Team Ahrens/Thompson Wins IFA Redfish Tour at Rockport, Texas
OutdoorHub 06.13.12
Pistol Ahrens, of New Braunfels, Texas, and Alan Thompson, of Adkins, Texas, weighed in a two-redfish limit that totaled 15.65 pounds to win the IFA Redfish Tour event at Rockport, Texas, on June 9. To win the event, which operated out of Cove Harbor Marina, 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, and a Loadmaster trailer valued at $30,000.
In their second year fishing the IFA Redfish Tour, the anglers ran 55 miles to fish the waters south of Corpus Christi. The team sight-fished with Berkley Gulp! and reported good weather.
Second-place finishers, Chris Logan, of Cat Spring, Texas, and Emil Reznicek brought 15.15 pounds to the scales. With three previous IFA Redfish Tour wins under their belts, the anglers ran 60 miles and fished calm waters. The team added to their winnings by bringing in a 9.49-pound kicker redfish and won the $500 Berkley Gulp! Big Fish Award with a $250 Cabela’s gift card, courtesy of Berkley.
Fred Lynch, of Corpus Christi, Texas, and Jeff Clarkson, of Austin, Texas, weighed 14.77 pounds of redfish to take home the third-place prize. The anglers caught their limit near Baffin Bay by sight-casting with Berkley Gulp!.
“We were happy to do this well. The fish ate early, but refused to eat after 11.00,” Lynch said. “We could have done better, but we had lots of fun fishing together.”
Sixth-place finishers, John Weaver and Ryan Weaver, won the $1,000 Cabela’s Angler Cash Award.
The IFA Redfish Tour Presented by Cabela’s 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.
In addition to a possible $60,000 in payouts per event (based on a 100-boat field), the first-place prize package for all 12 IFA Redfish Tour regular-season events remains extremely lucrative. In 2012, every regular-season tournament winner is guaranteed – regardless of field size – a fully loaded 2012 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, Gulp!, Gulp! Alive, PENN Reels, Spiderwire, Sebile, Columbia Sportswear, Minn Kota, Humminbird, Power-Pole, Wrap This, Bob’s Machine Shop, Blue Point Fabrication, NBOA Marine Insurance, Loadmaster, Powertex Group, Audubon Aquarium of the America and Cove Harbor Marina.
IFA Texas Division
Rockport, Texas (Top 10)
- Ahrens/Thompson – 15.65 lbs.
- Logan/Reznicek – 15.15 lbs.
- Lynch/Clarkson – 14.77 lbs.
- Gagliano/Gagliano – 14.59 lbs.
- Sawyer/Jordan – 14.55 lbs.
- Weaver/Weaver – 14.49 lbs.
- Sanchez Jr./Sanchez Sr. – 13.19 lbs.
- Baggett/Baggett – 13.04 lbs.
- Patterson/Patterson – 12.46 lbs.
- Henne/White – 12.41 lbs.
Berkley Gulp! Big Fish Award ($500): Logan/Reznicek (9.49 lbs.)
Cabela’s Angler Cash Award ($1,000): Weaver/Weaver
