IFA Kayak Fishing Tour

Gulf Coast Division winner takes home Hobie Mirage Pro Angler Kayak
 
LIZELLA, Ga.  (June 27, 2012) – Chandler Graves, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., caught a redfish and speckled sea trout that measured a combined 46.38 inches in length to win the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour presented by Hobie Fishing event at Panama City Beach, Fla., on June 24. The event, which operated out of Bay Point Marina, was the last regular-season event for the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour’s Gulf Coast Division.
 
Graves, who placed second in the season-opening event for the Gulf Coast Division at Port St. Joe, Fla., reported poor conditions due to a tropical storm.
 
“Tropical Storm Debby was off the coast,” Graves said. “Winds were up, tide was up, and the waves were up.”
 
The angler fished spoons, Gulp! and top-water baits in the Choctawhatchee Bay and attributes persistence as the key to his win.
 
“I have been close to taking first before,” Graves said. “I would throw, throw and throw, then get back to the start of the drift and repeat. I had a great time even with the miserable conditions.”
 
Graves capped his tournament by winning the $200 Hobie Top Angler Award for having the highest place finish for an angler competing in a Hobie Kayak.
 
Second-place finisher, Jason Davis, of Phenix City, Ala., measured a 24-inch redfish and a 19.88-inch trout to win the $1,000 second-place prize. In his second year fishing the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour, Davis fished grass flats with spoons, top-water baits and Gulp! jerk shads. Davis reported a tough day on the water due to the inclement weather.
 
“I was very surprised that the bite was as good as it was in lieu of the conditions,” Davis said. “I fished in the brunt of Tropical Storm Debby, but I was very pleased with my performance.”
 
Timothy Walker, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., fought through the tough conditions to take home the third-place prize. The angler threw top-water baits and Gulp! swimbaits in Choctawhatchee Bay.
 
“I first spot I fished was nicer than I expected,” Walker said. “I managed to catch a redfish and trout there. I moved on to another spot, but it was windy and the waves were breaking everywhere. The third spot was just as bad, but I launched anyway and was able to improve my trout.”
 
Jeff Suber took fifth place overall and the $100 Berkley Gulp! Big Trout Award for his 22-inch trout.
 
Ninth-place finisher Jimmy Haney’s 27-inch redfish won the $100 Berkley Gulp! Big Redfish Award plus a $100 Cabela’s gift card, courtesy of Berkley.
 
The eleventh-place finisher, Micha Mixon, won the $100 Junior Angler 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.
 
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 and Bay Point Marina.
 
IFA Gulf Coast Division
Panama City Beach, Fla. (Top 10)
1.    Chandler Graves – 46.38 inches
2.    Jason Davis – 43.88 inches
3.    Tim Walker – 43.68 inches
4.    Scott Harper – 42.25 inches
5.    Jeff Suber – 41.00 inches
6.    Drew Mixon – 41.00 inches
7.    Vlad Moldoveanu – 39.75 inches
8.    Jeffery Russell – 38.68 inches
9.    Jimmy Haney – 27.00 inches
10. Benton Parrott – 23.50 inches
 
$100 Berkley GULP! Big Redfish Award plus $100 gift card to Cabela’s:
Jimmy Haney
 
$100 Berkley Gulp! Big Trout Award:
Jeff Suber
 
$200 Hobie Top Angler Cash Award:
Chandler Graves
 
Jr. Angler Award $100:
Micha Mixon
 

Louisiana Division winner takes home Hobie Mirage Pro Angler Kayak
 
LIZELLA, Ga.  (June 20, 2012) – Vlad Moldoveanu, of Mobile, Ala., caught a redfish and speckled sea trout that measured a combined 54.125 inches in length to win the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour presented by Hobie Fishing event at Delacroix, La., on June 17. The event, which operated out of Sweetwater Marina, was the last regular-season event for the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour’s Louisiana Division.
 
Moldoveanu, IFA Redfish Tour winner in Panama City in 2010, traveled widely to catch his winning fish. The angler fished in Alabama to catch his trout and drove over three hours to Louisiana for his redfish.
 
Moldoveanu didn’t have early success with top-water baits and eventually found his fish with a Berkley Gulp! jerkbait and a spinner bait with a Berkley Gulp! soft plastic trailer.
 
“The water conditions at my trout spot were as expected,” Moldoveanu said. “But the redfish spot was muddy and I had to adjust and go to my second and third spots. The windy day made fishing harder, but choosing spots out of the wind was the key.”
 
