What in the He!! is Going On???!!!

Mark McMillan and Greg King's FLA Winning Sack

So, I guess 2009 is going to be the year of the redfish in Jacksonville. At least that is how it is shaping up to be considering the strong results the Florida Lure Anglers memebers have been posting up lately.

I like statistics, so here goes. In the last two club tournaments members have weighed in a total of 9 limits weighing over 13lbs which is pretty unusual since the pinched tail measurement was instituted by the FWC.

For comparison's sake, look at the IFA Redfish Tour's eastern division last year and you will only find that a total of 6 limits over 13lbs were brought to the scales. That is out of 3 tournaments including one at the self proclaimed "redfish capital of the world" Titusville, FL.

And, if you look at the "elite" Redfish Cup series who had two stops in Florida last year you will find that only 19 sacks greater than 13lbs were weighed. Since they fish 2 day events and had 4 chances to make the mark they are statistically only slightly better (.25) at catching 13 pound bags than we have been lately here in Jax.

Fishing in Jax right now is pretty solid. Why is that? I have a couple of personal theories about this. First off, with the mild winter a lot of bait is still roaming around in the creeks so the fish are getting a longer feeding season. In years past, we get a couple of early freezes and the bait hits the road which means the reds aren't packing on the ounces.

Another consideration is that before each of the last two tournaments we had a couple of very cold nights which may have grouped the fish more tightly than usual. It had not been cold enough to totally shut down the bite so when anglers found fish they would feed. If they happened to find the right group of fish, a good limit was possible since the fish are a few ounces heavier than normal.

Finally, the FLA format has challenged its teams to be well versed in a variety of tournament situations. Members are used to fishing for two or three different species in most tournaments so it is a vacation of sorts to be able to concentrate only on redfish. Anglers must also master a variety of lures when chasing redfish, trout, and flounder which certainly broadens horizons when going for a single species. I know many members who have been using a particular lure, for instance, to target trout and have caught reds by accident. This experience can be expanded on later and another weapon is added to the arsenal.

Kudos to Mark McMillan and Greg King for their club win with a 14.20 lb sack. Remember that Mark also recently got the FLA all-time club record redfish weighing 8.74 lbs which will likely stand for a long time so these guys are likely going to be solid in the upcoming IFA Redfish Tour season opener.

I predict you will see 5 of the top 10 teams come from the Florida Lure Anglers but somebody from out of town will stumble into the winning fish. Let's see what happens.