Lafitte, La. (April 18, 2007) – Lucky Craft pro Gritter Griffin and partner Larry Kirby fished the 2007 Oh Boy! Oberto Redfish Cup in Louisiana this past weekend. The weather changed a few times and the duo had to work with the conditions, but one thing was for sure – Gritter found a new favorite Lucky Craft lure.

After arriving in Lafitte two weeks early, Gritter and Kirby took to the water for some serious practice time.

“We went down early because we know the area very well and felt confident we were going to find the right fish,” Gritter began. “I really thought we had a chance to win it.”

After pre-fishing for a week in 80-degree weather and finding three areas with big fish, the cold weather moved in during Easter weekend.

“We were catching 16 pounds every day during our first week in Lafitte,” Gritter said. “When the weather got cold, 38 degrees and sleeting, we still practiced. The water went from high to low, and then to exceptionally low, but it did come back up the day before the tournament.”

The first day of the tournament, Gritter and Kirby went back to their original areas and found the fish again – but what excited Gritter most is how they caught them.

“This was the fun part,” Gritter said. “I was throwing the Lucky Craft Moonsault CB 001 (American Shad and Chartreuse Shad) and the fish were absolutely killing it. We were catching six and seven pounders on soft plastics, but we found the bigger fish liked the Moonsault best. The only modification I did to the lure was to change out the O-rings and the hooks to make them slightly bigger (to accommodate the saltwater game fish).”

According to Gritter, he caught more than 150 fish in two days, all on the Lucky Craft Moonsault CB 001. There was only one problem – the fish were all slightly too big. Most of the time, ‘big’ isn’t a problem at all, but when the slot limit is 16 to 27 inches, a fish just slightly too long can cost you a tournament. Gritter and Kirby were one 27-inch fish away from the top five, and possibly a win.

“We knew we needed to weigh in 16 to 17 pounds on day two to have a shot at the top five,” Gritter explained. “The heartbreaking part of this whole tournament is the fact that we caught a minimum of forty fish on day two, all between 27-1/8 and 27-3/4 inches – just slightly too big for the slot limit in Louisiana. The smallest fish we caught all weekend (with the Moonsault CB) weighed 9-1/2 pounds and the biggest one was more than 12 pounds. I really believe this lure consistently attracts the larger fish, because it didn’t just catch fish, it caught the big ones.”

Gritter believes this is the case because the Moonsault CB 001 so greatly resembles a popular snack among redfish – the pogey. Fishing in three different areas during the tournament weekend, Gritter consistently caught the fish that feed on pogey versus the fish feeding on other favorite redfish food such as crabs and shrimp. Pogeys are bigger baitfish, which lead to bigger redfish and those are the fish Gritter wanted to bring in.

Gritter did have to modify how he fished the Moonsault CB 001, depending on the conditions of the location.

“One area we were fishing was full of green, hairy grass, almost like moss,” Gritter explained. “There was about eight inches of water above this grass and the redfish were all in it. I was throwing the CB 001 out and cranking it back with the rod tip held up really high, so the bait stayed just under the surface, where pogeys usually roam. I’ve been fishing for redfish for a long time and I’ve never seen them (the redfish) react like they did to this lure.”

In the grass, Gritter was bringing the lure back at medium speed with the rod tip up. But when the duo switched to a pond with about 18 to 20 inches of water with a mud bottom, he was cranking at a little more than medium speed with the rod tip down.

“With the tip of the rod down, the lure ran about four inches below the surface,” Gritter added. “It actually didn’t matter though, because when they hit it, they absolutely slammed it.”

Even with the big fish, Gritter and Kirby finished 44th in Lafitte – but were mere pounds out of fifth place.

“I just couldn’t quite get one in the slot,” Gritter added. “It was heartbreak hotel because one nine pounder to go with the seven pound fish we already had and we would have been in the top five for sure. But even so, my partner and I were both completely astonished by the Moonsault CB 001.”

Gritter and Kirby currently sit near 30th place in the point standings and will work hard in Kemah, Texas, their next tournament, to make up some ground and stay in contention for the All Stars and the Championship.

“We’re not in trouble,” Gritter concluded. “We’re right where we want to be and we will go into Kemah and try our best to do really well. I’m looking forward to it, because Texas will most likely be another Lucky Craft tournament.”