Dolphin Hamilton, of Charleston, S.C., caught a redfish and speckled sea trout that measured a combined 41.50 inches in length to win the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour presented by Hobie Fishing event at Charleston, S.C., on June 3. The event, which operated out of Red’s Ice House, was the last regular-season event for the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour’s Atlantic Division.
Winner of the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour event at Charleston last year, Hamilton used his experience and returned to Wadmalaw Sound to catch his wining fish. The angler pitched Berkley Gulp! crab to tailing redfish during the morning high tide and fished for trout around oyster bars in the falling tide with a paddle tail soft bait.
“I found fish easily on Friday and Saturday. Sunday was trickier with stronger than expected winds and current,” Hamilton said. “The water was extremely dirty, but I stuck to my plan and it paid off.”
Second-place finisher, Roger Bump, of Jacksonville, Fla., measured a 20.38-inch redfish and a 17.38-inch trout. A veteran IFA Kayak Fishing Tour angler, Bump fished the Trout River area around Jacksonville, Fla. The angler was hit by an unexpected tropical storm, making the fishing difficult.
“I knew things would be a challenge but fought through by eating healthy foods, drinking lots of water and saying prayers,” Bump said. “Thank you IFA, Hobie and Pure Fishing for making dreams come true.”
Scot Townsend, of Summerville, S.C., failed to land a trout, but his 30.25-inch redfish was enough to take the third-place prize and the Berkley Gulp! Big Redfish Award. Townsend fished the Edisto Island area with a Berkley Gulp! ripple mullet along banks with hard bottoms.
Tenth-place finisher, Michael Sadler, took home the $200 Hobie Top Angler Award for having the highest place finish for an angler competing in a Hobie kayak.
Twelfth-place finisher, Martin Mood, reeled in an 18.50-inch speckled sea trout, which won him the $100 Berkley Gulp! Trout Award plus a $100 Cabela's gift card, courtesy of Berkley.
Each of the Cabela’s IFA Redfish Tour 12 regular-season events will commence on Saturday with the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour Presented by Hobie Fishing contested the following day (Sundays). The IFA Kayak Fishing Tour Presented by Hobie will feature 12 regular-season, catch-photograph-release events across six different division (mirroring the IFA Redfish Tour format, location and scheduling) as well as extremely lucrative payouts and expanded fishing opportunities for non-motorized fishing crafts.
The redfish/trout tournament will pay twenty places plus Big Redfish, Big Trout and Junior Angler Awards with a total payout of $9,800 (based on a 100 boat field). The winner will take home a guaranteed Hobie Mirage Pro Angler valued at $2549, 2nd place is a guaranteed $1,000 Hobie Cash and 3rd place is a guaranteed $500 Hobie Cash. Hobie will be paying $200 to the highest angler fishing out of a Hobie kayak at each IFA event.
The IFA Redfish Tour continues to draw redfish anglers from Texas to the Carolinas and beyond, offering two-angler teams the opportunity to compete in six different divisions, each offering a two-event regular season. Low entry fees for the one-day, regular-season tournaments allows anglers to fish close to home and minimize expenses, while still being a part of a premier inshore, catch-and-release redfish tournament organization. Teams fishing any two of the IFA’s 12 regular-season events and one regional event are automatically qualified for a no-entry-fee championship event, pitting qualifiers from each of the six divisions for a combined $118,450 in payouts and prize packages, as well as a shot at the coveted Cabela's Overall Divisional Team of the Year Award for the six regular-season division winners.
The fastest-growing kayak fishing tournament trail in the country, the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour Presented by Hobie Fishing offers inshore kayak anglers from a multitude of states the opportunity to participate in competitive fishing tournaments. With low entry fees and minimal travel requirements, kayak anglers competing in the catch-photograph-release tournaments can take advantage of the numerous money and product prizes awarded to competitors. First-place prize for each regular-season event of the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour Presented by Hobie Fishing, regardless of field size, is a Hobie Mirage Pro Angler kayak valued at $2,549. Second and third place finishers are awarded cash prizes of $1,000 and $500, respectively.
For more information or to become a member of the IFA, the fastest-growing inshore fishing tournament series in the United States, go online to www.redfishtour.com or www.ifakayakfishingtour.com. To discover more about kayaking and Hobie Fishing go to www.hobiefishing.com.
IFA events are made possible through the sponsorship and continued support of the fishing industry’s most respected brands: Ranger Boats, Hobie Fishing, Cabela’s, Yamaha Outboards, Gulp!, Gulp! Alive, PENN Reels, Spiderwire, Sebile, Columbia Sportswear, Minn Kota, Humminbird, Power-Pole, Wrap This, Blue Point Fabrication, 321fish.com, Loadmaster, NBOA Marine Insurance, Powertex Group, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and Red’s Ice House.
IFA Atlantic Division
Charleston, S.C. (Top 10)
- Dolphin Hamilton --- 41.50 inches
- Roger Bump --- 37.75 inches
- Scot Townsend --- 30.25 inches
- Nathan Raycroft --- 30.00 inches
- Trey Leggett --- 29.00 inches
- Robert Yon --- 27.25 inches
- Robby Freeman --- 26.00 inches
- Joey Sullivan --- 25.75 inches
- Larry Hancock --- 25.75 inches
- Michael Sadler --- 24.88 inches
$100 Berkley GULP! Big Redfish Award plus $100 gift card to Cabela’s:
Scot Townsend
$100 Berkley Gulp! Trout Award plus $100 gift card to Cabela's:
Martin Mood
$200 Hobie Top Angler Cash Award:
Michael Sadler