The winning angler had a big day. Catching his 30.625-inch redfish and 23.50-inch trout with Berkley Gulp! won him the $100 Berkley Gulp! Big Redfish Award plus a $100 Cabela’s gift card, courtesy of Berkley, and the $100 Berkley Gulp! Big Trout Award with a $100 Cabela’s gift card, courtesy of Berkley.
 
To top off his winnings, Moldoveanu took home the $200 Hobie Top Angler Award for having the highest place finish for an angler competing in a Hobie Kayak.
 
Second-place finisher, Brendan Bayard, of Baton Rouge, La., measured a 29.25-inch redfish and a 17.50-inch trout to win the $1,000 second-place prize. In his third year fishing the IFA Kayak Tour, Bayard fished the Grand Isle area with a top-water bait and a spinner bait.
 
“It started slow,” Bayard said. “But after a storm came through, it turned on.”
 
Former IFA Louisiana Division Angler of the Year Steve Lessard, of Geismar, La., finished in third place with his redfish and trout, which measured a total length of 46.175 inches.
 
Twentieth-place finisher, Mickey Quigley, won the $100 Jr. Angler 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.
 
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 and Sweetwater Marina.
 
IFA Louisiana Division
Delacroix, La. (Top 10)
1.    Vlad Moldoveanu – 54.125 inches
2.    Brendan Bayard – 46.75 inches
3.    Steve Lessard – 46.175 inches
4.    Steve Neece – 45.50 inches
5.    Doug Manefee – 40.625 inches
6.    Benton Parrott – 40.50 inches
7.    Clayton Shilling – 39.125 inches
8.    Blake Gill – 39.00 inches
9.    Devon Beltz – 38.75 inches
10. Perry Watts – 36.25 inches
 
$100 Berkley GULP! Big Redfish Award plus $100 gift card to Cabela’s:
Vlad Moldoveanu (30.625 inches)
 
$100 Berkley Gulp! Big Trout Award plus $100 gift card to Cabela’s:
Vlad Moldoveanu (23.50 inches)
 
$200 Hobie Top Angler Cash Award:
Vlad Moldoveanu
 
$100 Junior Angler Award:
Mickey Quigley

Texas Division winner takes home Hobie Mirage Pro Angler Kayak
 
LIZELLA, Ga.  (June 13, 2012) – Clint Barghi, of Friendswood, Texas, caught a redfish and speckled sea trout that measured a combined 47.50 inches in length to win the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour presented by Hobie Fishing event at Rockport, Texas, on June 10. The event, which operated out of Cove Harbor Marina, was the last regular-season event for the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour’s Texas Division.
 
Barghi, winner of the 2011 IFA Redfish Tour event at Corpus Christi, traveled five miles in his kayak, fishing top-water baits and popping corks in the Rockport area.
 
“It was windy again, but the area we fished needs strong wind to catch fish,” Barghi said. “All I can say is thanks for the time and effort spent to make this event happen. This ranks as the number one series on the Texas coast.”
 
Second-place finisher, Noel Guerrero, of Portland, Texas, measured a 28-inch redfish and a 17-inch trout to take the $1,000 prize. In his third year fishing the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour, Guerrero fished the shorelines in the South Bay area with top-water baits.
 
“The fish were in the same place that I pre-fished,” Guerrero said. “I caught a lot of fish, which made for a good day.”
 
Fil Spencer, of Corpus Christi, measured a combined 44.18 inches to take third place. Spencer experienced windy conditions in the Corpus Christi area. The angler caught his 23.50-inch trout with Berkley Gulp! bait, which won him the $100 Berkley Gulp! Trout Big Fish Award plus a $100 Cabela’s gift card, courtesy of Berkley.
 
Eleventh-place finisher, Robert Guerra won the $100 Berkley Gulp! Redfish Big Fish Award for his 31-inch redfish.
 
Ninth-place finisher, Jeremy Carson, took home the $200 Hobie Top Angler Award for having the highest place finish for an angler competing in a Hobie kayak
 
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 and Cove Harbor Marina.
 
