Drew Mixon Wins IFA Kayak Tour Regional Event Presented by Hobie at Titusville, Fla.
OutdoorHub 09.10.12
Regional winner takes home $2,000 first-place prize
Drew Mixon, of Vero Beach, Fla., caught a redfish and speckled sea trout that measured a combined 48.68 inches in length to win the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour presented by Hobie Fishing regional event at Titusville, Fla., on August 26. The event, which operated out of Sand Point Park, was the first regional event for the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour.
Mixon, in his second year fishing the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour, fought 20-30 mph winds to catch his limit. Fishing with top-water baits, the angler credits his winning catch to good luck.
“I fished the grass flats in the Indian River at Vero Beach,’” Mixon said. “The wind was up and there were two-foot chops with rain. It was pure luck that I caught the winning fish.”
Mixon added to his winnings with the $400.00 Hobie Top Angler Award for having the highest place finish for an angler competing in a Hobie Kayak.
Originally slotted as the second-place winner, Cameron Schurlknight realized post event he had inadvertently broken an IFA Kayak Fishing Tour tournament rule and shortly there after returned his tournament check and plaque. This self-reported rules violation disqualified Schurlknight from the tournament. Jason Broach and Kelly Phillips were subsequently bumped from third and fourth places to second and third places, respectively.
Broach, also from Vero Beach, Fla., brought a 29-inch redfish and a 16.13-inch trout to the scales to ultimately win the $1,000 second-place prize. The angler took home an additional $100 for winning the Berkley Gulp! Big Redfish Award.
“The rain was expected,” Broach said. “I fished top-water baits and chatterbaits over some grass flats in the Fort Pierce area. I had a good feeling going into the tournament. I thought I had a good chance to be in the top five.”
Kelly Phillips measured a total of 45.13 inches for the third-place prize of $500.
Seventh-place finisher Stephen Yurkevich won the $100 Berkley Gulp! Trout Award for his 23.63-inch speckled sea trout.
Coby Pawlowski won the $100 Jr. Angler Award.
IFA Redfish Tour teams and IFA Kayak Fishing Tour anglers must have fished two IFA qualifying events to participate in the regional event. All IFA Redfish Tour teams and IFA Kayak Fishing Tour anglers that fish at least two regular-season events and at least one Regional tournament will be qualified automatically to compete in the no-entry-fee championship.
Each of the Cabela’s IFA Redfish Tour 12 regular-season events will commence on Saturday with the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour Presented by Hobie Fishing contested the following day (Sundays). The IFA Kayak Fishing Tour Presented by Hobie will feature 12 regular-season, catch-photograph-release events across six different division (mirroring the IFA Redfish Tour format, location and scheduling) as well as extremely lucrative payouts and expanded fishing opportunities for non-motorized fishing crafts.
The redfish/trout tournament will pay twenty places plus Big Redfish, Big Trout and Junior Angler Awards with a total payout of $9,800 (based on a 100 boat field). The winner will take home a guaranteed Hobie Mirage Pro Angler valued at $2549, 2nd place is a guaranteed $1,000 Hobie Cash and 3rd place is a guaranteed $500 Hobie Cash. Hobie will be paying $200 to the highest angler fishing out of a Hobie kayak at each IFA event.
The IFA Redfish Tour 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.
The fastest-growing kayak fishing tournament trail in the country, the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour Presented by Hobie Fishing offers inshore kayak anglers from a multitude of states the opportunity to participate in competitive fishing tournaments. With low entry fees and minimal travel requirements, kayak anglers competing in the catch-photograph-release tournaments can take advantage of the numerous money and product prizes awarded to competitors. First-place prize for each regular-season event of the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour Presented by Hobie Fishing, regardless of field size, is a Hobie Mirage Pro Angler kayak valued at $2,549. Second and third place finishers are awarded cash prizes of $1,000 and $500, respectively.
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, Blue Point Fabrication, 321fish.com, Loadmaster, NBOA Marine Insurance, Powertex Group, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, Livingston Lures, Holiday Inn Titusville/Kennedy Space Center and Sand Point Park.
IFA Regional Event
Titusville, Fla. (Top 10)
1. Drew Mixon – 48.68 inches
2. Jason Broach – 45.25 inches
3. Kelly Phillips – 44.00 inches
4. Roger Bump – 40.50 inches
5. Jerry Burdine – 25.25 inches
6. Dolphin Hamilton – 24.75 inches
7. Stephen Yurkevich – 23.63 inches
8. Robert Vaughn – 22.75 inches
9. Shawn Neurath – 22.25 inches
10. Shawn Beltz – 22.00 inches
$100 Berkley Gulp! Big Redfish Award:
Jason Broach (30.625 inches)
$100 Berkley Gulp! Big Trout Award:
Stephen Yurkevich (23.63 inches)
$200 Hobie Top Angler Cash Award:
Drew Mixon
$100 Junior Angler Award:
Coby Pawlowski
