Jim Jimenez, of Pace, Florida, and Curtis Gilbert, of Gulf Shores, Alabama, weighed in a two-redfish limit that totaled 14.08 pounds to win the IFA Redfish Tour event at Destin, Florida, on March 13. To win the event, the regular-season opener for the IFA's Gulf Coast Division which launched out of Legendary Marine, Jimenez and Gilbert bested the entire field of two-angler teams to take home a $30,000 Ranger Banshee Extreme as well as an early points lead in the IFA Gulf Coast Division.
Fishing their first IFA Redfish Tour tournament as a team, the pair notched their first win by motored to waters near Panama City, Fla., boating an estimated 42 redfish during competition. Their 14.08-pound limit gave the team a .66-pound advantage over second-place finishers Jerry Adams and Daniel Snapp.
"It was the greatest day of fishing for either one us and also the roughest," said Jimenez, referring the rough waters the team encountered on its run to Panama City. "The screws are missing from all over our boat just from the rough ride."
With the win, the pair won a 2010 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.
Adams and Snapp, both of Panama City, brought two redfish to the scales on Saturday, weighing 13.42 pounds. To secure their $1,595 payday, the team also made the 120-mile run to Panama City, using gold spoons to boat seven fish during competition in an area that they fished in previous tournaments.
The third-place team of Jay Cedotal, of Geismar, La., and Chad Dufrene, of Purvis, Miss., weighed in two redfish that tipped the scales at 12.79 pounds on their way to winning a combined $2,918 in second-place winnings and contingency prizes. Running to Panama City, the team caught seven fish on a light jig tipped with Berkley Gulp! jerkbaits and battled high winds and rough seas.
"It was some of the roughest water I've ever faced in all my years of fishing and was much worse than crossing Mobile Bay," said Dufrene.
The sixth-place team of Bryon Hughes and Tom Shanahan won the $1,500 Rapala Big Fish Award for their 7.39-pound redfish, the largest weighed in during the Destin event. Dufrene and Cedotal won the new Cabela's Angler Cash Award as the highest-finishing qualified team, bringing them a $1,000 Cabela's gift card.
Each of the Cabela's IFA Redfish Tour regular-season events will commence on Saturday with the newly formed IFA Kayak Fishing Tour Presented by Hobie Fishing contested the following day (Sundays). In its inaugural season, the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour Presented by Hobie will feature 18 regular-season, catch-photograph-release events across six different division (mirroring the IFA Redfish Tour format, location and scheduling) as well as extremely lucrative payouts and expanded fishing opportunities for non-motorized fishing crafts.
The redfish/trout tournament will pay twenty places (based on a 100 boat field) plus Big Redfish, Big Trout and Junior Angler Awards. The winner will take home a Hobie Mirage Pro-Angler valued at $2399, 2nd place prize will be a Hobie Mirage Outback, valued at $1,749 and 3rd place a Hobie Quest, valued at $949.
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.
New for 2010, IFA Redfish Tour anglers will be able to increase their winnings with the Cabela's Angler Cash award and the Angler's Advantage Award. The Angler's Advantage Award allows anglers to add $100 to their already-low entry fee for the chance at increased winnings. The optional program pays out 100 percent to those participating teams. The Cabela's Angler Cash award gives a $1,000 gift card to any team that wins a regular-season tournament while competing with a Cabela's patch on their clothing (both people must have the patch on). For the no-entry-fee IFA Redfish Tour Championship, the qualified, winning team will receive a $2,500 Cabela's gift card. If the winners of an IFA Redfish Tour event are a registered and qualified Ranger Cup compliant team, then they will receive $2,000 (you must sign up every year).
Added in 2009 and continuing in 2010, teams fishing at least six tournaments in any combination of divisions are automatically eligible to compete for the IFA Redfish Tour "Ultra 6 Team of the Year" award. The award consists of a $5,000 cash prize, presented to the highest-finishing eligible team at the IFA Redfish Tour championship tournament.
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 2010, every regular-season tournament winner is guaranteed - regardless of field size - a fully loaded 2010 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 and a Loadmaster trailer. The entire first-place prize package is valued at $30,000.
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, Yamaha Outboards, Rapala, Trigger X, Sufix, Columbia Sportswear, Minn Kota, Humminbird, Power-Pole, Wrap This, CW Crab, Charter Lakes Marine Insurance, Solar Bat, Navionics, Blue Point Fabrication, EGO Nets, Bob's Machine Shop, 321fish.com, Kayak Anlger Magazine, Terminator, VMC Hooks, Loadmaster, Powertex Group, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and Legendary Marine.
IFA Gulf Coast Division
Destin, Fla. (Top 10)
1. Jimenez/Gilbert - 14.08 lbs.
2. Adams/Snapp - 13.42 lbs.
3. Dufrene/Cedotal - 12.79 lbs.
4. Finch/Thurlow - 12.33 lbs.
5. Jackson/Causey - 12.32 lbs.
6. Hughes/Shanahan - 11.60 lbs.
7. Chase/Thompson - 11.45 lbs.
8. Lewis/Looker - 9.04 lbs.
9. Fisher/Skeeles - 8.32 lbs.
10. Clark/Spikes - 7.79 lbs.
Rapala Big Fish ($1,500): Hughes/Shanahan - 7.39 lbs.
Cabela's Angler Cash ($1,000): Dufrene/Cedotal
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