Usually one is hot, other is not

Some teams might have an issue with the rule that each angler must catch two of their daily limit of four.

Dwayne Eschete of Lake Jackson, Texas, said it’s probably only 50 percent of the time when both members of a team are catching redfish.

“Normally, one guy is hot and the other guy is not,” he said. “The weird thing is you’re both throwing the same baits to the same exact spot, and one guy will hook up and the other will not.”

Asked to explain, neither Eschete nor Capt. Ryan Rickard couldn’t pinpoint the phenomena behind it.

“I don’t know why that is, but there’s a lot of truth to that,” Rickard said.

Eschete gave it a shot.

“It’s the way that he’s working the bait,” he said. “I can try to resemble exactly what he’s doing, but it’s not going to be the same. How he’s working it is what the fish are reacting to.

“We’re throwing same line, same bait, same color, and he’s going to hook up and I’m not. The next day, vice versa. No rhyme or reason. That’s what makes this so interesting.”

The 10 two-angler teams are vying for their heaviest four redfish in between 17 inches but less than 23.