Flatsmasters™ - Florida's largest backcountry tournament series

Elite Pro Redfish Tour- Florida

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The 2012 Elite Pro Redfish Tour is the premier redfish tournament series in Florida. Consisting of 4 seperate events- 2 at the Laishley Crab House in Punta Gorda and 2 at the Hula Bay Club in Tampa and the Elite Pro Championship to be held at Marina Jacks in Sarasota midway between the 2 venues.

All of the Elite Pro Redfish Tour events are two day tournaments with the entire field competing on Saturday and the top five teams by weight competing on Sunday. The top twenty teams by points will be invited to compete in the Elite Pro Redfish Tour championship where First Place is a guaranteed $20,000 cash prize.

New this year, the format will be 2 angler teams and wading is allowed.

Each of the Elite Pro Redfish Tour events will be filmed by a professional film crew and produced into a 5 episode TV Show that will air in the spring of 2013. Each event Weigh-In will also be presented live via streaming video on flatsmasters.com

ELITE PRO REDFISH TOUR SCHEDULE

Event #1 March 31- April 1 Hula Bay Club- Tampa
Event #2 April 28-29 Laishley Crab House- Punta Gorda with Punta Gorda Redfish Festival
Event #3 September 8-9 Hula Bay Club- Tampa
Event #4 October 6-7 Laishley Crab House- Punta Gorda
Championship- Nov. 10-11 Marina Jacks, Sarasota

PAYOUT- INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENTS

$12,000
$4,000
$3,000
$2,500
$1,500
$750
$650
$600

Individual tournament payout based on 50 boats per event- Add one place at $600 and $100 to each place first through tenth for every 5 boats over 50.

CHAMPIONSHIP AWARDS

$20,000 Guaranteed Prize money regardless of number of participating teams for the year.
$5,000
$4,000
$3,000
$2,000
$1,800
$1,500
$1,200
$1,100
$1,000

Based on 50 boats in each of the 4 events plus 20 boats in the championship except First Place which is guaranteed regardless of participation

2012 ELITE PRO REDFISH TOUR OFFICIAL ENTRY FORM

2012 ELITE PRO REDFISH TOUR OFFICIAL RULES

To Register- CLICK HERE!

ELITE CHAMPIONSHIP

NOVEMBER 12,13, MARINA JACKS, SARASOTA

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. 4^th and 5^th 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.

2011 Elite Pro Redfish Tour Final Results

2011 Elite Pro Redfish Tour Photo Gallery- Day 1

2011 Elite Pro Redfish Tour Photo Gallery- Day2

ELITE PRO REDFISH TOUR

STOP #4- PUNTA GORDA, FL

THE PREMIER PROFESSIONAL REDFISH TOURNAMENT SERIES IN THE COUNTRY

The Elite Pro Redfish Tour has become the premier inshore redfish Tournament in Florida attracting the very best tournament redfish anglers from around the state. The fourth and final regular season stop on the tour was held October 22-23 at the Laishley Crab House in Punta Gorda. This was the last opportunity for teams to earn valuable points toward the Team of the Year Award and to qualify for the Elite Pro championship in November. The Elite Pro Redfish Tour Championship carries not only huge bragging rights for the victorious team but a hefty payday of $20,000.00 for First Place.

A cold front dipped through southwest Florida late in the week and created challenging conditions for the pro teams over the weekend. Each team is challenged with catching the 2 heaviest slot sizes redfish they can find; in addition they must catch those redfish using only artificial lures.

Day one saw our team leave in the morning in 50 degree temperatures with a stiff 15 knot northeast wind. As the teams started to roll in to Laishley Park Marina in the afternoon fishing was described as excellent by some teams as other teams struggled to find any hungry reds. The defending 2010 team of the Year- Dan Latham, Paul Lambert, and Mat Haag were one of the first teams to Weigh-In. They set the bar high at 14.79 lbs. Several other teams tried to overtake them but came up just short. Team JMI Flooring- Kris Howell, Jason McMahon, Brett Norris got the Closed at 14.57 lbs. Team Fresh from Florida/Gulfsafe(Tucker,Seckel,Taylor), Team UBS Financial(Cruz,Schurlknight,Watkins), and Team Slayer Inc.(Cenci,Mullett,Mullett) rounded out the Top Five teams that advanced to Sunday’s Final.

