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Champion/Lambert Rule Empire
Posted by stardot on Tuesday, June 16 @ 07:56:02 MDT (1 reads)The new Gulf Coast Angler’s Association (www.gulfcoastanglersassociation.com) kicked off its fourth tournament of the year on Saturday June 6th.
 

Anglers launched from Delta Marine in Empire. The weather could not have been better for the 30 boat field! Light winds and bright sun made for an outstanding day for fishing the marsh. Anglers found plenty of fat redfish roaming the flats. A special thanks goes out to the owners and staff of Delta Marine for taking care of us and making us feel welcome!

The winning weight was caught by the team of Blake Champion and Mike Lambert with 16.23 lbs. earned $1,200 for their catch. Champion/Lambert had located two different schools of slot redfish near Delacroix, LA.

The team sorted through 35 fish between two different locations to reach their winning weight. The teams sponsors include Frontline Plus, Rejuvenade (which Champion stated really helped during the climbing temperatures of the day to keep their catch alive), Costa Del Mar Sunglasses, and Bayou Buck Lures.

In 2nd place was the team of Chris Kennedy and Steven Hooter (Team Cajun Color) and winning $760 for their efforts. Kennedy/Hooter also fished the Delacroix area targeting schooling redfish. “It was a great day of fishing!” stated Kennedy. Using Bayou Buck Spinner baits the team culled through several fish to reach their weight of to 15.99 lbs.

Rounding out the top 5 were 3rd place Jay Cedetal and T-Paul Dufrene (15.70 lbs., $470), 4th place,Todd Semar and James Pichoff (15.54 lbs., $315), 5th place Daren Angelo and Mitch Jurisch (15.47 lbs.,$255) and Big Fish honors got to Gary Rettig and Mike Anderson (9.05 lbs.,$280).

The GCAA is growing! Each event we have seen an increase in participation. We would like to thank all the anglers that have come out to support us and our goal to have a competitive tournament based on sportsmanship and fun.

Come join us at our next event in Empire, LA at Delta Marine on July 11th. We will be giving away another Carrot Stix Rod as a door prize along with many others.

The Gulf Coast Anglers Association is a brand new redfish tournament organization catering to anglers who want to experience a friendly competitive environment. Dwayne Mills (tournament director) is dedicated to the anglers’ desire to have a tournament organization that will showcase its anglers and provide a family atmosphere for all levels of anglers.

See www.gulfcoastanglersassociation.com for more details.

Here is a detailed list of the tournament results:

Place	Team	Fish	Points	Weight	Money Won	Big Fish
1	Blake Champion/Mike Lambert	2	200	16.23	$1200	8.14
2	Chris Kennedy/Steven Hooter	2	199	15.99	$760	8.07
3	Jay Cedotal/T-Paul Dufrene	2	198	15.70	$470	8.43
4	Todd Semar/James Pichoff	2	197	15.54	$315	8.08
5	Darren Angelo/Mitch Jurisch	2	196	15.47	$255	7.96
6	Gary Wilson/Gus Wilson	2	195	14.97	$150	7.66
7	Chris Schieble/Mike Bushman	2	194	14.85	 	7.50
8	Scott Ritter	2	193	14.60	 	7.71
9	Rocky Thickstun	2	192	14.15	 	7.20
10	Tommy Burke	2	191	14.07	 	7.65
11	Bill Landry/Chuck Moresi	2	190	13.86	 	7.17
12	Paul Smith/Mike Daves	2	189	13.81	 	7.04
13	Gary Rettig/Mike Anderson	2	188	13.56	$280	9.05
14	Barnie White/Steve White	2	187	13.39	 	8.53
15	Richard Rutland/Derick Rogers	2	186	12.80	 	6.69
16	Brandon Treadaway/Kevin Bergeron	2	185	12.48	 	6.75
17	Louis Houvenaeghel/Dale Angelo	2	184	12.32	 	5.92
18	Jason Miller/Barry Beech	2	183	12.29	 	7.45
19	Pat Reichley/Micky Glover	2	182	11.66	 	6.67
20	Larry Kirby/Renee Kirby	2	181	11.58	 	6.50
21	Jed Sellers/Andrew Annison	2	180	10.93	 	5.98
22	Erik Nelson/Brian Pugh	2	179	10.38	 	5.89
23	Blake Hoyt/Eddie Hoyt	2	178	9.62	 	5.34
24	Ronnie Daniels/Timmy Thrash	2	177	9.04	 	4.94
25	Ryan Pruett/Sean O'Connell	1	176	8.96	 	8.96
26	Jason McCrossen/Ricky Cantin	1	175	7.49	 	7.49
27	Tim Craft/Tim Craft	0	100	0.00
27	Lance Downey/Jason Manuel	0	100	0.00
27	Chad Adcox/Brian Fornea	0	100	0.00
27	Ray Reiser/Dwayne Mills	0	100	0.00

