Not dissin your prowess and indeed, most of the reds caught are slot fish but your story is more ammo for the argument that there just might not be over sized reds where you fish. I haven't been fishing for reds as long as you have but I have seen no evidence that a 30+ inch fish is less susceptible to the allure of an artificial than a 26" fish in these parts. Lagoon fish on the other side don't count!

I would like to hear from the IFA on this.

I'm sure I could find plenty of over slot redfish for the Punta Gorda, Ruskin events.

Just another dumb rule. IMHO

This is also known as the Snuffy Smith approach or the girlfriend reading a book approach and why Gulp should not be allowed in an artificial only tournament. It always cracks me up these "Pro Anglers" talking about the technical aspects of throwing something that stinks into the water and letting it sit there.

I don't think of it as a diss. I know that Reds go offshore when they get somewhere over 30" and are not as abundant on our flats. I'm just saying that I am less likely to catch a Red over 30" to keep up with those bait slingers fishing channels and deep water sloughs. Now I don't have to worry about competing with the big Reds if the cut off is 27". I look at these tournaments like a game of poker, Dealers Choice. And since their the dealer, I'll play the best I can with their rules. If someone else has a better game then I'll give it a shot.

Well said.

I would be willing to bet the 27" rule is a holdover from when they ran live weigh in tournaments. In a live weigh in tournament you cannot bring back a fish over 27" as that would be illegal. with a CPR tournament you can enter a fish over 27" but they have not changed the rule.

Either way, play by the rules and have fun. If you catch some fish plan your time accordingly as the first one back with same lenghts wins.

So that being the case, Why the addition of live bait?

Not knocking the tournament or those who fish, I'm just saying its a silly rule for a CPR tournament.

I wont be at Punta Gorda, but I will make the ones in our area.

Allows for more competitors, plain and simple. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard "I would fish your tournament if you allowed live bait". Some are not comfortable with arties only, to each their own.

Why not bait?

IMO all it does is add to the competitive edge, sure arti's catch fish plenty well, but there will always be scenarios when live bait is simply the only way to get it done. It will make anglers step out of their comfort zone, that is for sure. Everyone thinks live bait fishing is easy, but it really isn't all that easy, just an entirely different strategy.

Its plain and simple. Expectations are that The IFA Kayak Fishing Tournaments will be the professional elite series of tournaments for the inshore saltwater kayak angler. And all of the professional tournaments are artificial only. Its percieved as an insult to allow bait in the kayak division.

Fished the IFA tournament this past weekend. Chappy and me fished together along with Wally. I think Wally held us back. Wind was about 15-20 with 35 mph gust. We all fish the same conditions, and some did better than others. Conditions were rough as can be seen in the below pictures.



We did not catch anything and things calmed down for a minute and I was able to get this picture.



I could hear Roger Bump fishing off in the distance and got this picture.



See you at the next one.

I don't really like the 27 inch rule much but I'll play anyway. For me, total inches should make the difference between a winning and a losing fish not the time an angler gets to the weigh in. If we were truly weighing in the fish, then the rule would be fine because total ounces would determine the winner.

Regarding live bait, I don't need to use it but it definitely brings more people.

I dont have the link handy, but the IFA just made some major changes.

NO MORE LIVE BAIT

They are also doing away with the 27" slot limit. The changes were made due to an increased demand from anglers and to bring the kayak division more in line with the Redfish tournament series.

A good move on thier part.

See you in Ruskin this summer.