IFA Texas Division
Rockport, Texas (Top 10)
1.    Clint Barghi – 47.50 inches
2.    Noel Guerrero – 45.00 inches
3.    Fil Spencer – 44.18 inches
4.    Shawn Rakowitz – 41.93 inches
5.    Aaron Otero – 40.75 inches
6.    Cameron Barghi – 40.38 inches
7.    Chad Kosub – 40.00 inches
8.    Jason Gordon – 39.75 inches
9.    Jeremy Carson – 39.00 inches
10. Josh MacNaughton – 38.50 inches
 
$100 Berkley GULP! Big Redfish Award:
Robert Guerra
 
$100 Berkley Gulp! Trout Award plus $100 gift card to Cabela’s:
Fil Spencer
 
$200 Hobie Top Angler Cash Award:
Jeremy Carson

Atlantic Division winner takes home Hobie Mirage Pro Angler Kayak
 
LIZELLA, Ga.  (June 6, 2012) – Dolphin Hamilton, of Charleston, S.C., caught a redfish and speckled sea trout that measured a combined 41.50 inches in length to win the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour presented by Hobie Fishing event at Charleston, S.C., on June 3. The event, which operated out of Red’s Ice House, was the last regular-season event for the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour’s Atlantic Division.
 
Winner of the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour event at Charleston last year, Hamilton used his experience and returned to Wadmalaw Sound to catch his wining fish. The angler pitched Berkley Gulp! crab to tailing redfish during the morning high tide and fished for trout around oyster bars in the falling tide with a paddle tail soft bait.
 
“I found fish easily on Friday and Saturday. Sunday was trickier with stronger than expected winds and current,” Hamilton said. “The water was extremely dirty, but I stuck to my plan and it paid off.”
 
Second-place finisher, Roger Bump, of Jacksonville, Fla., measured a 20.38-inch redfish and a 17.38-inch trout. A veteran IFA Kayak Fishing Tour angler, Bump fished the Trout River area around Jacksonville, Fla. The angler was hit by an unexpected tropical storm, making the fishing difficult.   
 
“I knew things would be a challenge but fought through by eating healthy foods, drinking lots of water and saying prayers,” Bump said. “Thank you IFA, Hobie and Pure Fishing for making dreams come true.”
 
Scot Townsend, of Summerville, S.C., failed to land a trout, but his 30.25-inch redfish was enough to take the third-place prize and the Berkley Gulp! Big Redfish Award. Townsend fished the Edisto Island area with a Berkley Gulp! ripple mullet along banks with hard bottoms.
 
Tenth-place finisher, Michael Sadler, took home the $200 Hobie Top Angler Award for having the highest place finish for an angler competing in a Hobie kayak.
 
Twelfth-place finisher, Martin Mood, reeled in an 18.50-inch speckled sea trout, which won him the $100 Berkley Gulp! Trout Award plus a $100 Cabela’s gift card, courtesy of Berkley.
 
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 and Red’s Ice House.
 
IFA Atlantic Division
Charleston, S.C. (Top 10)
1.    Dolphin Hamilton – 41.50 inches
2.    Roger Bump – 37.75 inches
3.    Scot Townsend – 30.25 inches
4.    Nathan Raycroft – 30.00 inches
5.    Trey Leggett – 29.00 inches
6.    Robert Yon – 27.25 inches
7.    Robby Freeman – 26.00 inches
8.    Joey Sullivan – 25.75 inches
9.    Larry Hancock – 25.75 inches
10. Michael Sadler – 24.88 inches
 
$100 Berkley GULP! Big Redfish Award plus $100 gift card to Cabela’s:
Scot Townsend
 
$100 Berkley Gulp! Trout Award plus $100 gift card to Cabela’s:
Martin Mood
 
$200 Hobie Top Angler Cash Award:
Michael Sadler

Florida West Coast Division winner takes home Hobie Mirage Pro Angler Kayak
 
LIZELLA, Ga.  (May 8, 2012) – Doug Schallmoser, of Cape Coral, Fla., caught a redfish and speckled sea trout that measured a combined 52.50 inches in length to win the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour presented by Hobie Fishing event at Ruskin, Fla., on May 6. The event, which operated out of Little Harbor, was the last regular-season event for the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour’s Florida West Coast Division.
 
After his previous IFA Kayak Fishing Tour win at Punta Gorda, Fla. earlier this season, Schallmoser paddled his kayak to another win to sweep the Florida West Coast Division. The angler traveled two miles round-trip to Pine Island Sound, fishing top-water lures to catch his limit. His 33.50-inch kicker redfish garnered him the $100 Berkley® Gulp!® Big Redfish Award. Schallmoser added an extra $200 for having the highest place finish for an angler competing in a Hobie Kayak.
 
“There was no wind today and an outgoing tide,” Schallmoser said. “I threw a top-water bait into mullet schools and was very happy to win my second event of the year.”
 
Second-place finisher, Robert Buda, of Tampa, Fla., measured a 30.675-inch redfish and a 19.875-inch trout to win the $1,000 second-place prize. In his second year fishing the IFA Kayak Tour, Buda paddled two miles round-trip to the upper Tampa Bay area. Fishing top-water baits for trout and Berkley Gulp! for redfish, the angler wasn’t expecting the conditions.
 
