By DON DUBUC

To win a fishing tournament you’ve got to have a plan.

That’s not just a saying for Eric Mannino and Paul Jueekstock, it’s a fact. The Edgewater, Fla. team who captured first place in the first of four Louisiana Redfish Tour events in Lafitte outlined their strategy and by sticking to it they earned $13,832 in prize money.

“We had found some nice fish scouting earlier in the week. The problem was the tide dropped out and we knew the fish were going to be difficult to get to. So we got a good 8-9 hours sleep and poled to the fish. It took us 40 minutes of push poling to get to them,” Mannino said. “After we caught two fish we knew were close to 17 pounds, we knew we would be somewhere near the top.

The tide was still falling and we knew we had to get out or we’d still be there. It took us another 40 minutes to pole out and we were back to the dock by 11:15 a.m. We decided not to take a chance losing a fish so we weighed in early.”

After sweating out three hours of watching scores of other teams weigh in, their game plan had paid off. Their winning catch was 17.52 pounds and included the biggest fish of the tournament – a 9.87 pounder. Their fish were caught on a Nemire Red Ripper spoon.

Second place money ($3,490) went to local guides Alden Bourgeois and Todd Dufour whose two reds went 16.55 pounds. Other top finishers included Howie Blitstein and Jeff Dry (16.52 pounds and $2,028) Warren Girle and Jules Rauch (16.37 pounds and $1,555) Stephen Madere and Andrew Lewis (16.16 pounds and $1,254).

The final results were impressive, although conditions were hardly ideal – gusty winds caused rough water in the open bays made travel tough and low, dirty water in ponds and along shorelines made locating fish difficult.

There are three more Redfish Tournaments this season in southeast Louisiana. The next tournament is set for June 8 in Cocodrie at the Coco Marina with others in Hopedale at Breton Sound Marina on Sept. 14 and at the Venice Marina on Nov. 2.

All Redfish Tournaments are open to the first 125 teams to enter.

For complete rules, entry applications and how to qualify for the National Championship event call 904-733-6678 or visit the Web site at www.RedfishTour.com.

Big speckled trout in Lake Pontchartrain

Some huge speckled trout were recently caught in the eastern end of Lake Pontchartrain under the bridges.

After the lake’s waters had calmed down and cleared following the recent stormy weather consistent catches of trout 5-8 pounds were common. Slidellian Terry Googins caught a really big trout. His fish weighed 10.15 pounds and if accepted by the Louisiana Outdoor Writers’ Association Fish Records Committee will become a new sixth state record.

DON DUBUC is the outdoors reporter for L’Observateur.