Armstrong and Cox Win Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Event in Titusville

May 20 , 2006

TITUSVILLE, Fla. – Jim Armstrong of Chuluota, Fla., and Dennis Cox of Edgewater, Fla. caught a six-redfish total weighing 35 pounds, 13 ounces to win the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Eastern Division event in Titusville presented by Evinrude and $50,000 cash.

Fishing the south end of Mosquito Lagoon, Armstrong and Cox focused their attention on mud holes in about 3 feet of water. The anglers found this area during their last day of practice and qualified for the final round by fishing there. They threw 4-inch Berkley Gulp! Shrimp in natural, glow and new penny colors rigged on 5/0 worm hooks. A slow presentation was essential to catching more than 20 redfish.

“The redfish were very aggressive when we did it right, but when we reeled too fast – nothing,” he said. “But when they hit, they would rip it out of our hands. It was amazing how hard even a 22-inch fish would hit. We literally had arm cramps.”

Armstrong said that recognizing the fish's preference was just as important as finding them. “We work hard to get on good fish and then we just make it happen,” he said. “We figure out what these fish want and just give it to them.”

Persistence also factored into the team's success. At 1:20 p.m. they had about 11 pounds of redfish in the livewell when Cox caught and released an oversized fish. Facing a long run back to port, the team determined that their day was over. But Armstrong made one last cast and hooked a heavy keeper that gave them the winning margin.

“We didn't even weigh that fish, we just put him in the well, put on our life vests, did some hootin' and hollerin' and said “Let's go,'” Armstrong said. “That one was just gift-wrapped.”

Rounding out the top five teams were Wayne Fuller and Aaron Dill, both of New Smyrna Beach, Fla. (six redfish, 35 pounds, 7 ounces, $11,600); Dallas Dudley of St. Cloud, Fla., and Shawn Harrell of Bartow, Fla. (six redfish, 34 pounds, 1 ounce, $5,850); Andrew Bostick of Marco Island, Fla., and Mark Sepe of Deland, Fla. (six redfish, 31 pounds, 3 ounces, $4,850); Jeff Totten of Englewood, Fla., and Ozzie Lessinger of Ft. Myers, Fla. (six redfish, 27 pounds, 9 ounces, $4,400).

Teams caught 10 redfish Saturday weighing a total of 48 pounds – with 10 being released alive.
FLW Redfish Series qualifying tournaments are three-day events. The entire field competes Thursday and Friday, and the top five teams, based on heaviest combined weight, advance to Saturday's final round. The winning team is determined Saturday based on the heaviest three-day accumulated weight.

The next FLW Redfish Series Eastern Division event will be held July 13-15 in Fernandina Beach, Fla.

The FLW Redfish Series consists of two divisions – Eastern and Western. Each division is comprised of four events with a $200,000 purse for each event. The top 100 teams – 50 from each division after four qualifying events – will qualify for the three-day, no-entry-fee $300,000 Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Championship to be held in Pensacola, Fla., Oct. 19-21. The championship winner will take home as much as $100,000.

Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $36.5 million through 235 events in 2006.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. Wal-Mart and many of America's largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world's leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.

Look for other articles in our Article Archives