The sun, the moon, the stars… and the fish all lined up for the 9th annual “Redneck Invitational” fishing tournament held at Cabbage Key in southwest Florida last weekend. The 28 teams and nearly 80 anglers registered for what has been called ‘a tournament for Florida agriculture’ enjoyed good weather, good food, good fellowship and great fishing for the 2010 event.
The “Redneck” is the brainchild of Robert Murray who has been in the fertilizer business for many years in the region, recently joining the sales team at Ben Hill Griffin Fertilizer. Murray has fished the local waters around Cabbage Key since childhood, and originally started the informal “Redneck” fishing tournament nine years ago. Murray figured it was a good way to host a group of ag industry sales reps and some of their farm customers for a fun weekend
of fishing and fellowship each fall during football season. The event has held true to its roots ever since.
The “Redneck” is always loaded with Gator fan anglers and therefore it is normally scheduled during an away game weekend for Florida Gator football. Most years it is on the last weekend of September or first weekend of October. Watching the game on Saturday night is always part of one of the biggest parties on the island during the ‘Redneck’, although this year the game became the downer of the day with the Gators’ big loss to Alabama.
With snook season still closed for this year, weighing in four fish per team was the rule, including two trout and two redfish. This year first place trophies went to women anglers for the first time in ‘Redneck’ history. The fishing team of Cathy Wilkerson, Gail Lawson, Miles Meredith (photo left) & Robbie McCarthy (photo right with one of the team’s redfish), took first place with a total weight of 20.5 pounds of fish. But make no mistake about it, the competition was very very close as the fishing was good and many teams weighed in all four. There was also a mullet category that was entered by three redneck fishing teams, (Sanders-Sanders; Woodward-Lundy-Lundy; Boone-Boone). All three mullet were the same weight exactly at 2.5 pounds each.
We’ve posted all the winning teams and their total catch weights at the bottom of this post below.
And as one of the banners strapped up near tournament check-in indicated, the Rednecks have made their clear choice for Florida’s next agriculture commissioner.
For those who may not be familiar with the ‘Redneck‘ the rules are pretty simple, and most all of what is raised from angler registration fees and sponsorship monies goes directly back into the event to pay for group meals, trophies and angler prize money awards. The door is open for more agricultural companies to help sponsor this very unique and special industry fishing event, and sponsorships need not be expensive.
Find more details about the event, including photos, sponsorship information, dates, registration details for next year’s Redneck and other pertinent information for anglers at the dedicated Redneck website www.Redneck-Invitational.com.
There is a 40 team limit to what this tournament can handle due to facilities limitations, so after this year if you are interested in joining the Redneck, you may want to stay tuned and get registered as far in advance as possible. We believe this event has come into its own and it is sure to attract the maximum number of 40 boats for participation in the years ahead. Go Rednecks!
2010 Redneck Invitational Winning Teams & Catch Stats:
1st Meredith-McCarthy-Lawson-Wilkerson 20.5lbs
2nd Baxter-Sapp 18.5lbs
3rd McCauley-McCauley-McMan-Fallatta 18.25lbs
4/5 Boone-Boone and Hodges-Conrad 17.75lbs
6 Sanders-Olmsted 17lbs
7 marshall-Toe 15.5lbs
Amateur Division
1 Boone-Boone 17.5lbs
2 Marshall-Toe 15.5lbs
3 Pool-Pool-Owens 15lbs