Story by IFA
Photo by IFA
Kevin Akin and Bartt Caron, both of Corpus Christi, weighed a two-redfish limit that totaled 17.46 pounds to win the first regular-season event for the Texas Division of the IFA Redfish Tour presented by Cabela’s on April 2 at Port Aransas. The winning anglers took home a brand new, fully rigged Ranger 1862 with a Yamaha outboard. Along with contingency prize money, the duo earned a total of $29,597 in winnings.
The team spent the majority of their day fighting rough conditions in the Upper Laguna Madre area, approximately 20 miles south of Port Aransas. The anglers exclusively sight-casted using Gulps.
Despite the difficult conditions the anglers managed to pull off a win and catch a 9.44-pound giant – the heaviest of the tournament. The lunker won the $500 Berkley Big Fish Award.
Second-place finishers Jay Watkins of Rockport and Ryan Watkins of Selma fished Mosquito Bay, casting to potholes with twitch tails, and weighed a total of 15.72 pounds, winning $3,968.
Marcus Russell and Matt Merrell, both of Portland, finished third with 15.62 pounds, winning $1,405. The team fished Carlos Bay.
