Dufrene reigns supreme

NEW ORLEANS – After a seesaw battle all week long between the tournament’s top two contenders, Chad Dufrene of Purvis, Miss., finally pulled away from friend and fellow redfish competitor Todd Dufour to capture the 2008 FLW Redfish Open title.

Buoyed by a final-day catch of 15 pounds, 7 ounces, Dufrene finally tasted victory after years of frustrating finishes on the redfish tournament circuit.

“Honestly, it still hasn’t sunk in yet,” said Dufrene, shortly after earning his first victory and $37,500 in prize money. “I’ve finished in second place too many times, so this feels really good. It’s definitely the best win of my career.”

Throughout the past four days, Dufrene was locked in a heated battle with Dufour. After day one, Dufrene took the overall lead while his friend finished in second place. However, on day two Dufour regained the top spot on the leaderboard and Dufrene fell to second. After the third day of competition, both anglers finished the day tied for first place – setting up a dramatic final showdown in the Pro Division.

“I really feel bad for Todd and (third-place finisher) Alden (Bourgeois),” said Dufrene, who ultimately recorded a four-day catch of 61 pounds, 3 ounces. “I know exactly how it feels to be in their shoes right now. But somebody had to win. To tell you the truth, I really didn’t like competing against these guys. Both of them are my friends. And they are such good fishermen, if you stub your toe, you’re definitely not going to beat them.”

But Dufrene fished hard enough in the finals to guarantee that he wouldn’t stub his toe. Running all the way to Golden Meadow, La., Dufrene targeted redfish with Berkley PowerBait and jighead combinations featuring a weightless hook. Dufrene said he used sight-fishing techniques and focused in on heavy grass to land the majority of his catch. But the key factor for Dufrene was the abundance of sunshine.

“The sun finally came out at around 9:30 a.m., and that’s the main reason why we’re able to catch the two fish we did,” said Dufrene. “We had a quick limit early and were able to cull some more fish later in the day. But by 11:30 a.m., we’re pretty much done fishing.

“Coming back in, I knew we had as good of a chance as anyone to win this with the weight we had,” said Dufrene. “I wasn’t sure I’d win, but I knew I had a good chance.”

However, in the back of his mind, Dufrene knew that Dufour was more than capable of turning in a mammoth weight in the finals. In fact, on the second day of competition, Dufour had recorded a whopping 16-pound, 6-ounce stringer. But when all was said and done, Dufour could only manage a 14-pound, 10-ounce bag on the final day of competition. As a result, Dufrene earned the most important victory of his career.

“I’ve come up short too many times before, so this is a big weight off my shoulders,” said Dufrene. “Right now, I’m just exhausted. It feels like I’ve been in a fishing marathon. Four days of prefishing and four days of tournament fishing aren’t easy to do. You go out every day from daylight to dark. You can’t really relax. You just have to keep on going every day. But I’ve been waiting a long, long time to finally win one of these. So I’m feeling pretty good right now.”

Dufour scrambles for second place

After a long, hard-fought battle, Todd Dufour of Marrero, La., came up just a little short in the end. But although he didn’t get to raise the first-place trophy, Dufour did earn $15,000 to somewhat offset his frayed nerves and disappointment with the final outcome.

“It was a real rollercoaster ride out there today,” said Dufour, who ultimately recorded a four-day catch of 60 pounds, 6 ounces. “There were a lot of ups and downs – mostly downs – and we almost came back in the end. But it definitely wasn’t your typical tournament day.”

Dufour said that when he finally got to his primary fishing location, he was stunned to find another fishing tournament occupying his main spot. After regrouping and heading to his second location, he once again found another angler on his prime real estate. At that point, with time running out, Dufour said that he decided to take a gamble.

“I made the decision to run about 30 miles in a new direction,” said Dufour. “We wound up catching some good fish in the end. But overall, it was a tough day. I wish I could tell you more. But really, there’s not much more to say.”

However, in the end, Dufour had nothing but praise for Dufrene.

“I’m really happy for Chad,” said Dufour. “I’m really proud of him. He’s a great fisherman and he deserved it.”

Best of the rest

Dufour’s tournament redfish partner in standard team competition, Alden Bourgeois of Barataria, La., took home third place and a check for $10,000 after recording a total catch of 59 pounds.

Stephen Stork of Houston finished the Redfish Open in fourth place with a total catch of 58 pounds, 3 ounces. For his efforts, Stork won $9,000 in prize money.

Rounding out the top five finalists was Hugh Lebeouf of Thibodaux, La. Lebeouf parlayed a total catch of 51 pounds, 12 ounces into $8,000 in winnings.