TEAM NEWTON/KELLER FINISH 10TH AT CHALMETTE LA, LEG OF REDFISH CUP; RISES TO 5th IN OVERALL STANDINGS

The team’s tournament nearly ended in disappointment when they realized they had left their measuring board in the truck on Day 1 of the tournament. The slot limit is from 16 to 27 inches in Louisiana and any fish not in this slot are disqualified from the weigh in. Ingenuity and a little luck were on their side when Keller (Naples, FL) proposed the use of a dollar bill to measure the fish, “I knew a dollar was just shy of 6 1/8 inches in length so I measured it out on the deck and drew a line with a Sharpie pen.” Early in the day the team caught a perfect fish that was nearly eight pounds but sweated the measurement all the way to the measuring station. “We considered throwing the fish back but I really thought it was going to be there. I have never been so nervous in the weigh-in line,” said Newton (Valrico, FL).

One change the team made for this tournament was a new arrangement on the front of their Lake & Bay boat. By putting two casting platforms on the deck with the back one just a bit higher than the front, it allowed them to work seamlessly with each other in communication & casting. The decision to run their Lake & Bay (vs. their smaller boat), got them to their fishing area twice as fast as the smaller boats netting an extra hour of fishing time. On Day 2, the team went through a pretty big squall to get back to weigh-in – the size & speed of the Lake & Bay got them to the dock safely.

Another key to the team’s success in Chalmette was their bait approach. The team used the Reactions Innovations Skinny Dipper, which proved to be an excellent bait in the Louisiana Marsh. Newton said, “The California 420 color rigged weightless with a 5/0 Owner screw lock hook worked great. The bait could be reeled across the top like a frog or could be dropped in front of cruising fish like a swim bait.” The team also found that another key to this bait was the weight of the soft plastic bait was heavy enough to be used with a baitcaster, which was important when cranking the fish out of the vegetation.

“All in all we were really proud of the tournament and the decisions we made. I think we maximized the weight that was possible in the area that we fished,” Keller said.

Chalmette is the third stop on the Redfish Cup circuit and the anglers are past the halfway mark for the coveted Academy Team of the Year presented by Crocs race. The Chalmette tournament will be broadcast on ESPN2 Saturday, Aug. 8 at 8:30 a.m. EDT. The Redfish Cup is also featured on RedfishCup.com and ESPNOutdoors.com at every event during the season. Now in its seventh season, the Redfish Cup has become the nation’s premier saltwater fishing championship. The event includes 56 two-man teams and visits five venues across the South in 2009 with nearly $750,000 in prize and contingency monies.