2007 Oh Boy! Oberto Redfish Cup

Lucky Craft’s Paul Jueckstock and partner
finish 11th at All Star Mid-Season Bash

Weather, long runs played a big factor in weekend results

>>>Lucky Craft’s Paul Jueckstock and partner, Scott Hughes

Gulf Shores, Ala. (July 8, 2007) – Thirty of the best Redfish teams converged on Gulf Shores, Alabama as the second Oh Boy! Oberto Redfish Cup All Star tournament began this week. All involved knew it would be a tough tournament, battling not only the fish and other competitors, but the weather, as well.

One Lucky Craft team was able to overcome the elements this week. Paul Jueckstock and Scott Hughes finished practice feeling very confident about the fish they were on, having 12 to 14 pounds every day.

On day one, Jueckstock and Hughes decided to brave the elements and make a long run to Hopedale, Louisiana – 145 miles away... one way. They only had two hours to fish before they had to turn around, get gas and make the long trip back to weigh their fish, and the penalties for being late to a Redfish Cup weigh-in are stiff.

After practicing there all week, Jueckstock and partner arrived on Friday to find things much different.

“The fish weren’t where we had found them during practice, and the water was higher, which pushed the fish back in the marsh,” Jueckstock explained. “We were expecting 12 to 15 pounds, which had been pretty easy to get all week long, no matter what pond we were fishing. The water was a bit higher, but something else just didn’t feel right. I couldn’t really put my finger on it. The fish were easily spooked, too.”

The Florida native and his partner were fishing ponds with algae and broken-up marsh on day one. According to Jueckstock, the fish were on the edges during pre-fishing, but when Friday rolled around, they were 75 yards back in the marshes and the team just couldn’t quite get to them.

“I could see the tails out of the water, but we just couldn't reach them,” Jueckstock said. “We ended up catching the two fish we weighed in yesterday on a retired Lucky Craft spinnerbait (white).”

Day two brought about a new scenario for the Lucky Craft duo, as they decided to stay close and not make the run to Louisiana. They gambled on each other Friday, hoping they could make the long run, get fish and make it back on time, which they did successfully. On Saturday, they were gambling on everyone else.

“When we decided not to make the long run, we were hoping everyone else would try it, and maybe we’d luck out and catch some big fish close to home. We also thought with many of the top teams making such long runs, some of them might not make it back on time, which would give us a better chance.”

The fish Jueckstock and Hughes were able to catch on day two weren’t the same quality as the Louisiana reds. Fishing small creeks with long shorelines and broken stumps with bass assassin spinnerbaits, the duo was able to bring in 8.23 pounds. With their 10.63-pound bag on day one, they were left with a total of 18.86 pounds and finished in 11th place.

“I felt more confident about this tournament than any of the others,” Jueckstock said, “so I am pretty disappointed overall. We made a check and finished in pretty good position, but we were really on great fish in practice. It just didn’t pan out today. We’ll get breaks sooner or later. The only reason there is bad luck is because there is good luck too, so it will switch for us soon.”

>>>Team Lucky Craft – Greg Watts and Bryan Watts

According to brothers and Lucky Craft anglers Greg and Bryan Watts, practice was a bust.

“We fished Mobile Bay and some areas in Florida during practice but found nothing,” Bryan said. “We caught four fish within a 35-mile radius. It was pretty bad.”

After borrowing a bigger boat on Thursday night, the Watts brothers decided to make the long run to Louisiana, much like teammate Jueckstock. Greg and Bryan had pre-fished all local waters, so the day-one trip was based solely on the history they had in the area.

“We made the 303-mile round trip on Friday and ran to an area around Hopedale (Louisiana),” Bryan explained. “But we were only able to put six or seven fish in the boat. We had trouble all day long. The live wells weren’t circulating like they were suppose to, and things just weren’t going our way.”