 LeBlanc Wins Empire Day 1 Day 2 Final Results Tournament Photos Points

Jason LeBlanc came from 5th place after day 1 to take the win at Empire in the 2009 Hooters, HT3 Professional Redfish Series. A lot of action took place on both days, however, before you can fully appreciate what LeBlanc managed to do on day 2, we need to set the stage from the moment the production team pulled into Delta Marina in Empire.

From the moment the truck came to a stop in front of the newly remodeled and fully functional fishing paradise known as Delta Marina it was apparent this was a giant red fishing paradise. The facility lacks for nothing and the staff absolutely has the knowledge and interest in making sure each of their visitors has the fishing experience of a lifetime. Knowledgeable Captain’s, state of the art equipment and high rise villas allow for an experience second to none in southern Louisiana.

The tournament truck would be parked under a newly poured concrete pad with awning cover to keep anglers and spectators alike out of any inclement weather. Tony, Amber, Louis and Darren make sure every need is met and their staff goes out of their way to accommodate whether it is fresh bait delivered daily or the awesome meals prepared in the up stairs restaurant overlooking the gateway waters to the Mississippi River.

The anglers that competed and stayed at Delta Marina experienced the type of service usually reserved for rock stars and were appreciative of the extra efforts put forth by the crew at Delta Marine. From the Friday night, traditional crawfish boil to Saturday evening’s chicken jambalaya provided and prepared by Jeremy LeBlanc of JL Flooring. The food and drinks added to an already superb south Louisiana atmosphere. 

     The threat of severe weather really hurt the turn out but the 30 anglers who did compete enjoyed good weather, in spite of what was      predicted ”experts” and caught plenty of monster red fish. After day 1 there was a tie for first place between Frontline Plus Pro, Blake Champion with an identical 16.02 pounds as Louisiana local, Mike Lambert.

Anglers came from Alabama, Tennessee, Texas and of course, Louisiana to take part in this the 2nd event in the series. After Lambert and Champion slugged it out for identical weights it was Darren Angelo who did weigh in 15.81 pounds for third. Fourth place after day 1’s weigh in was Ryan Roussel who weighed in 2 fish for 15.44 pounds. The top five rounds out with Jason Leblanc weigh in 2 fish for 14.90 pounds but well within striking distance as anglers would learn on day 2.

The biggest fish of day 1 would have been a 9+ pounder brought to the fish bump station by Dale Angelo but measuring just a pinch over 27″ had to be thrown out. I knew it would be close but it was worth the risk to bring this big fish in, stated Angelo.

Now on to day 2. The launch took place at safe light with some anglers having to be redirected to another launch location on the other side of the “gate” which had to remain closed, due to high tide and rising waters. However, the lock tender, Jimmy, worked with the tour to make sure the remaining anglers could access the mighty Mississippi River which would lead them to their day 2 tournament waters location. The crowd swelled for day 2’s weigh in as anglers began to bring in some awesome Louisiana redfish.

First up on day 2 was Bucky Boone who brought in 13.02, then Texas pro, James Taylor brought his 2 fish in for 12.51 pounds and finally in round 1 on day 2 was Blake Champion who’s day 1 big fish would not bite but still was able to coax 13.89 pounds of redfish to bite. After a brief break in the action, the remaining anglers began to file in as the 4:00 pm deadline approached.

LA Landry brought in 15.12, Britt Ordes weighed in 13.94 and several other 7+ pound averages proved this fishery is in great shape, with many of those 7 pounders barely measuring 25″ much less the allowed 27″. It was an exciting conclusion that saw just one angler weighing in after Jason LeBlanc rested his 16.44 pounds on the scale and taking the lead.

