APALACHICOLA, Fla. – The Forgotten Coast will long be remembered by those involved in the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter, especially the winners.
Gary Moreno and Tony Viator split the winner’s purse of $75,000 after weighing 32 pounds, 9 ounces over three days. In last year’s Redfish Cup, they zeroed the first two days before bringing in one face-saving fish.
On their drive over from Texas they talked about not finishing “DFL … dead friggin’ last.” It didn’t look good after starting ninth. On Day 2, they found a school of bigs and caught two weighing 10-2 to climb to third.
Being almost 4 pounds down, Moreno said they were almost too far back, but each held hope. With a 6-9 and 6-8, they weighed Championship Sunday’s biggest bag of 13-1 and took the title by 10 ounces.
The victory overwhelmed Viator, the oldest angler in the field at 58. Finally winning brought both to tears.
“This is truly surreal,” Moreno said. “I’m choked up. I don’t even know how to act. I’ve been so close since I started tournament fishing three years ago. I’ve been close to AOY, in so many events, this is the icing on the cake.”
With trophies in hand, they were the final team to thank families, sponsors and everyone involved in the event – Yamaha, Skeeter, Power-Pole, hosts Florida’s Forgotten Coast, Apalachicola and Scipio Creek Marina, and of course, B.A.S.S.
“It’s just a great honor,” Moreno said. “Thanks all you guys.
Super slice of Americana
In honor of this sparsely populated area of the panhandle, how about we alter the famous 1975 Chevy ad to “Redfish, seafood, family and Yamaha.” There was a unique presentation of Americana at the fourth Redfish Cup.
During the Day 2 weigh-in at Scipio Creek Marina, a bald eagle flew overhead, interrupting Cody Chivas and Fred Myers weighing in.
Out near the barrier islands, second-place Mark Robinson and Michael Frenette reported fighter jets flying overhead. Frenette was part of the close-knit family aspect of the event, as his father brought him to tears with his surprise arrival.
The other major family story was Fred and Carter Myers, at 16 the youngest in the event. The father-son team qualified, but as defending champ, Fred was already set to fish with Cody Chivas. Carter fished with James Drysdale, and with a big final day (12-1) they came within 9 ounces of beating his dad.
It was poignant for Fred to launch alongside his son in the first time they haven’t fished together.
“The first morning we left, he’s right beside me,” Fred said. “I almost started crying, because he has done this himself.”
“When he said he wants to cry, it kind of makes me want to cry,” Carter said. “It’s kind of sad that we can’t be together fishing. But it’s alright. We get to fish against each other. I want to beat him as bad as he wants to beat me.
“Hopefully we can qualify for this again and fish together.”
Fred learned he’s no longer the favorite angler in his family. There was a reunion of sorts at the weigh-ins as the Myers live an hour west in Panama City. While Fred’s wife sat on the fence, Fred’s parents and many of his friends were full-on for Carter. In the end, Fred said he was even pulling for Carter.
Honor to be here once again
Capt. Ryan Rickard, winner of the first Redfish Cup in 2021, said he’s been fortunate to be the sole angler to fish all four.
“This means a lot,” he said. “No. 1, there’s a lot of people who put this on. I’m appreciative of the sponsors, Skeeter and Yamaha, then it’s really an honor to be a part of the biggest thing in the industry, which is B.A.S.S.
“To be a part of fishing a Bassmaster event is always a really cool thing. It’s something not a lot of people get to experience.”
Chivas, the defending champion, also spoke highly of competing in his second Cup.
“I’ve fished a lot of tournaments in saltwater, a lot of different tours and organizations, and nothing is like B.A.S.S. It’s the top of the top,” he said. “Everyone is so professional. For me to be in the event is such a huge thing. To win last year was even bigger.”
Chivas said he was jealous of Rickard and Bassmaster Elite Series pro Chris Zaldain after watching them win the inaugural event in Port Aransas, Texas.
“I love redfishing, so to see that on TV and it be portrayed the way it could be, was just so cool,” he said. “Ryan’s a good buddy of mine, to see him win with Zaldain, a B.A.S.S. guy, was just amazing, I think, for both sports.
“It showed bass anglers can come into saltwater and be successful. It was hard watching that at home, so when we first qualified, I was extremely excited.”
A getaway from hurricane mess
Like several competitors hit by Hurricane Helene around Tampa-St. Petersburg area, Chad Manning was glad to get away from the cleanup chaos for the Redfish Cup.
“This is a much-needed vacation,” he said. “I got whacked. I lost every bit of my tackle, hunting clothes. I just got power back Thursday.”
Dealing with insurance adjusters will pick back up this week, as will cleanup efforts. Manning was glad to team with Elite pro John Garrett and get his mind on fishing. His family is from Destin, so he’s fished similar bodies of water but sure enjoyed his time in Apalachicola.
“This water here is 10 times more beautiful than Tampa Bay,” he said.
He also reported they had flat to themselves, a rarity at home with anglers galore: “We don’t see another boat. You can’t do that back home in a hurricane.”
After starting eighth, Manning and Garrett climbed to finish fifth. Manning said he gets more than another pro angler’s insight when teaming up with an Elite.
“The good thing about fishing with bass guys is,” he said, “I have three things in my tacklebox. They have about 10,000. I say, ‘You know what I think might work.’ They go, ‘I’ve got 12 of those in 14 different colors.’ It works to my advantage.”
Elites’ takes on redfish
Shane LeHew was among the four Bassmaster Elite Series pros invited to the event, and he seemed to hit it off with partner Michael Goodwine, making his second Cup appearance.
“It’s been a blast. I got a fantastic partner,” said LeHew, adding that smashing them in practice was kind of a jinx as they finished ninth. “The first day we went out, I was immediately addicted to this.
“I see a vacation in my future back here to St. George with my wife. I’m going to have to bring her here and show her Apalachicola.”
Justin Atkins, also in his second Cup, said vacationing there could also be in his future. He teamed with Krista Miller, a local guide who lives on St. George Island. They finished last, but made some memories.
Atkins had a small bird land on his hand for a couple minutes rest. Atkins also caught the biggest fish, a 25- to 30-pound jack crevalle, which he said whooped him. He also made a smart business decision, breaking off a shark of unknown size.
“It’s a lot different than charter fishing,” said Miller, in her second cup. “The best catch of all was having this event here. This is a real big deal for us.”
The anglers caught a variety of species in the bay and backwaters, including speckled trout, flounder, catfish, black drum, rock bass and oh yes, largemouth bass.
Brandon Palaniuk had the best finish of the Elite pros. Landing a 7-4 that tied for big fish, Palaniuk and Chris Cenci had one of three limits topping 13 pounds on the week. It put them 1 pound from the lead, but only 6-14 dropped them to third.
“This is my best finish, so I can’t complain,” Palaniuk said. “I had a blast fishing with Chris. We had a lot of laughs, just didn’t get near the right redfish today.”
Palaniuk left the crowd with an interesting proposition, pointing out into Scipio Creek where a youth was showing off his recent catch of a 3-pound largemouth.
“I would love to have an Elite event here. I want to explore that direction,” he said, pointing inland.
Garrett, who won at the Harris Chain in his rookie Elite season, was reminded on stage that the only Bassmaster series he hasn’t fished is the Kayak Series.
“I will next year just because you brought it up,” said Garrett, who brought his wife and daughter for a nice getaway. “I love doing this. Only having 10 boats is awesome. We had a good time. The fish fight hard, they’re pretty dumb. I think we had a great week, caught a lot of fish. I hope to come back.”