With final set for Sunday two of teams, Latham,Lambert,Haag and Team Slayer,Inc both had a shot at winning Team of the Year Honors. It would come down to this final Weigh-In to determine who would be the Team of the Year and win a full year’s worth of entry fees paid for the 2012 Elite Pro season (a $3,000 value)

On Sunday the teams weigh-in in reverse order of how they finished on Saturday, so Team Slayer Inc kicks things off, weighing 2 reds but not a lot of weight, as we moved down the weigh in line the weights got progressively better until Team JMI Flooring hit the scales with 14.20 lbs. But would that be enough weight to take the win? Team Latham, Lambert, Haag were the last to cross the stage and their 2 redfish wowed the crowd as the totaled out at 15.08 lbs. to take the win and secure Team of the Year honors for a second straight year. Team Slayer Inc had to settle for the runner up spot as they missed Team of the Year by one point!

The Elite Pro Redfish Tour Championship will be held on November 12-13 in Sarasota with $20,000.00 on the line for the 2011 Grand Champions!

To watch the Weigh In from this Tournament visit our Flatsmasters Web Channel Here!

2011 Elite Pro Redfish Tour #4- Final Results

2011 Elite Pro Redfish Tour- #4- Punta Gorda Photo Gallery Day 1

2011 Elite Pro Redfish Tour- Final Team of the Year Standings

ELITE PRO REDFISH TOUR IN TAMPA ON SEPT 10-11 AT THE HULA BAY CLUB

The third leg of the Elite Pro Redfish Tour brought out the best professional redfish teams from around the state of Florida. Tampa Bay was the playing field and this all star lineup did not disappoint.

With a hotly contested Team of the Year Points race also on the line, teams were scrambling for every ounce of weight they could get to the scales.

Day one had 13 team weighing in a pair of redfish in hopes of making the cut to Sunday's Top Five Shootout. Team Wild Alaska Salmon(Griffing,Bolema,Green) took the pole position on Saturday with a solid weight of 14.16lbs. while the other four teams battled between 12.63 lbs. and 13.53lbs., a very small window to make the Top Five!

2011 Elite Pro Redfish Tour Event #3-Day 1 Results
	Capt Name	Team Name	Angler 2	Angler 3	Red 1	Red 2	Total
1	Steve Griffing	Team Wild Alaska Salmon	David Green	David Bolema	6.59	7.57	14.16
2	Frank Leto	Team Flats Hunter	Frank Leto	Sean Hessell	6.78	6.75	13.53
3	JR Witt	Team Mystik Lubricants	Mike Delagarza	Terry Brantley	7.07	6.11	13.18
4	Christopher Cenci	Team Slayer Inc	Jeff Mullett	Ken Mullett	5.76	7.21	12.97
5	Lyn Bevis	Team Laishley Marine	George Williamson	Nick Dragle	6.32	6.31	12.63

As in all Elite Pro Redfish events, Day two, all teams start off even with zero weight. It's a one day, 2 redfish Top Five Shootout to determine the Champions of Elite Pro Redfish stop #3- Tampa Bay!

As we weighed in in reverse order starting with the team in 5th position on day one, it was evident that the fishing was much tougher on day 2. Team Laishley Marine(Bevis,Williamson,Drangle) got us going with a 9.24lb. total weight. Three of the next four teams stuggled and finished below Team Laishley Marine, but one team managed 2 great reds on Sunday and weighed a total of 14.73lbs. Team Mystik Lubricants (Witt,Delagarza,Brantley) took the win and First Place prize money!

As we head into the final Elite Pro Redfish Tour regular season event, the Team of the Year Points race is heating up! Team of the Year receives next years full season of entries- a $2400 value, plus the honor of being boat #1 for the entire 2012 season, and of couse the exclusive Elite Pro Redfish Tour Team of the Year Trophies. Team of the Year is determines by a team's best 3 out of 4 finishes, in other words you can drop your lowest score for the year. All teams must be entered in all four events to qualify. The Team of the Year is one of the biggest honors in professional redfishing. Here is how the Top five teams are shaping up.

	Elite Pro Redfish Tour Points Standings after 3 events
#	Capt Name	Team Name	Angler 2	Angler 3	Event1	Event2	Event3	Total
1	Chris Cenci	Team Slayer Inc	Ken Mullet	Jeff Mullet	99	91	98	288
2	Dan Latham	Team Latham/Lambert	Paul Lambert		95	100	91	286
3	Rick Murphy	Team Jaegermeister	Geoff Page		100	99	90	285
4	Steve Griffing	Team Wild Alaska Salmon	DJ Green	Rick Sechrist	96	86	96	278
5	Mark Cruz	Team USB Financial	Cam Schurlknight	Cole Watkins	91	93	94	278

Flatsmasters Elite Pro Redfish Tour #3- Tampa Final Results

Flatsmasters Elite Pro Redfish Tour- Current Point Standings

Elite Pro Redfish Tour #3- Tampa Photo Gallery Day 1 DAY 2

ELITE PROS & PUNTA GORDA REDFISH FESTIVAL

The best redfish tournament anglers in Florida met this past weekend to do battle on Charlotte Harbor at the second stop on the ELite Pro Redfish Tour in Punta Gorda. As the premier redfish destination in Florida, Charlotte Harbor brings out the best competitive nature in anglers who come here to compete. A great local contingent of teams competed against teams from around the state and as far away as Jacksonville to see who would be victorious in this 2 day event.

