NATHAN RAYCROFT WINS IFA KAYAK EVENT AT SAVANNAH, GA.

[Fishing Report]

NATHAN RAYCROFT WINS IFA KAYAK EVENT AT SAVANNAH, GA.
Atlantic Division win nets angler Hobie Mirage Pro-Angler kayak

LIZELLA, Ga. (March 15, 2011) – Nathan Raycroft, of Swansboro, N.C., caught a redfish that measured 34 inches in length to win the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour Presented by Hobie Fishing event on March 12 in Savannah, Ga. The event, which operated out of Coffee Bluff Marina, was the regular-season opener for the IFA Kayak Tour’s Atlantic Division.

In his first trip to fish in Savannah, Raycroft netted the first-place prize of a Hobie Mirage Pro-Angler Kayak valued at $2,399, as well as a $100 prize for the Berkley Gulp! Big Redfish Award and a $100 Cabela’s gift card from Berkley for using Berkley Gulp! to catch his Redfish. Nathan also received the EGO Nets award of $25 for using his EGO Net to land the Big Redfish. In addition to the above prizes, Raycroft learned a lot about the area.

“I learned it was tough finding fish,” said Raycroft, who, like all but two competitors in the tournament, did not catch a speckled sea trout during the competition. “I chased fish in some water that was pretty clear. It looked like it was excellent water for redfish and trout both, but all I found was other fish.”

Second-place finisher Robby Freeman, of Athens, Ga., measured a 29-inch redfish, securing the $1,000 second-place prize. Third-place finisher, Justin Carter of Mount Pleasant, S.C., measured a 28.5-inche redfish to win $500.

Ninth-place finisher, Stephen Yurkevicius of Jacksonville, Fla., measured a 19.375-inch trout to win the $100 Berkley Gulp! Big Trout Award and because he caught the Big Trout using Berkley Gulp! he received an additional $100 Cabela’s gift card from Berkley.

Each of the Cabela’s IFA Redfish Tour 18 regular-season events will commence on Saturday with the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour Presented by Hobie Fishing contested the following day (Sundays). In its second 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 $2,399, 2nd place prize will be a $1,000 Hobie cash and 3rd place $500 Hobie cash. New for 2011, kayak anglers can take advantage of the Angler’s Advantage program. Anglers who participate in the program can pay an additional $25 entry fee, which is paid back at 100 percent to participants, based on place of finish. Lucrative contingency programs added for 2011 include $50 prize to the team claiming the big fish award in an IFA Redfish Tour event if the fish is landed with an EGO Net, $25 prize for both the big redfish and big trout in IFA Kayak Tour events; $250 prize to a qualifying winning team which competes from a boat equipped with OPTIMA Batteries; PENN reels for tournament-winning anglers who compete with PENN reels.

The IFA Redfish and IFA Kayak Tours continues to draw redfish anglers from Texas to the Carolinas and beyond, offering anglers 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 money and prize packages, as well as a shot at the coveted Overall Divisional Team of the Year Award for the six regular-season division winners.

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, Berkley, Gulp!, PENN reels, Yamaha Outboards, Columbia Sportswear, Minn Kota, Humminbird, OPTIMA Batteries, Power-Pole, Wrap This, Charter Lakes Marine Insurance, Blue Point Fabrication, EGO Nets, Bob’s Machine Shop, 321fish.com, Kayak Angler Magazine, Loadmaster, Powertex Group, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, and Coffee Bluff Marina.


IFA Atlantic Division
Savannah, Ga. (Top 10)
1. Nathan Raycroft – 34 inches

2. Robby Freeman – 29 inches

3. Justin Carter – 28.5 inches

4. Dave Jaskiewicz – 27.25 inches

5. Dolphin Hamilton – 26.5 inches

6. Trey Leggett – 26.5 inches

7. Larry Hancock – 22.875 inches

8. Christopher Chappell – 21.5 inches

9. Stephen Yurkevicius – 19.375 inches

10. John Chapman – 19.25 inches



$100 Berkley Gulp! Big Redfish Award + $100 Cabela’s gift card: Nathan Raycroft (34 inches)

$100 Berkley Gulp! Big Trout Award + $100 Cabela’s gift card: Stephen Yurkevicius (19.375 inches)

