Winning team takes home more than $28,000
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 1, 2016) – Wayne Fuller, of New Smyrna Beach, Florida, and Frank Johnson, of Port Orange, Florida, weighed a two-fish limit that totaled 14.05 pounds to win the second event for the Florida East Division of the IFA Redfish Tour presented by Cabela's on August 27 at New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
Fuller has been fishing redfish tournaments for 10 years but has not been active for the last two or three years. When the IFA Redfish Tour came to his backyard he knew he would have to enter.
"I used to fish the IFA tournaments all the time but, due to a touch of burnout and work, I had not fished an IFA tournament in close to three years," said Fuller. "My boss knew Frank Johnson. He had never fished an IFA event before but wanted to fish this tournament as well. We had never fished together until three days before the tournament."
The pair sight-fished in a large bay approximately 40 minutes south of the launch site.
"During the first day or two of pre-fishing we could only find four- and five-pounders," said Fuller. "The day before the tournament we found four or five bigger fish so we left them alone and came back the next day. When we got to our area, we went into a little cove and, while we were there, another boat came and started fishing the bank we wanted to fish. I told Frank we would just fish in the middle of the bay and luckily the fish were there. We had our biggest fish on the first cast."
The angling duo fought the windy conditions and relied heavily on their skill and tackle, including the bait used to catch their fish, which was Berkley Gulp! 3-inch natural shrimp rigged on weedless Bayou Buck Shrimpaler II.
"It was very windy and that is never good," said Fuller. "We were polling in less than two feet of water and when it is that windy it is hard to stop. I did not want to use the Power Poles for fear of spooking the fish. Luckily Frank is a great spotter and an even better caster."
The team took home more than $28,000 in winnings including a fully rigged Ranger 1862 with a 70 horsepower Yamaha outboard. The anglers gained an additional $2,437 in Angler's Advantage cash.
Second-place finishers Justin Collison, of Slidell, Louisiana, and Bryan Ward, of Sanford, Florida, brought in a total of 13.07 pounds to win a total of $4,530, including $1,187 in Anglers Advantage cash.
Third-place finishers Scott Buescher, of Melbourne, Florida, and Travis Tanner, of Titusville, Florida, weighed in 12.40 pounds to take home $3,212 in winnings. The anglers sight-fished with Berkley Gulp! in Mosquito Lagoon.
The 46th-place finishing team Swick/Engle and 50th–place team Gaskin/Klyshum each won the $100 BoatUS contingency award for being members of BoatUS. Team Gaskin/Klyshum also won the $250 Run with Lucas Oil contingency award.
IFA events are made possible through the sponsorship and continued support of these well-respected brands: Hobie Fishing, Ranger Boats, Cabela's, Lucas Oil, Yamaha Outboards, RAM, Berkley Gulp!, Berkley Gulp! Alive!, PENN Reels, Spiderwire, Minn Kota, Humminbird, Power-Pole, BoatU.S., Amphibia, Arctic Ice, Protect the Harvest, General Tire, SuperClean, Valley Fashions, ENGEL Coolers, T-H Marine, ATLAS, G-Juice Powertex Group, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, and New Smyrna Marina.
For more information or to become a member of the IFA, visit www.ifatours.com.
IFA Redfish Tour
New Smyrna Beach, Fla. (Top 10)
Wayne Fuller/Frank Johnson – 14.05 lbs.
Justin Collison/Bryan Ward – 13.07 lbs.
Scott Buescher/Travis Tanner – 12.40 lbs.
Maggie Rood/Josh Krueger – 12.28 lbs.
Nathaniel Lemmon/Corey Lemmon – 12.05 lbs.
David Hutcherson/Jeremy Lee – 12.02 lbs.
Ron Schurr/Buzz Brannon – 11.80 lbs.
Tom Riley/Chris Kellum – 11.72 lbs.
Heather Metchick/Greg Geiselman – 11.60 lbs.
Joe Lopez/Billy Van Casteren – 11.45 lbs.
