Anglers from across Texas and the surrounding Gulf Coast region will converge on Rockport, Texas, on April 18 for the first IFA Redfish Tour Texas Division event of 2009. The event, which will launch from Cove Harbor North Marina, is the first of three regular-season tournaments for the Texas Division, one of six divisions of IFA Redfish Tour events running from the Carolinas to Texas.
The weekend’s activities begin Friday, April 17 with registration from 5-7 p.m. at Cove Harbor North Marina (121 Cove Hbr. N., Rockport, TX 78382) with the Captain’s Meeting to follow. Anglers will be launching from the same venue at safe light on Saturday for the one-day event. Check-in times will be assigned at the Captains Meeting.
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 three-event regular season. With low entry fees for the one-day, regular-season tournaments allow 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 three of the IFA’s 18 regular-season events are automatically qualified for a no-entry-fee championship event, pitting qualifiers from each of the six divisions for a combined $77,000 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. Teams fishing at least six tournaments in any combination of divisions are also automatically eligible to compete for the IFA Redfish Tour “Ultra 6” award, a $5,000 cash prize, presented to the highest-finishing eligible team at the IFA Redfish Tour championship
This year, in addition to $47,000 in payouts per event (based on a 100-boat field), the first-place prize package for all 18 IFA Redfish Tour regular-season events has been increased. In 2009, every regular-season tournament winner is guaranteed – regardless of field size – a fully loaded 2009 Ranger Banshee Extreme. The boat is powered by a 60-horsepower, four-stroke Yamaha outboard and is equipped with a Bob’s four-inch Ultra Light Jackplate, Power-Pole shallow water anchor, Minn Kota trolling motor, Humminbird electronics, Blue Point Fabrication metal work and Loadmaster trailer. The entire first-place prize package is valued at $30,000.
For more information on the IFA Redfish Tour, to become a member of the IFA or to become a part of the fastest-growing inshore fishing tournament series in the United States, go online to redfishtour.com.
IFA Redfish Tour events are made possible through the sponsorship and continued support of the fishing industry’s most respected brands: Ranger Boats, Cabela’s, Yamaha Outboards, Rapala, Trigger X, Sufix, Minn Kota, Humminbird, Power-Pole, Wrap This, CW Crab, Charter Lakes Marine Insurance, Solar Bat, Gemini Custom Apparel, Navionics, Bob’s Machine Shop, Blue Point Fabrication, Terminator, VMC Hooks, Loadmaster Trailers, Powertex Group, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and Cove Harbor North Marina.
Event Details:
IFA Redfish Tour
Texas Division
Rockport, Texas
Competition: April 18, 2009
Host Venue: Cove Harbor North Marina
121 Cove Hbr. N.,
Rockport, TX 78382
(361) 790-5438
Launch: Safe light
Check in: TBD at Captains Meeting
Captains Meeting: 7 p.m., Friday, April 17
Location: Cove Harbor North Marina
Check In: Begins at 5 p.m. prior to Captains Meeting
Upcoming Events: 2009 IFA Redfish Tour
Florida East Coast Division
May 16, 2009 – Titusville, Fla.
September 19, 2009 – St. Augustine, Fla.
Florida West Coast Division
June 27, 2009 – Englewood, Fla.
August 22, 2009 – Ruskin, Fla.
Atlantic Division
May 23, 2009 – Surf City, N.C.
September 26, 2009 – Moorehead City, N.C.
Gulf Coast
May 2, 2009 – Bay St. Louis, Miss.
October 17, 2009 – Orange Beach, Ala.
Louisiana Division
April 25, 2009 – Lafitte, La.
June 13, 2009 – Venice, La.
August 29, 2009 – Grand Isle, La.
Texas Division
June 6, 2009 – Corpus Christi, Texas
September 12, 2009 – Port Aransas, Texas