$100 Junior Angler Prize: Max Lenk (16.5-inch trout)

$25 EGO Nets Award: Nathan Raycroft

[Fishing Report]

TEAM KORALY/WHITE WINS IFA REDFISH TOUR EVENT AT SAVANNAH, GA.
Team takes home new Ranger Banshee Extreme with tournament victory

LIZELLA, Ga. (March 15, 2010) – Rob Koraly, of Emerald Isle, N.C., and Dustin White, of Smithfield, N.C., weighed in a two-redfish limit that totaled 9.26 pounds to win the IFA Redfish Tour event in Savannah, Ga., on March 12. To win the event, which operated out of Coffee Bluff Marina, Koraly and White bested a large, competitive field taking home a new 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.

Keying on fish located during practice, Koraly and White found redfish hovering over grass in the shallow waters of feeder creeks. Using a dead-stick fishing technique, the pair followed the fish up the creeks to secure their winning fish.

“The fish were practically belly crawling back in the grass,” Koraly said. “We figured out that if we just sat there and didn’t move the baits, after a few minutes one would just come up there and get it.”

In addition to winning the first-place prize of a fully loaded, 2011 Ranger Banshee Extreme, Koraly and White also earned the $2,000 Ranger Cup Award, given to the Ranger Cup-compliant winning team.

Second-place finishers, Mike Pedersen and Lee Parsons, both of Wrightsville, N.C., brought 8.91 pounds to the scales during the tournament, following an extremely active fishing day of fishing. Using Berkley Gulp! baits, the pair focused on one area most of the day, boating more than 30 fish from that area.

“At least five of them were just over the slot limit,” Pedersen said. “But we managed to pull in a couple of 23-inchers that were right on the line.”

The third-place team of Rennie Clark Jr., of Wilmington, N.C., and Drew Arndt, of Wrightsville Beach, weighed in 8.89 pounds during the competition, utilizing a combination of low tides and Berkley Gulp! baits to secure their limit.

“Once the tide went out, we probably caught 20 more fish and were able to cull out the smaller one,” Clark Jr. said. “This week, for some reason, the fish haven’t bit well on artificial baits, so we just had to be patient and work everything really slow.”

Joseph Tucker and Shane Green, 15th-place finishers in the Savannah event, took home the $500 Berkley Gulp! Big Fish Award for their 4.93-pound redfish. They will also receive the $500 Cabela’s gift card (awarded by Berkley) for catching their Big Fish on Berkley Gulp!

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.

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 2011, every regular-season tournament winner is guaranteed – regardless of field size – a fully loaded 2011 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. Lucrative contingency programs added for 2011 include $50 prize to the team claiming the big fish award in an IFA Redfish Tour event if the fish is landed with an EGO Net, $25 prize for both the big redfish and big trout in IFA Kayak Tour events; $250 prize to a qualifying winning team which competes from a boat equipped with OPTIMA Batteries; PENN reels for tournament-winning anglers who compete with PENN reels.

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, Berkley Gulp!, PENN reels, Yamaha Outboards, Columbia Sportswear, Minn Kota, Humminbird, OPTIMA Batteries, Power-Pole, Wrap This, Blue Point Fabrication, EGO Nets, Bob’s Machine Shop, 321fish.com, Kayak Angler Magazine, Loadmaster, Powertex Group, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, and Coffee Bluff Marina.

IFA Atlantic Division
Savannah, Ga. (Top 10)
1. Koraly/White – 9.26 lbs.

2. Pedersen/Parsons – 8.91 lbs.

3. Clark Jr./Arndt – 8.89 lbs.

4. Davis/Davis – 8.75 lbs.

5. Beglin/Reynierson – 8.58 lbs.

6. Causey/Dotson – 8.44 lbs.

7. Lather/Lather – 8.34 lbs.

8. Taylor/Cronk – 7.59 lbs.

9. Rosengarten/Malphrus – 7.12 lbs.

10. Starling/Cortes – 7.03 lbs.

Berkley Gulp! Big Fish Award ($500) + Cabela’s Gift Card ($500): Tucker/Green (4.93 lbs.)
Ranger Cup Award ($2,000): Koraly/White

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