Outdoors

Daily fishing report

By DAVE BROWN
Published February 26, 2006

Scott Guthrie of Jacksonville and Rick Murphy of Homestead caught a three-day total of six redfish weighing 36 pounds, 5 ounces to win the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Eastern Division tournament at Tierra Verde Resort Marina Saturday. They earned $37,500.

After topping Day 2, the winners caught their best fish while blind-casting over shallow grass beds in Sarasota Bay. They used one-eighth-ounce and one-sixteenth-ounce jigheads with scented soft plastic jerk baits in golden bream color.

Guthrie said they downsized from their usual 15-pound braided line to 10-pound braid to achieve longer casts.

"We won this tournament on the last cast of the day," Murphy said. "We added a 6-pound fish on our last spot. We had one in the well that was 5, so we gained a half-pound by culling that one. That's why you fish until you have to go."

The tournament fielded 144 teams, which fished two days to qualify for Saturday's five-boat final round. Each team was allowed to weigh two fish per day.

Rounding out the top five: Geoffrey Page of Venice and Ed Zyak of Jensen Beach (35 pounds, 14 ounces); Mike Anderson and Kenny Hyatt, both of Riverview (35-13); Warren Girle of Longboat Key and Billy Harris of Bradenton (35-11); and Bryan Watts of Lithia and Greg Watts of Eagle Lake (six redfish, 33-11).

David A. Brown covers area fishing tournaments and can be reached at tightlinecomm@aol.com

[Last modified February 26, 2006, 01:49:18]