It was Darren Angelo who needed approximately 17 pounds to take the win. LeBlanc stayed on stage while Angelo weighed in his catch, the fish and the scales settled and Angelo’s day 2 total weight was 16.22 pounds and LeBlanc secured his first win on the Hooters HT3 Professional Redfish Series. Jason received $2,005.00 by beating just 14 other anglers in the pro/boaters division with his 2 day total of 31.34 pounds and also took home $325.00 for his big fish of day 2, an 8.54 pounder. The total take for LeBlanc on 15 boats was $2,330.00.

Second place went to Ryan Roussel who landed 31.22 pounds and a check for $1,009.00. Third place in the pro/boater division went to Blake Champion and a check for $610.00 while the final spot went to the host facility owner, Darren Angelo who netted a check for $356.00 for his 2 day total of 29.61 pounds. The 6th and final check in the pro/boater’s division went to Mike Lambert for his day 1 big fish of 8.46 pounds which netted Mike a check for $325.00.

Non Boaters
The non boater division was won by Kory Matherne who took home $876.00 by beating just 14 other non boaters who paid just a $150.00 entry fee.

Second place went to Landon Clause who took home $415.00 while third place went to Sam Champion from Tennessee who took home $259.00. Finally, fourth place was landed by Jeff Mayne, a local fish and wildlife officer, who took home $150.00. In all with just 15 boats, there were 10 checks cut.

It was a great weekend and plans are in the works to bring HT3 back to Empire sooner than later and we are excited at the possibilities that may lie just around the corner for both the tour and anglers alike.

A special thanks to the entire crew at Delta Marine they could not of done anymore to ensure the anglers and tour thoroughly enjoyed the weekend.

Next up for the Series will be in Delacroix, July 25-26. Until then, go catch a big Louisiana redfish…. then release it!~~

 After day 1 of the 2009 Hooters, HT3 Professional Redfish Series event in Empire, La. Mike Lambert and Blake Champion are tied at 16.02 pounds.The Delta Marina is the host for this event and anglers could not ask for a better facility to catch and weigh in their big, beautiful Louisiana Redfish.

 With first place being a dead heat the next in line and serious contender for tomorrow’s title is Darren Angelo with 15.81 pounds with an 8.19 big fish.

 Fourth place is held by newcomer to the trail, Ryan Roussel weighed in 2 fish for 15.44 pounds.  The top five rounds out with Jason Leblanc weighin in 2 fish for 14.90 pounds.

The biggest fish of the day would have been a 9+ pounder brought to the fish bump station by Dale Angelo but measuring just a pinch over 27″ had to be thown out.  “I knew it would be close but it was worth the risk to bring this big fish in”, stated Angelo. 

Dale finished with just the one fish for 8.02 pounds, which average wise, sets him up nicely for tomorrow if he can get 2 this size inside the slot.  It was a great day 1 with JL flooring providing an awesome meal of chicken jumbalaya, white beans and some stuff we still aren’t quite sure what it was, but it was good!

Ramsay could not make this event so we called Capt. Mike Bushman, of  Team Stick it Pins, to join Team Frontline in Slidell. Mike and I  found a good school of fish in shortened practice period on Friday and hoped they would hold on Sat.

As per usual this spring, the weather decided to be a factor once again. Cold air and high winds made the 50 mile run across Lake Borgne a rough one, but not impossible. Mike and I fought high winds and low water all day and managed to put 2 nice fish in the live well, with Mike boating the heaviest fish of the day on the last cast! The bite was much slower than friday, but we found a few willing redfish on topwater and gold spoons.

When the weigh in was over and the dust settled we ended up in 14th place with 13.81 #. The top 20 finish will position us to make a move for team of the year standings in the Gulf coast division. The next Gulf coast event will be in Bay St. Louis, Ms. on May 2nd. We will continue in the Gulf coast division with a combo of Team Frontline and Team Stick it Pins.

It was a bad day on the water for us this go around. 30 knot winds, flooded marsh, and broken trolling motor left us humbled with nothing to bring to the scales. So, time to dust off the bad karma and move on to the next one.

http://www.ht3redfish.com/uploads/laredfish1_final_results.pdf

 Cold wind, low water, and finicky redfish was the story line of the day.