“It was a beautiful day,” Buda said. “It was hot but very calm. It made the fishing much easier.”
 
Drew Mixon, of Vero Beach, Fla., finished in third place with his redfish and trout, which measured a total length of 49.875. In his second year fishing the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour, the angler used Berkley Gulp! to catch his 22.875-inch trout and won the $100 Berkley Gulp! Trout Award plus a $100 Cabela’s gift card, courtesy of Berkley. Mixon also brought home an extra $25 for boating his trout with an Ego Net.
 
Eighth-place finisher, Micha Mixon, won the $100 Jr. Angler 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.
 
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.  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, Pirate’s Pointe Resort and Little Harbor.
 
IFA Florida West Coast Division
Ruskin, Fla. (Top 10)
1.    Doug Schallmoser – 52.50 inches
2.    Robert Buda – 50.55 inches
3.    Drew Mixon – 49.875 inches
4.    Christopher Ravelo – 48.75 inches
5.    Jerry Burdine – 47.00 inches
6.    Jason Stock – 46.25 inches
7.    Scott Harper – 46.00 inches
8.    Micha Mixon – 45.00 inches
9.    John Donohue – 41.50 inches
10. Kenneth Arrowsmith – 38.60 inches
 
$100 Berkley GULP! Big Redfish Award:
Doug Schallmoser
 
$100 Berkley Gulp! Big Trout Award plus $100 gift card to Cabela’s:
Drew Mixon
 
$200 Hobie Top Angler Cash Award:
Doug Schallmoser
 
$25 Ego Net Award:
Drew Mixon
 
$100 Jr. Angler Award:
Micha Mixon

Gulf Coast Division winner takes home Hobie Mirage Pro Angler Kayak
 
LIZELLA, Ga.  (March 22, 2012) – Tim Walker, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., caught a redfish and speckled sea trout that measured a combined 57.75 inches in length to win the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour presented by Hobie Fishing event at Port St. Joe, Fla., on March 18. The event, which operated out of Port St. Joe Marina, was the first regular-season event for the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour’s Gulf Coast Division.
 
Walker experienced good conditions on the water with a light breeze. Traveling two miles in his kayak, the angler sight-fished in two spots with top-water lures and Berkley Gulp!, Walker landed a 40-inch redfish, winning him the $100 Berkley Gulp! Redfish 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 a beautiful day for fishing. There was plenty of sunshine and just a bit of wind,” Walker said. “I finished a lot better than I had expected.”
 
Second-place finisher, Chandler Graves, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., measured a 31-inch redfish and a 22-inch trout to win the $1,000 second-place prize. In his second year fishing the IFA Kayak Tour, Graves fished in the Destin area and was persistent with throwing top-water lures and Berkley Gulp!.  
 
“The fishing conditions could have been better. The water was dirty and the tides were wrong,” Graves said. “I managed to get one red and a few trout.”
 
2010 Overall Angler of the Year Liam Callaghan, of Crawfordville, Fla., won the $500 third-place prize for his 29-inch redfish and 23.50-inch trout. Callaghan traveled two miles fishing in the St. Joseph Bay area with top-water lures and Berkley Gulp!. The angler’s trout won him the $100 Berkley Gulp! Big Trout Award plus a $100 Cabela’s gift card, courtesy of Berkley.
 
Sixth-place finisher, Micha Mixon, won the $100 Jr. Angler 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.
 
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 and Port St. Joe Marina.
 
IFA Gulf Coast Coast Division
Port St. Joe, Fla. (Top 10)
1.    Tim Walker – 57.75 inches
2.    Chandler Graves – 53.00 inches
3.    Liam Callaghan – 52.50 inches
4.    Scott Harper – 50.00 inches
5.    Nathan Chemaux – 43.00 inches
6.    Micha Mixon – 42.50 inches
7.    Jason Callaghan – 41.50 inches
8.    Jeff Suber – 40.50 inches
9.    Bradford Blydick – 38.13 inches
10. Chad Skeeles – 38.00 inches
 
$100 Berkley GULP! Big Redfish Award plus $100 gift card to Cabela’s:
Tim Walker
 
$100 Berkley Gulp! Big Trout Award plus $100 gift card to Cabela’s:
Liam Callaghan
 
$200 Hobie Top Angler Cash Award:
Tim Walker
 
Jr. Angler Award $100:
Micha Mixon