The coldest South Florida winter in decades did not stop a full field of 30 boats from pursuing redfish and snook in the 2010 Backcountry Fly Championship. The two day BFC allows anglers to measure and photograph the largest snook and largest red by overall inches each day, two species of each (four fish total) for the tournament. You cannot make up for a vacant slot (or slots) from Day One. Size really matters here, as total inches wins. Species count does supercede size.

The Keys tournament veteran team of Capt. Mark Gilman and Mark Cockerham stayed ahead of the field with one snook and two redfish. The bulk of their scoring came during the morning of Day One while firing a 10 weight powered with an intermediate clear tip into potholes in the Flamingo area. The baitfish pattern tied on a 3/0 hook was crushed and a large hump plowed across the flat and then dogged in deeper water for ten stressful minutes. It was indeed fortunate timing for Cockerham to land the biggest snook of his life, bait or fly, a whopping 38 incher that was estimated at 20 pounds! They added a red, taken while blindcasting in some early bad light and then upgraded three times, taking single cruisers before maxing out with a 25 incher.

Day Two’s weather had deteriorated significantly and the pair of Marks were only able to produce one red. While dredging with a weighted orange custom-tied fly in a runoff ditch, Cockerham lost two reds prior to sticking the small 17 incher, but combined with Day One’s “inchage”, it was enough.

First Runner-Up to Cockerham was Roger Hernandez from Pinecrest with Capt. Eric Herstedt in his Mirage 17 HPX. Starting Day One close to Flamingo, Roger lost a red and came tight on the next one, a 23.5 incher that inhaled a 1/0 weighted epoxy shrimp pattern. Herstedt immediately ran around the corner to enter Whitewater Bay, knowing that snook would be difficult. He had taken three linesiders from 26-30 inches the day before in a secluded bay and left them biting, hoping to find the same action come tournament time. Of course, overnight both wind and pressure had changed. Hernandez finally got a bite and landed a 20 incher at 1:45 p.m.

Roger nearly came from behind to win, catching three reds early on Day Two and then topped out with a 24.5 incher. With the breeze now over 20mph and out of the west, a trip to Whitewater was out of the question. After thoroughly working over several spots, Herstedt finally found a shoreline loaded with laid up 30-36 inch black logs. Most fish followed the fly but seemed throttled down by the cold water. Two of the big snook blasted at the artificial but pushed it forward and out of the way to somehow remain unhooked.

The Largest Redfish, a 34 incher, was taken by Mike McLoad guided by Capt. Brian Helms. A tournament low 23 reds and just 3 snook were entered. Still great numbers considering water temperatures were barely in the 60’s and yet another front was passing through.

For info on next year’s event , contact Charlotte Ambrogio at 305-942-0428 or CSASUN@aol.com .

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