NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla.  – Tommy Derringer and Gibby Gwiazda, both of St. Augustine, Florida, weighed a two-fish limit that totaled 13.87 pounds to win the first regular-season event for the Florida East Division of the IFA Redfish Tour presented by Cabela’s on March 17 at Jacksonville, Florida. The team won a fully rigged RB190 Ranger boat prize package powered by a 90-horsepower, four-stroke Mercury outboard valued at $26,706 for first place.

Although Derringer and Gwiazda both work as fishing guides and have been friends since childhood, the IFA Jacksonville event marks the first time they have fished together competitively.

“Gibby has been my best buddy ever since we were little kids,” said Derringer. “We have done a lot of thing together. We’ve surfed out of the country together. We’ve done a lot of cool things, but this is the first fishing tournament for us.”

The anglers made the long run down to their home waters of St. Augustine, Florida. With the cold conditions making for ultra clear water, the team sight-fished to large schools in the flats.

“It was probably the nicest, clearest water we’ve had all winter,” said Derringer. “There were some big schools of redfish down where I guide.”

The anglers targeted the schooling reds with Berkley Gulp! and boated an early limit.

“We stayed in the same general area but covered a couple of miles,” said Derringer. “We probably fished about three or four different schools of fish. We were throwing a Gulp! jerkbait or shrimp.”

With 12 pounds in the livewell, the anglers landed the big fish of the day – a 7.37-pound kicker.

“We caught the seven-pounder at about 11 o’clock and we thought that we had a chance to do something,” said Derringer.” We didn’t catch our other fish until right before we had to leave.”

The anglers made the 50-mile run back to Jacksonville just in time to make the weigh-in. The anglers won at total of $30,705 in winnings, which included the $750 Berkley Big Redfish award and $2,205 in Anglers Advantage cash.

“At least a dozen times during the day, my partner and I said ‘this is just a fun day of fishing,’” said Derringer. “It was beautiful out today.”

Second-place finishers Tim Cole, of Brunswick, Georgia, and Christopher Chappell, of Johns Island, South Carolina, weighed a total of 13.69 pounds to win $3,170.

The anglers ran 30 miles south of the launch to fish Berkley Gulp! and other soft plastics. The team reported calm conditions, which made the fish spooky before the bite turned on at high water.

Andy Gowen and Justin Paulk weighed 13.45 pounds of redfish to take third place and $1,929 in winnings.

The next stop for the IFA Redfish Tour is set for March 24 at Clearwater, Florida. Teams that compete in at least two regular-season events will be qualified for the 2018 IFA Redfish Tour Championship.

IFA events are made possible through the sponsorship and continued support of these well-respected brands: Hobie Fishing, Ranger Boats, Cabela's, Mercury Marine, Berkley Gulp!, Berkley Gulp! Alive!, PENN Reels, Spiderwire, Minn Kota, Humminbird, Power-Pole, Valley Fashions,  T-H Marine, ATLAS, G-Juice, Navionics, Garmin and Powertex Group.

For more information or to become a member of the IFA, visit www.ifatours.com.