Martin Mood Wins IFA Kayak Tour Event At Savannah, GA.
OutdoorHub 03.29.12
Martin Mood, of Yorktown, Va., caught a redfish and speckled sea trout that measured a combined 44.75 inches in length to win the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour presented by Hobie Fishing event at Savannah, Ga., on March 25. The event, which operated out of Coffee Bluff Marina, was the first regular-season event for the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour’s Atlantic Division.
In his first IFA Kayak event Moody fought high winds fishing top-water baits near oyster bars in the Brunswick, Ga. area. On a day where only six competitors weighed in a trout, the angler boated a 21-inch trout using a Berkley Gulp! Jerk Shad winning him the $100 Berkley Gulp! Trout Award plus a $100 Cabela’s gift card, courtesy of Berkley. The angler also took home an extra $200 for having the highest place finish for an angler competing in a Hobie Kayak.
It was extremely windy, making for a tough fishing day,” Mood said. “I was very please with my fishing considering the conditions.”
Second-place finisher, Elizabeth Saylor, of Jacksonville, Fla., measured a 25.25-inch redfish and an 18.25-inch trout to win the $1,000 second-place prize. Saylor traveled about an hour to get her redfish and trout before the wind picked up and blew her out of her fishing spot.
“I started out a bit antsy but had a red and trout within the first 45 minutes,” Saylor said. “I calmed down and just relaxed and was able to upgrade my red to 25.25 right before the wind blew in.”
Third-place finisher, Craig Van Brocklin, of Jacksonville Beach Fla., won the $500 third-place prize for his 21.875-inch redfish and 15.75-inch trout. Van Brocklin fished in the Jacksonville area around fishing docks and structures.
“The low tide and brisk winds limited top-water bites so I used Gulp! soft plastics, Van Brocklin said. “It was a great event and I had a good time fishing.”
Fourth-place finisher, Erick Bell, took home $100 for the Berkley Gulp! Redfish Award.
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.
IFA Atlantic Division
Savannah, Ga. (Top 10)
- Martin Mood – 44.75 inches
- Elizabeth Saylor – 43.50 inches
- Craig Van Brocklin – 37.625 inches
- Erick Bell – 28.375 inches
- Nathan Raycroft – 27.875 inches
- Chris Chappell – 27.75 inches
- Richard Bekolay – 25.75 inches
- Kevin Kappel – 25.75 inches
- Bill Carroll – 23.25 inches
- John Chapman – 20.50 inches
$100 Berkley Gulp! Big Redfish Award:
- Erick Bell
$100 Berkley Gulp! Big Trout Award plus $100 gift card to Cabela’s:
- Martin Mood
$200 Hobie Top Angler Cash Award:
- Martin Mood
