A Special Thank You to all of our 2011 Flatsmasters Sponsors....
Without your support, we couldn't do what we do!
The 2011 Flatsmasters Sponsor Appreciation Dinner was held on November 15th, 2011 at the Laishley Crab House in Punta Gorda. A great time was had by everyone who attended. This was an opporutunity to personally thank all of the sponsors for their support during the 2011 Flatsmasters Season.
A special award was presented to Mr. Gary Ingman of Ingman Marine for his Tenth Anniversary of being a Flatsmasters Sponsor!
The first episode of the 2011 Flatsmasters TV Show was unveiled to the sponsors with great reviews.
Once again we would like to thank all of the Sponsors, Anglers, Family, Friends, and Fans of the Flatsmasters Tournament Series for their continued support!
Sarasota, Fl- the Elite Pro Redfish Tour challenged the top professional redfish anglers in Florida to the ultimate redfish showdown.25 different teams competed in four qualifying events from Tampa Bay to Charlotte Harbor for a chance to be invited to The Elite Pro Redfish Tour Championship held on November 12-13, 2011 at Marina Jacks in downtown Sarasota.The Elite Pro Redfish Tour is the richest inshore tournament series in Florida with $34,000 in cash on the line at the finals including a $20,000 Grand Prize!
The field was selected based on total points awarded for the year and 16 teams made the cut to the main event.Included was the team of Dan Latham, Paul Lambert, and Mat Haag who, for the second straight year, were crowned as the Elite Pro Redfish Tour Team of the Year.They amassed a total of 295 out of a possible 300 points.This included 2- First Place wins, a Sixth Place, and a Tenth Place finish, and a Third Place finish in the Elite Pro Championship.
Day one of competition started at 6:30am with teams heading out in the order of the Points for the year.Several teams ran south back to Charlotte Harbor, while others made the run north to Tampa Bay, the remaining teams opted to stay in Sarasota and gain fishing time and hopefully the right 2 redfish to weigh-in.On each day the teams were challenged with catching, weighing, and live releasing 2 legal redfish in the 18” to 27” slot limit. The weigh-in time was 4:00pm at Marina Jacks in Sarasota and all teams had to back to the weigh-in location by the end of the tournament day no matter how far they ran to fish.
At 4:00pm the scales opened on the Flatsmasters stage and teams began the weigh-in process. Several teams recorded decent weights but no one would venture as to what it would take to make the final cut to the 5 team shootout on Sunday. 12 of the 16 teams weighed redfish on day one with just 6 teams over the 10 lb. mark!Sitting atop the leaderboard on day one was Team JMI Flooring (Kris Howell, Brett Norris, Jason McMahon) with 14.26 lbs.They were followed by Elite Team of the Year- Dan Latham, Paul Lambert, Mat Haag, who ran back to Charlotte Harbor and returned with 13.70 lbs. Third Place was held down by Team Jagermeister (Rick Murphy and Geoff Page) who stayed in Geoff’s home waters of Sarasota Bay to advance to the finals. 4th and 5th place were secured by Team Fresh from Florida/GulfSafe (Travis Tucker, Heath Seckel, and Gary McKenzie and Team Wild Alaska Salmon (Steve Griffing, DJ Green, and Dave Bolema) who both ran to Tampa Bay to catch their fish.
As dawn broke on Sarasota Bay Sunday morning, all five finalists lined up for their last shot at the $20,000 grand prize. Each team was paired with a Flatsmasters TV cameraman to capture all the on-the-water action.Weigh-In at Marina Jacks was once again scheduled for 4:00pm and as the time grew close a great crowd of Flatsmasters fans, friends, and family gathered to cheer on their favorite teams.
First team up to the scales was Team Wild Alaska Salmon who struggled on day 2 and could only manage 6.36 lbs.Next up was Team Fresh from Florida/GulfSafe who put up two incredible redfish weighing 8.06 lb. and 8.14 lb. respectively, totaling out at 16.20 lbs.The next three teams to weigh-in were all seasoned tournament pros and everyone was on the edge of their seat to see if one of the last teams could knock off Travis Tucker and his team from the top of the leaderboard.Next up was Team Jagermeister with Rick Murphy and Geoff Page who crossed the scales with 12.07 lbs. The Team of Latham, Lambert, and Haag, who many picked to win this event, brought two heavy redfish to the scales, but at 14.30 lbs. it wasn’t enough.The last team to weigh was the JMI Flooring who had entered 14.26 lbs. on Saturday and was the last team to challenge the leaders. Their first fish weighed 6.96 lbs., they would need a monster to take the win, as their second fish hit the scales the weight shot up over 8 lbs. but came up just short to total 15.66 lbs.
