Clint Barghi Wins IFA Kayak Tour Event at Rockport, Texas
OutdoorHub 06.13.12
Clint Barghi, of Friendswood, Texas, caught a redfish and speckled sea trout that measured a combined 47.50 inches in length to win the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour presented by Hobie Fishing event at Rockport, Texas, on June 10. The event, which operated out of Cove Harbor Marina, was the last regular-season event for the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour’s Texas Division.
Barghi, winner of the 2011 IFA Redfish Tour event at Corpus Christi, traveled five miles in his kayak, fishing top-water baits and popping corks in the Rockport area.
“It was windy again, but the area we fished needs strong wind to catch fish,” Barghi said. “All I can say is thanks for the time and effort spent to make this event happen. This ranks as the number one series on the Texas coast.”
Second-place finisher, Noel Guerrero, of Portland, Texas, measured a 28-inch redfish and a 17-inch trout to take the $1,000 prize. In his third year fishing the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour, Guerrero fished the shorelines in the South Bay area with top-water baits.
“The fish were in the same place that I pre-fished,” Guerrero said. “I caught a lot of fish, which made for a good day.”
Fil Spencer, of Corpus Christi, measured a combined 44.18 inches to take third place. Spencer experienced windy conditions in the Corpus Christi area. The angler caught his 23.50-inch trout with Berkley Gulp! bait, which won him the $100 Berkley Gulp! Trout Big Fish Award plus a $100 Cabela’s gift card, courtesy of Berkley.
Eleventh-place finisher, Robert Guerra won the $100 Berkley Gulp! Redfish Big Fish Award for his 31-inch redfish.
Ninth-place finisher, Jeremy Carson, took home the $200 Hobie Top Angler Award for having the highest place finish for an angler competing in a Hobie kayak
Each of the Cabela’s IFA Redfish Tour 12 regular-season events will commence on Saturday with the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour Presented by Hobie Fishing contested the following day (Sundays). The IFA Kayak Fishing Tour Presented by Hobie will feature 12 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 plus Big Redfish, Big Trout and Junior Angler Awards with a total payout of $9,800 (based on a 100 boat field). The winner will take home a guaranteed Hobie Mirage Pro Angler valued at $2549, 2nd place is a guaranteed $1,000 Hobie Cash and 3rd place is a guaranteed $500 Hobie Cash. Hobie will be paying $200 to the highest angler fishing out of a Hobie kayak at each IFA event.
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 two-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 two of the IFA’s 12 regular-season events and one regional event are automatically qualified for a no-entry-fee championship event, pitting qualifiers from each of the six divisions for a combined $118,450 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.
The fastest-growing kayak fishing tournament trail in the country, the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour Presented by Hobie Fishing offers inshore kayak anglers from a multitude of states the opportunity to participate in competitive fishing tournaments. With low entry fees and minimal travel requirements, kayak anglers competing in the catch-photograph-release tournaments can take advantage of the numerous money and product prizes awarded to competitors. First-place prize for each regular-season event of the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour Presented by Hobie Fishing, regardless of field size, is a Hobie Mirage Pro Angler kayak valued at $2,549. Second and third place finishers are awarded cash prizes of $1,000 and $500, respectively.
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, Gulp!, Gulp! Alive, PENN Reels, Spiderwire, Sebile, Columbia Sportswear, Minn Kota, Humminbird, Power-Pole, , Wrap This, Blue Point Fabrication, 321fish.com, Loadmaster, NBOA Marine Insurance, Powertex Group, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and Cove Harbor Marina.
IFA Texas Division
Rockport, Texas (Top 10)
- Clint Barghi – 47.50 inches
- Noel Guerrero – 45.00 inches
- Fil Spencer – 44.18 inches
- Shawn Rakowitz – 41.93 inches
- Aaron Otero – 40.75 inches
- Cameron Barghi – 40.38 inches
- Chad Kosub – 40.00 inches
- Jason Gordon – 39.75 inches
- Jeremy Carson – 39.00 inches
- Josh MacNaughton – 38.50 inches
$100 Berkley GULP! Big Redfish Award: Robert Guerra
$100 Berkley Gulp! Trout Award plus $100 gift card to Cabela’s: Fil Spencer
$200 Hobie Top Angler Cash Award: Jeremy Carson
