Written by Rick Roberts, Executive Director | 09 October 2009

The traveling angler has a fighting chance with this tournament format a Catch Photo and Release with all the money going to support Capt Doug Hemmer of Dream Fish Charters who suffered a serious back injury. Tampa Bays finest turned out to help.

We didn’t have any trouble photographing and releasing Brett's first two fish. The trout bite was on with top water plugs, and he was on a small snook with white bait in plenty of time to find a decent red. We hoped to catch photo and release at least 60 inches of red, snook and trout. photo: Brett Fitzgerald

 

A couple of weeks ago we learned of an upcoming charity tournament in the Tampa Bay area, put together by Capt Chuck and Florida Inshore Anglers for the benefit of Doug Hemmer of Dream Fish Charters, a great guy who had seriously hurt his back and has lots of bills for medical attention. Several guides had made themselves available to take out teams of two for a donation to Capt Hemmer. We donated $600 in entries to fish the Florida Oktoberfest Inshore Slam Oct 23-25 in Punta Gorda from the Snook Foundation. I invited our SE Regional Director Brett Fitzgerald to fish and he accepted. We were randomly assigned Capt. Tyson Wallerstein of Largo. I wanted to have a chance to get to know him early so I traveled over to pre-fish. Capt Tyson knows his fishing and the area; it didn’t take us long on Friday to find the fish that he believed would help us place on Saturday. Even though it was not a money game, Capt. Tyson showed great spirit and was willing to work hard to have a good showing.
A shorty comes to the boat, fun to catch but not THE fish that will put Brett over the top.photo: Brett Fitzgerald

Brett traveled over from Lake Worth and we were on the water at the appropriate hour with great expectations. Naturally right away things started off with a whimper. The bait we had penned the night before died so we had to scoot to the gulf beaches to look for more.

Of course bait had been abundant on the beaches for weeks, but on this morning they were difficult to find… did I mention it was the full moon? While Capt Tyson slowly moved us along the shore line with his cast net at the ready, Brett and I amused ourselves by walking zara spooks in the surf, waking up a few lady fish. Finally after an anxious hour the bait well was stocked and we were underway.

We didn’t have any trouble finding the trout bite with top water plugs, and were able to manage a small snook in plenty of time to find a decent red. We hoped to catch photo and release at least 60 inches of red, snook and trout. At about 10:00 we were pushing a measly 39.5 so we needed the best red we could find. Brett hooked up with one that wouldn’t measure, and from then on it was a blank with time running out (lines out of the water at noon).

By 11:15 the conditions were laughable. The scene we found ourselves in was chaos, not far form Caladisi Island near Clearwater. Picture a Saturday Morning, we are smack dab in the midst of at least thirty high school kids stroking back and forth in rental kayaks, crisscrossing us while dodging the power boats of various sizes that sped from all directions to the adjacent inlet. Still, on Tyson’s hunch we vigorously hunted a school of reds that had yielded a 36 inch fish on Friday. We found the school just in time, right in the middle of a large sand flat. The sun reflected the unmistakable bronze of tightly grouped redfish, differentiating them from the sparse vegetation on the flat. But they were nervous - obviously not having a relaxing Saturday morning. So we punched the bottom with the power pole and Tyson and Brett exited the boat to wade across the expansive oval shaped sand shoal toward the fish. Suddenly Brett’s rod bends sharply - he’s hooked! But this redfish only measured 20 inches, and Tyson knows it wouldn’t do; we needed a much bigger redfish in order to place in this tournament.

Thanks to Capt. Tyson's persevering in the last 25 minutes of the tournament, Brett landed a big Red to total 68 inches and clinch the Master Angler title. photo:Rick Roberts

As the precious minutes go by Capt Tyson and Brett continue to stalk as I attempt to locate the scattered fish that are obviously no longer in the shallows. By now I am pretty sure we are done. At 11:34 as the guys clamor back aboard I’m thinking, “Time to head in, this day is over.” Wrong! Our guide doesn’t quit, it’s not time.

So we crank the trolling motor and continue to search for the elusive school of reds. Imagine my surprise when Tyson says “there they are!” And there they were just off the flat in about 6 feet of water. Bam! Right away we start reeling big reds. We didn’t match Friday but did measure one that put Brett in the position of sharing the honor of Master Angler of the tournament with 68 total inches of red, trout, and snook.

Brett Fitzgerald with Capt. Tyson Wallerstein - 'the guide who doesn't quit!'

Later at the awards ceremony, Brett and I were discussing the details of the day, and the similarities in format from this tournament and our upcoming Oktoberfest Tournament in Punta Gorda. “This format (photo/release, total length of snook/red/trout) really gives the traveling angler a fighting chance,” Brett said. “There’s no replacing the skill and local experience of a good captain like Tyson, but with a little research combined with general knowledge, I like the chances of the road warriors in our tournament.” In just three weeks, we’ll know if his premonition comes true.

As for our fast weekend in Largo, a good time was had by all. Hats off to Capt Chuck and to Florida Inshore Anglers, they did a great job of putting together this helpful tournament in only 40 days, what a great bunch of guys and Kudos to Capt Tyson, who believed in himself ‘till the last minute. Now we do too, this guy’s the real deal.