CHRIS LEWIS WINS IFA KAYAK FISHING TOUR EVENT AT ORANGE BEACH, AL.; October 20, 2011

[Fishing Report]

CHRIS LEWIS WINS IFA KAYAK FISHING TOUR EVENT AT ORANGE BEACH, AL.
Gulf Division winner takes home Hobie Mirage Pro-Angler Kayak

LIZELLA, Ga. (October 20, 2011) – Chris Lewis, of Key Largo, Fla., caught a redfish and speckled sea trout that measure a combined 61.00 inches in length to the win the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour Presented by Hobie Fishing event at Orange Beach, Fla., on October 16. The event, which operated out of Caribe Resort, was the last of three regular-season events for the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour’s Gulf Division.

Fishing in the Destin, Fla., area, Lewis, who has fished with the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour for two years, sight fished with Berkley Gulp! and hardbaits. Lewis added $200 for winning the Hobie Top Angler prize for having the highest place of finish for an angler competing from a Hobie Kayak.

“The weather was great,” Lewis said. “I was casting a lot to take advantage of the good conditions.”

Second-place finisher, Lee Smith, of Niceville, Fla., measured a 38.50-inch redfish and a 21.50-inch trout for a total length measurement of 60 inches to lock up the second place prize of $1,000.

Smith, who was the 2011 Gulf Division Angler of the Year, fished hard with Berkely Gulp! and hardbaits in tough conditions around Destin, but didn’t let it get in his way of having a great day.

“I can’t complain,” Smith said. “It was good times with good friends.”

Third-place finisher, Benton Parrott, of Spanish Fort, Ala., fished locally and garnered $500 for weighing in his redfish and trout, which measured a combined 59.50 inches in length using a spinner bait for redfish and a top-water bait for trout.

Parrott took advantage of a small break in wind in the morning to go after the bull reds, which netted him an extra $100 for winning the Berkley Gulp! Redfish Award with a 40.50-inch redfish.

“I usually fish for trout first,” Parrott said. “But I swapped it around and used the pause in the wind to take advantage.”

Seventh-place finisher, Brandan Bayard won $100 for the Berkley Gulp! Trout Award for catching a 24.25-inch trout.

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 $2,499, 2nd place prize will be a $1,000 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 Fishing Tour events; a PENN reel for tournament-winning angler who competes with PENN reel.

The IFA Redfish and IFA Kayak Fishing 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, Gulp!, Gulp! Alive, PENN reels, Yamaha Outboards, Columbia Sportswear, Minn Kota, Humminbird, OPTIMA Batteries, Power-Pole, Wrap This, Blue Point Fabrication, EGO Nets, Spiderwire, Sebile, Bob’s Machine Shop, 321fish.com, Kayak Angler Magazine, Loadmaster, NBOA Marina Insurance, Powertex Group, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Sports Commission, and Caribe Resort.

IFA Gulf Division
Orange Beach, Fla. (Top 10)
1. Chris Lewis – 61.00 inches

2. Lee Smith – 60.00 inches

3. Benton Parrott – 59.50 inches

4. Chris Holmes – 55.25 inches

5. Chad Skeeles – 40.63 inches

6. Greg Ammon – 35.75 inches

7. Brendan Bayard – 24.25 inches

8. Jeff Suber – 20.00 inches

9. Micha Mixon – 15.25 inches

10. Linda Cavitt – 15.00 inches


$200 Hobie Contingency:

Chris Lewis

$100 Berkley GULP! Big Redfish Award
Benton Parrott (40.50 inches)

$100 Berkley GULP! Big Trout Award
Brandan Bayard (24.25 inches)

[Fishing Report]

TEAM DUFRENE/CEDOTAL WINS IFA REDFISH TOUR EVENT AT ORANGE BEACH, AL.
Team takes home new Ranger Banshee Extreme with tournament victory

LIZELLA, Ga. (October 20, 2011) – Chad Dufrene, of Purvis, Miss., and Jay Cedotal of Geismar, La., weighed in a two-redfish limit that totaled 15.7 pounds to win the IFA Redfish Tour event at Orange Beach, Ala., on October 15. To win the event, which operated out of Caribe Resort, the team 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, an OPTIMA battery and a Loadmaster trailer valued at $30,000.

Dufrene and Cedotal, winners of the 2010 IFA Redfish Tour Championship as well as Team of the Year titles in 2008 and 2009, ran 75 miles to Pascagoula, Miss., sight fishing with Berkley Gulp! baits and jerkbaits.

“The conditions were just as we expected, sunny with an easterly wind,” said Chad Dufrene. “We were very happy to win.”

Dufrene and Cedotal capped their tournament by winning the Berkley Gulp! Big Fish Award for their 8.05-pound kicker fish, which paid them $500 plus a $500 Cabela’s gift card, courtesy of Berkley; the $1,000 Cabela’s Anglers Cash Award, the $250 OPTIMA Battery Award and top prize in the Anglers Advantage pool.

Second-place finishers, Scott Ritter and Bobby Abruscato, brought 14.79 to the weigh-in during the Orange Beach event after running 100 miles. The team, who has been fishing with the IFA for several years, said they caught a lot of fish during the day.

“If you said we were going to get second today at the dock, we would have taken it,” said Scott Ritter. “Now it hurts a bit, but we had a great day.”

The third-place team of Joey Sostheim and Jake Matney, both of Panama City Beach, Fla., brought 14.64 pounds to the scales during the event. Running 360 miles roundtrip during the tournament day, the team sight fished from an 8-foot ladder using Gulp! and spinners.

“We did well today, but we could have done much better,” said Joey Sostheim.

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, an OPTIMA battery 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, Gulp!, Gulp! Alive, PENN reels, Yamaha Outboards, Columbia Sportswear, Minn Kota, Humminbird, OPTIMA Batteries, Power-Pole, Wrap This, Blue Point Fabrication, EGO Nets, Spiderwire, Sebile, Bob’s Machine Shop, 321fish.com, Kayak Angler Magazine, Loadmaster, NBOA Marina Insurance, Powertex Group, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Sports Commission, and Caribe Resort.

IFA Gulf Coast Division
Orange Beach, Ala. (Top 10)
1. Dufrene/Cedotal – 15.70 lbs.
2. Ritter/Abruscato – 14.79 lbs.
3. Sostheim/Matney – 14.64 lbs.
4. Stepler/Lipscomb – 13.56 lbs.
5. Weir/Schoen – 12.88 lbs.
6. Montgomery/Johnson – 12.28 lbs.
7. Pescay/Pescay – 11.53 lbs.
8. Hinote/ Mistovich – 11.18 lbs.
9. Pattison/Pattison – 10.62 lbs.
10. Combs/Busby – 10.55

Berkley Gulp! Big Fish Award ($500) + Cabela’s Gift Card ($500):
Dufrene/Cedotal (7.91 lbs.)

Cabela’s Angler Cash ($1,000):

Dufrene/Cedotal



OPTIMA Battery Award ($250):

Dufrene/Cedotal