 in Anglers Advantage contingency money.
"We adapted pretty well to the change in the weather conditions," Akin said. "I feel like we did the best we could with the school we found."
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. Low entry fees for the one-day, regular-season tournaments allows 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 $78,200 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.
In addition to a possible $60,000 in payouts per event (based on a 100-boat field), the first-place prize package for all 18 IFA Redfish Tour regular-season events remains extremely lucrative. In 2011, every regular-season tournament winner is guaranteed - regardless of field size - a fully loaded 2011 Ranger Banshee Extreme. The boat is powered by a 60-horsepower, four-stroke Yamaha outboard and is equipped with a Power-Pole shallow water anchor, Minn Kota trolling motor, Humminbird electronics, Blue Point Fabrication metal work, Bob's four-inch Ultra Light Jackplate, an OPTIMA battery and a Loadmaster trailer. The entire first-place prize package is valued at $30,000. Lucrative contingency programs added for 2011 include $50 prize to the team claiming the big fish award in an IFA Redfish Tour event if the fish is landed with an EGO Net, $25 prize for both the big redfish and big trout in IFA Kayak Tour events; $250 prize to a qualifying winning team which competes from a boat equipped with OPTIMA Batteries; PENN reels for tournament-winning anglers who compete with PENN reels.
For more information or to become a member of the IFA, the fastest-growing inshore fishing tournament series in the United States, go online to www.redfishtour.com or www.ifakayakfishingtour.com. To discover more about kayaking and Hobie Fishing go to www.hobiefishing.com.
IFA events are made possible through the sponsorship and continued support of the fishing industry's most respected brands: Ranger Boats, Hobie Fishing, Cabela's, Gulp!, Gulp! Alive, PENN reels, Yamaha Outboards, Columbia Sportswear, Minn Kota, Humminbird, OPTIMA Batteries, Power-Pole, Wrap This, Blue Point Fabrication, EGO Nets, Spiderwire, Sebile, Bob's Machine Shop, 321fish.com, Kayak Angler Magazine, Loadmaster, NBOA Marina Insurance, Powertex Group, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and Marker 37.
IFA Texas Division
Corpus Christi, Texas (Top 10)
1. Logan/Reznicek - 16.69 lbs.
2. Basci/Gill - 15.74 lbs.
3. Talley/Akin - 15.64 lbs.
4. Clarkson/Lynch - 15.56 lbs.
5. Gidrey/Cellum - 14.50 lbs.
6. Baggett/Baggett - 14.33 lbs.
7. Barton/Barton - 14.23 lbs.
8. Price/Herrera - 14.16 lbs.
9. Gonzalez/Cisneros - 13.93 lbs.
10. Wilson/Odom - 13.77 lbs.
Berkley Gulp! Big Fish Award ($500 + $500 Cabela's Gift Card courtesy of Berkley):
Logan/Reznicek (8.57 lbs.)
Cabela's Angler Cash ($1,000):
Talley/Akin
Media Contact
Josh Ward
Blue Heron Communications
(800) 654-3766
Josh@blueheroncomm.com
