IFA Redfish Tour Comes to Port St. Joe, Florida Mar. 17-18
OutdoorHub 03.12.12
Anglers from across Florida and surrounding regions will converge on Port St. Joe, Fla., March 17-18 for the season-opening Gulf Division regular-season event for both the IFA Redfish Tour Presented by Cabela’s and the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour Presented by Hobie Fishing. Saturday’s IFA Redfish Tour event, which will operate out of Port St. Joe Marina, and Sunday’s IFA Kayak Fishing Tour are the first of two regular-season tournaments for the Gulf Division, one of six divisions of IFA Tour events running from the Carolinas to Texas.
The weekend’s activities begin Friday, March 16 with the IFA Redfish Tour registration from 5-7 p.m. at Port St. Joe Marina (340 Marina Drive, Port St. Joe, Fla., 32456) with the captains meeting to follow. Anglers will launch from Port St. Joe Marina at safe light on Saturday for the one-day event. Check-in times will be assigned at the captains meeting.
Competitors in the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour Presented by Hobie Fishing will have a registration from 6-7 p.m. with captains meeting to follow on Saturday, March 17 at Port St. Joe Marina with anglers returning to the marina for weigh-ins. Anglers will launch from the location of choice.
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.
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.
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.
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.
