Eric Holstman and partner at the weigh-in
The first Redfish Cup event of 2009 took place in Punta Gorda, FL. on May 1-3. We were greeted with some difficult tides and conditions. We found the larger fish to be very uncooperative and set a goal of concentrating on more catchable redfish as this event would be the trickiest of the year. Each morning, we quickly secured two medium-sized fish in the well and then concentrated on a small group of redfish that were 26-30″ in hopes of grabbing a few quality tournament fish for upgrades. Ended up getting some over-slot fish and then going back to some other fish that would help us in the end. I found that the Berkley Gulp! 3″ Shrimp in camo were the ticket for both sightfishing and blindcasting holes along mangrove flats. All in all, a difficult event but we accomplished our goal and got 17.59# to secure 16th place and a nice check for $3500. Sometimes it’s best to play the tricky venues on the conservative side especially since the Redfish Cup Championship is right here in Pensacola, FL. in late September.
Thank you very much for all the words of encouragement and best wishes, we represented Pensacola well and will continue to do so for the rest of the year. Photos to follow.
Eric Holstman