Day one saw cooler morning temperatures and brisk winds meet our anglers at the 6:45am start. But by mid morning the weather inproved and so did the fishing. 16 of 19 teams weighed in on Saturday in hopes of making the cut and advancing to the Sunday finals. But before all of those teams hit the stage there was a full day of activities going on at the Laishley Crab House at the second annual Punta Gorda Redfish Festival. Vendors and live music, cardboard boat races, oyster eating contests, and the Junior Flatsmasters Finals kept the crowd entertained each day until the 3:30pm Elite Pro Weigh-In.

SEE PUNTA GORDA REDFISH FESTIVAL

It was a close race for the top five spots as 10 of the teams posted 10 lb. or better weights. I took a little over 12.50 lbs. to make the cut to day 2, and Team Budweiser(Hutcherson,Slattery, Olayer) took the pole position with 13.78 followed closely be defending Team of the Year Champs- Dan Latham and Paul Lambert.

Day 2 however was a different story, Tougher conditions wih wind and tides make the bite even tougher than Saturday but all five teams managed to catch their 2 fish limit. The first team to hit the scales was Rick Murphy & Geoff Page of Team Chevy Florida Insider Fishing Report who settled the scale up to 12.72 lbs. The next team was Team Laishley Marine with Wayne Quick and Bing Blackburn who had a tough bite and finished with 8.39 lbs. Justin Cauffman and Team Beall's Dept. Store fishing with Ron Cauffman and Frankie Mancini faired a little better at 11.70 lbs. With two teams to go, Dan Latham and Paul Lambert brought their 2 reds to the stage. With a 13.28 lb. total they shot to the lead with the final team, Team Budweiser, to go. Team Bud couldn't repeat their Saturday weight and finished with a 1253 lb. total making the team of Dan Latham and Paul Lambert the winners of the second stop on the Elite Pro Redfish Tour!

ELITE PRO REDFISH TOUR EVENT #2- CHARLOTTE HARBOR FINAL RESULTS

ELITE PRO REDFISH TOUR EVENT #2- CHARLOTTE HARBOR PHOTO GALLERY

ELITE PRO REDFISH TOUR STOP #1

The first leg of the brand new Elite Pro Redfish Tour brought out the very best in FLorida's Professional redfish anglers. Teams from around the state gathered at the Hula Bay Club in Tampa for their first shot at qualifying for the Elite Pro Redfish Tour Championship and a chance at winning the $20,000 Grand Prize. Perfect weather greeted our teams as the eased out of the Hula Bay channel on their way to the first redfish of the season. Redfishing had just started picking up in the Tampa bay area and as the teams stareted to weigh in it looked as though several anglers had found what they were looking for. Team Power Pole (Gatlin,Gatlin,Gatlin) had a great day and posted a solid 14.25 lbs. followed closely by Team Slayer Inc.(Cenci,Mullett,Mullett) who weighed in at 13.95 lbs. Rounding out the bottom 2 slots in the Top Five was Team Chevy Florida Insider Fishing Report (Murphy,Page) who landed 13.93 lbs. and Team Wild Alaska Salmon(Griffing,Green,Bolema) who had 13.66 lbs. But the top spot on day one beong to the duo of Doug Longo and Glen Richard who brought in an impressive 15.14 lbs. including a massive 7.94 lb. red which was the heaviest of the event.

Day #2 proved to be a much tougher day of fishing with a wind switch and cooler temperatures in the morning, teams struggled to match their day one performance. At the Weigh-In, Team Power Pole and Team Wild Alaska Salmon drew blanks on the day two leader board while the top three teams spread ther weights out over less than a pound.

Rick Muphy and Geoff Page managed a pair of reds totaling out at 10.95 lbs. to take the win in the first Elite Pro Redfish Tour Tampa Event. Team Slayer, Inc. followed in a close second with 10.56 lbs. and day one leaders Doug Longo and Glen Richard settled for third at 10.07 lbs.