Football
Steve Price 17y

Frenettes Lead Day One

Day One Standings | Photo galleries | Notes

PORT ARTHUR, Texas — Never doubt that redfishing, even at the highest competitive level of the sport, can't be a family activity.

Mike Frenette and his son Michael of Marrero, La., grabbed the first-day lead at the Oh Boy! Oberto Redfish Cup tournament in Port Arthur, Texas, with 16.87 pounds, but following close behind were Keith and John Hartsell of Pearland, Texas, another father/son duo who put 16.51 pounds on the scales.

Clark Jordan and Chief Tauzin sit in third with 15.77 pounds, and they are followed by David Christian and Charlie Paradoski with 15.75. Eric Rue and Larry Puckett hold down fifth with 15.63 pounds.

Overall, early predictions of an extremely tight tournament proved to be correct, as the top five teams are separated by slightly more than one pound. Most teams also reported catching their fish either very early or during a two-hour feeding flurry between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

"We only caught three fish all day," explained Frenette, "but we had them by 9:30. Fortunately, two of them were 27 and ¾-inches long (the Texas size limit is 28 inches), so we stopped fishing to make certain the fish survived."

The Hartsell team not only had their two keeper fish by 10:30, they stopped fishing and returned to the Pleasure Island Marina weigh-in site to sit in the shade and take care of their fish.

"We were fishing far back in the marshes where the water temperature is 98 degrees," noted son Keith. "The fish totally exhausted themselves fighting after being hooked, so it was critical to get them into cooler water. We only caught five fish all day."

While many teams fished relatively close to the weigh-in area, some made the run to Calcasieu, La., or down the coast to Galveston. In the Louisiana marshes the fish were more plentiful but not as large. The father/son team of Cajun Phil Broussard and his son Kevin reported catching nearly 60 redfish in Calcasieu, but none larger than seven pounds. Likewise, Blake Phillips and Keith Sheppard caught 50 fish in 90 minutes of nearly non-stop action, but not any heavy fish.

The fifth place team of Eric Rue and Larry Puckett, who weighed in 15.63 pounds, probably did the most running. They began at the jetties south of Port Arthur, ran to the Calcasieu marshes, then out to open bays north of Port Arthur. They plan to do the same run again when competition begins Saturday.

Big fish honors of the day went to Mike Hudec who at 9:30 a.m. brought in an 8.88 pound redfish he caught on a gold Nemire spoon. That fish was dwarfed, however, by the 45-pounder he caught on the same spoon an hour later. Of course it measured well over the 28-inch length limit and he had to release it immediately.

Spoons, soft plastics, and topwater lures proved most effective in the windy conditions.

This is the final event in the Western Division of the Oh Boy! Oberto Redfish Cup season, and all 76 teams are hoping to gain enough points to qualify for the Redfish Cup Championship in Pensacola, Fla., later this year.

Only the top 15 teams with the most points earned during the three events will qualify, however, and following Saturday's weigh-in here, only the top five teams will fish on Sunday. Thus, for some teams, the entire season boils down to nine hours of fishing tomorrow.

"We're in 13th place in the championship standings," smiled Frenette, " so all we have to is catch two more quality fish and I think we'll qualify. My son Michael and I feel good about it."

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