Tournament Report – Carolina Redfish Series
Landing two fish for a total aggregate weight of 14.09 lbs., “Team Buffalo Wild Wings,” with Dave Bernstein and Todd Hanson, won the last event of the Carolina Redfish Series.
Going into the event, Bernstein and Hanson decided to fish their usual areas around Newport River and Core Creek, and they felt fortunate to have high water for most of the day, which was the opposite from a lot of the tournaments.
“We looked at the weather really hard We saw that the wind was supposed to blow out of the northeast, so we moved a few things around and decided to target three main places that held fish,” said Bernstein.
The first spot ended up holding surprise fish, and by 8:00 a.m. the team had landed 5-6 fish and put 11 lbs. in the boat. “With the wind as hard as it was, we were fishing popping corks, specifically Bomber Paradise Poppers. We had to make noise and bring those fish out of the grass,” explained Bernstein.
After catching decent fish at the first stop, the team headed to what they considered their #1 spot to find heavier fish, and there Hansen put a 7.21 lb. fish in the boat. “The great thing was, the fish was barely 26 inches,” said Bernstein with a chuckle. The team continued to work down the bank, and they landed another redfish that was about 6.5 lbs.
Dave Bernstein and Todd Hanson, of Team Buffalo Wild Wings, with their two fish aggregate that weighed in at 14.09 lbs. and won them the last event in the Carolina Redfish Series.
“This was all before 9:00 am, and at that point we were looking pretty good. We thought it might be hard to upgrade the fish, but we stayed in the area and kept catching fish, though they were all 5.5-6 lb. fish.”
“We decided to go to an area covered with trees and structure that is known for bigger, heavier fish. We got a few hits, but nothing hooked, and we knew we had to make a decision: head for weigh-in with the fish we had or try again,” said Bernstein. So with 30 minutes left and on the last cast, a red came out of the rocks and hammered the bait.
Netting the fish, the team went straight to the weigh-in, where they took the win with their aggregate weight of 14.09 lbs.
“To fish a tournament and know you have 11 lbs. in the boat by 8:00 am is a lot of weight off your shoulders,” said Bernstein in reflection.
For more information on the Carolina Redfish Series and complete results, visit their website at www.carolinaredfishseries.com.
