Team Henninger/Bolema Wins IFA Redfish Tour Presented by Cabela’s at Ruskin, Florida
OutdoorHub 05.08.12
John Henninger, of Jacksonville, Fla., and David Bolema, of Sarasota, Fla., weighed in a two-redfish limit that totaled 15.06 pounds to win the IFA Redfish Tour event at Ruskin, Fla., on May 5. To win the event, which operated out of Little Harbor, the duo 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, and a Loadmaster trailer valued at $30,000.
The winning team ran 40 miles to the Sarasota area. Dead-sticking Berkley® Gulp!® and throwing hardbaits, the anglers gave themselves a good chance to have a great day by fishing familiar waters.
“We have been fishing these fish for two months,” Henninger said. “We fish really well together and most importantly we had fun.”
The anglers added to their winnings with an additional $2000 for the Ranger Cup Award, courtesy of Ranger Boats.
Second-place finishers, Heath Seckel, of Englewood, Fla., and Travis Tucker, of Bartow, Fla., brought 14.17 pounds to the scales by sight-fishing in the St. Petersburg area with Berkley 4-inch Sinking Minnows. The anglers’ 8.01-pound kicker redfish won them the $500 Berkeley Gulp! Big Fish Award with a $250 Cabela’s gift card, courtesy of Berkley.
“There were lots of recreational anglers around,” Seckel said. “We had to grind it out and be persistent.”
Michael Delagarza, of Bradenton, Fla., and T.J. Stewart weighed in 13.46 pounds of redfish to take the third-place prize. A four-year IFA Redfish Tour veteran, Delagarza said his team ran to the Sarasota area, fishing in good conditions.
“We had a good tournament,” Delagarza said. “ We had no problems and really had a good time.”
The eighth-place finishers, Tony Jackson and Kelly Causey, won the Cabela’s Angler Cash Award worth $1,000.
The IFA Redfish Tour Presented by Cabela’s 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 two-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 two of the IFA’s 12 regular-season events and one regional event are automatically qualified for a no-entry-fee championship event, pitting qualifiers from each of the six divisions for a combined $118,450 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 12 IFA Redfish Tour regular-season events remains extremely lucrative. In 2012, every regular-season tournament winner is guaranteed – regardless of field size – a fully loaded 2012 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 and a Loadmaster trailer. The entire first-place prize package is valued at $30,000.
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, Yamaha Outboards, Gulp!, Gulp! Alive, PENN Reels, Spiderwire, Sebile, Columbia Sportswear, Minn Kota, Humminbird, Power-Pole, Wrap This, Bob’s Machine Shop, Blue Point Fabrication, NBOA Marine Insurance, Loadmaster, Powertex Group, Audubon Aquarium of the America, Pirate’s Pointe Resort and Little Harbor.
IFA Florida West Coast Division
Ruskin, Fla. (Top 10)
- Henninger/Bolema – 15.06 lbs.
- Seckel/Tucker – 14.17 lbs.
- Delagarza/Stewart – 13.46 lbs.
- Peters/Vercillo – 13.45 lbs.
- Witt/Tari – 13.34 lbs.
- Statkus/Lowe – 13.29 lbs.
- Chivas/Chivas – 13.11 lbs.
- Jackson/Causey – 12.99 lbs.
- Cress/Weishaar – 12.89 lbs.
- Smith/Lippert – 12.60 lbs.
Berkley Gulp! Big Fish Award ($500) + Cabela’s Gift Card ($250):
Seckel/Tucker (8.01 lbs.)
Ranger Cup Award ($2,000):
Henninger/Bolema
Cabela’s Angler Cash Award ($1,000):
Jackson/Causey
