Redfish Nation

Why The Redfish Cup Is One Of The Best Young Saltwater Tournaments

By Ashley Wright

Oh Boy! OBERTO REDFISH CUP 2008 TOUR • April 25-27: Punta Gorda, Fla. • May 30-June 1: Port Arthur, Texas • Aug. 15-17: St. Bernard Parish, La. • Sept. 26-28: Pensacola, Fla. • Oct. 10-12: Championship TBA

What do you get when you combine a talented group of two-man teams, saltwater, redfish, some hefty prizes and a growing fan base? The Oh Boy! Oberto Redfish Cup. Entering its sixth season this year, the cup is considered one of the nation’s premier saltwater fishing tournaments, which has both promoted and grown the sport of redfishing, according to cup officials.

Redfish Cup events drew in crowds of 150,000 spectators in 2007, according to Melanie Jarrett, public relations account coordinator with Career Sports and Entertainment, the company that owns the Redfish Cup. Steve Bowman, editor of Redfish Nation, attributes the popularity of the sport for fans and fishermen alike to the

fact that more people are moving near the coast and are becoming interested in saltwater fishing—taking up redfishing because it offers a more cost-effective, inshore and unique option to the more expensive deep-sea fishing with large boats.

“Fishermen started falling in love with the inshore species,” he said, “and one of the primary species of inshore fishing is the redfish, so redfishing has taken off. The Redfish Cup is a product of a growth that was already there, and we have supported that growth and popularity of the sport.”

The Redfish Cup showcases two-man saltwater angler teams that compete at four regular-season events and one championship event. The field for each Redfish Cup tournament in 2008 is an elite group of slightly more than 50 anglers, according to

Jarrett. Cup representatives choose the two-man teams based on points, past performance and the desire and ability to fish all the events for that year. The same two-man teams compete in every event, and the top 20 make the championship in October. 

Hosting The Redfish Cup

Cup officials evaluate approximately 15 coastal venues throughout the Southeast, stretching from South Padre Island in Texas to Morehead City, N.C., according to Jarrett. They judge the venues based on their ability to host a top-tier sporting event; ability to engage the surrounding community; quality of the fishery; and available accommodations for more than 150 anglers, sponsors, staff and ESPN camera crew. “We evaluate possible stops every year, and Punta Gorda, Fla., is the only permanent one from year to year, due to the popularity of the event within the community,” she said. Prior to the 2007 circuit, Charlotte Harbor Visitor’s Bureau officials requested for Punta Gorda to become a permanent spot, after they created a “Redfish Festival” around the event. “It has become such a huge deal there that the minor league baseball team is named the Charlotte County Redfish,” Jarrett said.

Elizabeth McDougall, tourism director with St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana, has helped plan a tour stop in the area for two years. Already a fishing community, the parish was considered for a cup stop when a local angler on the circuit brought it to the attention of tournament organizers.

Once the cup officials approved the location, McDougall helped form a committee that included local wildlife and fishery officials; hoteliers in the city; parish government officials; local sheriff representatives; the local angler on the circuit; restaurants that would provide food for the event; and local fishing-related shops that would do business with fishermen and the tournament. The committee made decisions on how the tournament would be organized, she said, adding that a number of ideas that ultimately made the tournament successful came through visiting other tournament host cities.

“By visiting other places we were able to use ideas that were successful in other areas, see how they worked out and make them our own,” she said. For example, St. Bernard Parish based its fundraising goals on the tournament sponsorship levels of a particular host city, adding specific St. Bernard Parish “perks” for each sponsorship level.

McDougall said adding a local flare to pre-tournament events and the cup itself helped involve the community and outside fans in the event, as well as give the anglers a taste of the area. One of these events included a decorating contest of the white boots that fishermen typically wear.

“We are a community that is about great music and great food,” she said. “So we also did an event around food and music that involved organizations and clubs in the community while people were waiting for the tournament to start.” 

Growing The Fan Base

Fans of professional redfishing don’t necessarily have to hit the road to catch all the action of the cup. For the second year, RedfishCup.com, the cup’s official website, and ESPNOutdoors.com, the official partner site of the cup, will provide event coverage.

A live Internet show, “Hooked Up,” will feature ESPN2 personalities who take in all the tournaments’ action and include up-to-the-minute information on weigh-ins and team standings. The 2008 Redfish Cup has also partnered with ESPN2 to air a show later in the season, and has planned Redfish Nation magazine, a quarterly publication that will provide in-depth analysis of tournaments, behind-the-scenes action, and tips and tricks from the pros.

The Redfish Cup will award almost $2 million over the course of the 2008 season, which cup officials claim is the largest prize money in the history of competitive saltwater fishing.

“We have tried to create a platform that allows the best of the best to compete…on a national platform,” Bowman said, adding that the top anglers in the sport have been six years in the making. “We’ve been figuring out how you get through the minors. Those who have come out on top of this six-year process are the ones playing this year.”