ROMISH AND TSACRIOS OVERCOME FOUL WEATHER TO WIN SEASON-OPENER IN TITUSVILLE

 

By DAVID A. BROWN

TITUSVILLE, FL  — Conventional logic holds that, in exceptionally challenging

conditions, local anglers, armed with years of experience and multiple

targets are most likely to prevail. However, at the weigh-ins for the

Ranger/Mercury Redfish Tour's 2002 season-opener at Titusville's Sand Point

Park, tournament director Grady Warren said that visiting anglers might have

fewer spots than locals, but what they have, they work relentlessly until

something happens.

    Such was the case for Homosassa anglers J.W. Romish and Bob Tsacrios, who

worked through blustery conditions and murky water, brought by stubborn cold

front, to bag 7.62- and 7.39-pound redfish for a 15.01-pound winning

aggregate.

    "We made a plan and worked our plan," Romish said. "We didn't catch a

fish until noon, but the sun came out and helped us a little bit."

    Romish and Tsacrios caught fish over spotty bottom, grass beds and

potholes. Nemire Red Ripper spoons, and the proper technique, produced the

winning catches.

    "We tried other [lures], but once we got on the bite, we stayed with what

we had," Romish said. "The key to working the Red Ripper here was working it

really slow — stop and go, bring it up, let it wobble and fall. They seemed

to be hitting it on the fall. The fish are a little sluggish in this colder

water, so slow is the way to go."

    Romish said he found the running easier in the Indian River Lagoon's soft

sand and grassy bottom. By contrast, the random lime rock outcroppings and

oyster bars of his home waters makes navigation tricky and treacherous.

Basically, if you don't know where you're going, take it slow or you're going

to break something.

    Now, this may or may not have anything to do with tournament competition,

but Romish felt it was important to report that, while prefishing, he and

Tsacrios saw wild hogs wading out into the Lagoon, duck their heads under the

surface to grab horseshoe crabs, which they carried to the bank for a little

waterfront dining. Draw your own conclusions, but it proved a good omen for

the winning anglers.

    Second place went to Jim Taylor and George Alexander, a couple of bass

pros, who caught 7.49- and 7.32-pound fish for a 14.81-pound aggregate.

Catching a fish known in some parts as a "channel bass," varies little from

pursuing the freshwater version, said Taylor.

    "We use the same rods and reels we do for bass fishing," he noted.

"Normally, we'd throw soft plastic jerkbaits, just like we do for bass, but

with the windy conditions, we stayed with strictly spoons."

    Alexander said he and Taylor started catching fish around midmorning.

Having found a barren, yet productive shoreline during prefishing, the

anglers caught 5 keepers and broke off two others. Identifying a pattern in

water clarity was intrinsic to their success.

    "We got in a little pocket that had some dirty water mixed with clean

water and the fish seemed to be relating to that transition," he said. "We

just stayed there and worked them out."

    Of the days conditions, Alexander said, "The key is persistence. You

can't let the conditions get you down. You have to stick with what you have

and what you do best. You just continue to strive for what you're looking for.

    "You can't let [adverse conditions] get to you. If you stop, it's going

to take you down. Conditions or not, you have to maintain that mentality that

you're going to stick it out."

    In third place, brothers Ron and Chris Hueston entered nearly twin reds

weighing 7.21 and 7.20 pounds for a 14.41 aggregate. Describing their day as

"outstanding," Chris said he and Ron caught 35 reds, five monster trout over

8 pounds and a flounder. Their biggest reds came after they made a critical

call. The brothers started out fishing the north end of the Lagoon and then

came back south to where they'd fared well in prefishing. Not satisfied with

their productivity, the brothers decided to go for broke.

    "At 1:15, we looked at each other and said 'If we're going to go for the

win, we have to run back north," Chris recalled. "So we ran back up there

and, in five casts, we had those [qualifying] fish.

    "We were screaming and high-fiving. The feeling of catching two fish like

that is just great. The only thing was the ride back. We'd stop every [few

minutes] and make sure the fish were okay."

    Fourth place finishers Ron Meade and David Demetree scaled 7.19- and

7.12-pound reds, their biggest of 14 caught in shallow grass about 10 miles

south of the weigh-in station. So promising was this area, that Meade and

Demetree stayed within a square mile area the entire day. Exude soft plastics

in copper and white worked best.

    Noting the wind's propensity for complicating matters, Meade feels a good

breeze works to his advantage.

    "I  think the key is taking advantage of the conditions you have and work

with the wind," he said. "With light line and a medium-weighted bait, you can

cast a mile. The fish aren't as spooky in the [stirred] water and you can get

up on fish when you normally wouldn't be able to get to them."

    Taking fifth, Mark Drown and Joe Byrd, used Mission Fishin jigs and

Saltwater Assassin shad to tempt a 7.51- and a 6.78-pounder. Fishing a flat

they used to fish as kids, Drown and Byrd caught their biggest of 12 fish

around 12:30. Targeting schools of oversized reds paid off, as the smallest

fish measured in the slot, but carried hefty weights from grazing with a

heavy crowd.

    Rounding out the top 10 were: Wayne Ethridge and Steve Sciullo (sixth,

5.65/8.24-13.89); Scott O'Brien and David Senesac (seventh, 6.89/6.91-13.80);

Jed Gardner and James Long (6.50/7.22-13.72); Bill Pittman and Jim

Wormhouudt, (8.16/5/52-13.68); Bob Supina and Bryan Curren (4.46/9.10-13.56).

Supina's 9.10-pounder was the tournament's largest fish.

    Evaluating the day's conditions, Ethridge said that, while many

competitors focused on finding clear water, his local knowledge told him to

work on finding aggressive fish.

    "We caught fish in water with visibility less than six inches," he said.

"I think the reds get more active in these conditions. When it's clear and

you're stalking them with a push pole, every little sound scares them. But we

were running the trolling motor and fish were swimming right by the boat."

    Ethridge said he and Sciullo fished about a mile south of the tournament

launch site. "You can run a long way [in the Lagoon], but the perfect set up

is often just down the street."

    Of the event's 104 registered teams, 81 weighed fish — astounding, given

the severity of conditions. Twelve teams had better than 13 pounds and 5

broke the 14-pound mark.