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Two Top Twenty-Five Finishes For Lucky Craft Pro Staff Gritter Griffin and Paul Jueckstock Finish 25th; |
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Oh Boy! Oberto Redfish Cup presented by Frogg Toggs >>> Mark “Gritter” Griffin and Paul Jueckstock
It was the first time Mark “Gritter” Griffin and Paul Jueckstock have fished together in competition and it was a weekend of ups and downs, mostly due to the tough fishing conditions in Florida. Griffin and Jueckstock finished 25th overall with a total weight of 14.03 pounds. Although they’re always fishing for that number one spot, they were fairly content with the way the weekend turned out. “We came in knowing this was the toughest tournament of the whole season,” said Griffin, in his fourth year as a professional redfish angler. “Plus it’s the first one, which makes it even harder. We made a 60-mile run during practice and were on some great fish. We got there today (Saturday) and they were gone. It was a weekend of highs and lows, but overall I’m pretty satisfied to have caught three keepers. “This morning (Saturday), I threw the Lucky Craft Gunfish 115 (sunfish color),” Griffin continued. “I went from throwing the Gunfish to jigs but was breaking off so many in the oyster beds, I switched to spinnerbaits. I started throwing spinnerbaits over the oyster beds and that’s what starting catching fish. Paul and I finally figured out that if we could get spinnerbaits right above the oysters, the fish would come up and hit it. We caught five or six 28-inch fish and about seven 17-inch fish, which were all just outside the regulated slot limit of 18 – 27 inches. Most of our fish were either too big or too small.”
Jueckstock was also fairly happy with the overall weekend, despite a few mishaps. “You know how sometimes everything goes right? Well, today was just the opposite for us,” said Jueckstock, a Florida native. “Everything went wrong. Our GPS broke yesterday (Thursday) and our backup GPS broke today. We were scrambling to find our spot and when we finally got there, we were catching all oversized or undersized fish. It was a tough day, but a decent one – at least we brought in a fish. We try hard to bring in a limit of two fish everyday, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen. We didn’t zero and that’s sometimes all we can ask for. “Today, I threw the Lucky Craft Sammy 115 and the Gunfish 115, both in ghost minnow,” Jueckstock continued. “The topwater bite was on this morning, but really changed as the day progressed. I caught a fish yesterday on the Sammy, but most of our fish today were caught on soft plastics. We found most of our fish sight fishing. Gritter and I usually alternate how we fish. One of us is sight fishing while the other is throwing a bank. We usually do the opposite of one another.” First time teammates Griffin and Jueckstock both agreed their first tournament together was an overall success. They know they have some adjustments to make, but are very excited about their future together. “It was kind of like a blind date,” said Jueckstock. “You aren’t sure what to expect. It’s going to take some time to really click, but we do have a great time together and that’s what it’s really all about.” “Paul and I have been friends for three or four years,” added Griffin. “We really hit it off out there. We both work hard to catch fish and really work well together.” While Jueckstock is looking forward to the next tournament in Punta Gorda, Fla., Griffin has one word for that venue… ‘Trepidation.’ “We know Punta Gorda better than we know this area (Clearwater) and we may not have to run quite as far to get away from boats, anglers and pressured fish,” said Griffin. “But it’s still going to be pretty tough. I believe it’s the second hardest venue on the tour this year. We just finished the first.”
>>> Greg Watts and Bryan Watts
For brothers Bryan and Greg Watts, it was a bittersweet weekend, just missing Friday’s cut to the final five teams. The Watts brothers finished eighth overall with a combined weight of 20.97 pounds. For the conditions and the tough venue, both agree the weekend went pretty well overall. “I think for the conditions, I feel pretty good,” Bryan Watts said. “We didn’t do what we needed to do and now we’re just out of the top five. It’s been that way for Greg and I – we’re always close but lately we can’t seem to cap it off. We do this for a living and we love it. We can’t always be a winner, but we do always try to stay in the top ten. “We haven’t had rain in 40 – 45 days and when that happens, these fish are so spooky you can’t cover anything up,” Watts continued. “It makes it very hard to get a good bite out there. I threw a Lucky Craft Fat CB SSR this morning, but the water was just too clear. Most of our fish here were caught on soft plastics. We had to throw it out and just let it sit – then move it very little. If those fish find it, they eat it. But if you show it to them, they blow.” “Being a Florida event, I also think it went pretty well,” said Greg Watts who, along with his brother and teammate, has won everything but an FLW event in his long fishing career. “This is probably the toughest event we’ll ever fish. These Florida fish are hounded all the time and it makes for a tough day. “It’s very important to start the year off right – you have to make the best out of what you get so you can post points,” Watts continued.
As for the next event in Punta Gorda, the Watts brothers know it’ll be another tough weekend. “Punta Gorda is going to be another tough event,” Bryan Watts said. “It burns your brain and you have to have patience of steel; and hope the fish show up. We’ve been snaked in Punta Gorda the last three times we’ve been there. You’ll see fish today. and tomorrow they won’t show up. We’ve learned that very seldom do those fish do the same thing two days in a row on account of all the fishing pressure they receive. For Punta Gorda, we’re going to try to find three different patterns and not do the same thing twice.” Both teams, Griffin/Jueckstock and the Watts Brothers, will fish the next Oh Boy! Oberto Redfish Cup tournament May 11-13 in Punta Gorda, Fla.
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Copyright 2005 LUCKY CRAFT, INC. |