Greg and Bryan were able to make it back on time and bring in two fish on Berkley Gulp weighing 11.84 pounds. The duo was fishing brackish, fresh/salt water with solid sheets of hydrilla.

“We had to pitch baits into the fish to catch them,” Bryan said. “We thought we could make the long run and make a fair showing, but it didn’t work out that way. We did everything we knew to do.”

Without the bigger boat on day two, the Watts brothers weren’t able to give their Louisiana spot another try. After fishing in Mobile Bay with no luck during practice, the Watts brothers knew they’d be in for a rough day of fishing on Saturday. After catching no fish, the team loaded up and headed home.

“The whole tournament was a bust, but we did learn something,” Bryan said, giving the weekend a positive spin. “We knew what we had to do, if the weather would let us do it. Anytime there is a tournament here (Mobile Bay), you have to run elsewhere… if the weather permits.”

The Watts’ knew this was an ‘all-or-nothing’ tournament, and they gave it their best shot, finishing in 23rd. According to Bryan, who summed it all up in one sentence, “The fish just would not bite in Mobile Bay.”

>>>Lucky Craft’s Gritter Griffin and partner, Larry Kirby

The ‘all-or-nothing’ mentality filtered through to another Lucky Craft team. Gritter Griffin and Larry Kirby knew there were no points involved in this tournament, and they planned to swing for the fences. The only thing that mattered to them this weekend was a win.

“I found a place during some recreational fishing last year, and Larry and I decided to try it out in the tournament,” Gritter began. “I had caught hundreds of fish there in two or three days, and when Larry and I pulled up during practice, we had more than 14 pounds in 10 minutes. The only bad thing was that it was a 338-mile round trip. We looked closer in Mobile Bay, but found nothing and new we would have to make the run at some point.”

Although not much, Gritter and Kirby did find one spot near Mobile Bay called East Marsh where they had caught 12 to 13 pounds in practice. They knew if they stayed in that area both Friday and Saturday, they wouldn’t catch enough to win. But after much thought, Gritter and Kirby came up with a plan they thought might be the ticket.

“We decided to stay close and fish East Marsh on Friday and see where that put us in the standings,” Gritter explained. “Then we would know what we needed to do for day two. After fishing protected banks and little bayous, we brought in 10.60 pounds – two pounds less than what we thought we could catch. We weren’t in bad shape, but we knew we’d have to make the run on day two. We also knew the weather would be a big factor for a lot of teams on Saturday. Turns out, it was a factor for us too.”

Gritter and Kirby made the long run to Louisiana, and according to the Alabama native, most of the ride was “brutal, and the rest was inhumane.” However, the duo made it to their spot, which consisted of broken-up marsh on the edge of a big lake, and nabbed two reds in 20 minutes. But that wasn’t the end of their saga…

“After we caught our two fish, we got stuck trying to get out,” Gritter said. “The wind was blowing really hard and blew us up on a mud bar. It was unbelievably difficult to get out. We had our two fish in the boat, and as it turns out, we would have been really close to being in the top five had we made it back in time.”

The Lucky Craft duo had two fish weighing close to 15 pounds (unofficially). After they were finally able to get off the mud bar, they knew their only chance of making it back on time depended on the water in the bay. If it was settled down, they had a shot, but that was not the case.

“We had three to five foot waves,” Gritter said, disappointed. “By the time we had made a brutal 80-mile run, and were only maybe halfway back, I told Larry to stop the boat. We turned the fish loose and new there was no way we could make it back in time to weigh the fish.”

It was about 2 p.m. on Saturday when Gritter and Kirby realized they wouldn’t make it back with the big stringer they had worked so hard to catch. After not being able to weigh any fish on day two, Gritter and Kirby ended their week in 25th with 10.06 pounds. However, they kept a winning attitude through it all and know their day is coming, as they were so close this time around.

“You just have to keep going,” Gritter concluded. “We’re going to have our turn sooner or later – this was almost it.”

Provided by Cox Group