So Team Fresh from Florida/GulfSafe with Travis Tucker, Heath Seckel, and Gary McKenzie take the top honors in this year’s Elite Pro Redfish Tour with a record 16.20 lbs.They were awarded a $20,000 check for their efforts and the honors of being named the best redfish anglers in Florida.
The 2012 Elite Pro Redfish Tour will kick off in March of next year. Registration information will be available soon at www.flatsmasters.com.The Flatsmasters would like to thank all of our sponsors who make these great events possible- Service Provider Group, Sun Newspapers, DayStar Communications, Maverick boat Co., Yamaha Outboards, Coors Light, Absolut Vodka, Cheney Brothers food service, Mosaic Fertilizer, Bealls Department Store, Rapid Graphix, Grande Air Services, Don Gasgarth’s Charlotte County ford, Marsh Works Tackle, Minn-Kota-Humminbird, Bob’s Machine Shop, J & C Drydock marine, Laishley Marine, RedZone Apparel, and Turbo Prop.
With a successful inaugural season almost in the books in Tampa, mother nature decided to get in on the action during the first ever Flatsmasters Redfish Series championship on Tampa Bay. A stalled cold front to the north combined with a tropical low to the south, made for some very unsettles weather on tournament day. Winds in the 20-25 knot range pummeled the final teams in their pursuit of just 2 more legal reds to weigh in for the year. With 19 teams qualified and only 13 teams checking out in the morning it was certainly anyones tournament to win.
Several teams quit early and waited it out in the marina until the 3:30pm Weigh-In festivities began. At the close of fishing there were only 6 teams with redfish and the suspense began!
Team Reds & Tails with Ben Nelson and Ray Hitson hit the scales first with an impressive 12.81lb total weight. The next two teams had light weight, and then Team Winhouse with Jason Anzulewicz, Krsta Tucker, and Olivia Brito brought up to beautiful reds but fell just shy at 12.68lbs. Team JMI Flooring with Jason McMahon and Kris Howell tipped the scales at 12.62lbs. But when Team Flatwater with Rusty Jewett, Rick Maddox, and Tim Jacobsen brought their two fish on stage the topped everyone with a Championship winning weight of 13.47lbs. A extraordinary feat with the conditions at hand!
So the first season of the Tampa Redfish Series in the books! Look for the Redfish Series to return to Tampa Bay in 2012! Schedules and registration will be available in late November 2011. Be sure to tell your fishing friends about the Flatsmasters in Tampa Bay.
Crab House in Punta Gorda. A great time was had by everyone who attended. This was an opporutunity to personally thank all of the sponsors for their support during the 2011 Flatsmasters Season.
The field was selected based on total points awarded for the year and 16 teams made the cut to the main event.
First team up to the scales was Team Wild Alaska Salmon who struggled on day 2 and could only manage 6.36 lbs.
up two incredible redfish weighing 8.06 lb. and 8.14 lb. respectively, 
totaling out at 16.20 lbs.
could knock off Travis Tucker and his team from the top of the leaderboard.
So Team Fresh from Florida/GulfSafe with Travis Tucker, Heath Seckel, and Gary McKenzie take the top honors in this year’s Elite Pro Redfish Tour with a record 16.20 lbs.
Team Reds & Tails with Ben Nelson and Ray Hitson hit the scales first with an impressive 12.81lb total weight. The next two teams had light weight, and then Team Winhouse with Jason Anzulewicz, Krsta Tucker, and Olivia Brito brought up to beautiful reds but fell just shy at 12.68lbs. Team JMI Flooring with Jason McMahon and Kris Howell tipped the scales at 12.62lbs. But when Team Flatwater with Rusty Jewett, Rick Maddox, and Tim Jacobsen brought their two fish on stage the topped everyone with a Championship winning weight of 13.47lbs. A extraordinary feat with the conditions at 
hand!
Congratulations to Team Marsh Works Tackle
