Team Savoie/Pescay Wins IFA Redfish Tour Championship Event at Houma, Louisiana

Anglers win more than $55,000 in winnings

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (October 22, 2020) – Nicky Savoie, of Lockport, Louisiana, and Shane Pescay, of Folsom, Louisiana, weighed a two-day, four-fish limit that totaled 36.21 pounds to win the championship event of the IFA Redfish Tour presented by Bass Pro Shops & Cabela’s on October 18, at Houma, Louisiana. The team won a fully rigged Ranger 2260 Bay Ranger boat prize package powered by a 150-horsepower Mercury outboard.

The longtime IFA Redfish Tour anglers have enjoyed much success on the tour, including a previous championship win and a Team of the Year title. Due to recent hurricanes, the championship was slated to start the day after the final Louisiana Division regular-season event. The IFA was forced to juggle this season’s schedule due to both COVID-19 and a highly active hurricane season but was able to host all events this year.

“We were very impressed with how they figured it out, how to even have a season,” said Savoie. “There are a lot of tournaments would have probably cancelled. They fit it all into the right time and I am happy they pulled it off.”

A strong 10th-place finish at the regular-season event set up the anglers to make a serious run at the championship event. With differing water levels each day, the team had to be flexible with their plans.

“It takes adjustments,” said Savoie. “You can’t keep running to the same place every day. That’s why you need a good partner to talk about it. You got to attack. If something is working on day one but you know the conditions are going to be 180 you have to change up.”

On day one, the anglers opted to fish a small ditch where Savoie had seen fish a week before and it hadn’t been fished yet. By 9:30 a.m., they had caught four 9-pounders and their day of fishing was over. Their 18.77 pounds was good enough to take the lead going into the final day.

“We caught four fish on day one and six fish on day two,” said Savoie. “We just lucked out. I think we found the right fish and got on them at the opportune time.”

The duo’s day two weight of 17.44 pounds gave them a two-day total of 36.21 pounds and the championship win. Along with the win, Savoie and Pescay also took the Overall Team of the Year title along with $5,000 in cash from Cabela’s.

Before the season started, Savoie had to convince Pescay to compete, as he had planned to sit out the season.

“I told him, ‘Hey, we are going to win the Team of the Year. It’s all going to be good. You’re going to be happy,’” said Savoie. “He couldn’t believe it when we won it. It means a lot to us.”

The team earned a total of $55,462 in winnings from the championship event.

Second-place finishers Eddie Adams, of Metairie, Louisiana, and Sean O’Connell, of Mandeville, Louisiana, brought in a four-fish limit of 34.72 pounds to take home a Ranger RB190 boat prize package powered by a 90-horsepower, four-stroke Mercury outboard.

The 15-year IFA Redfish Tour veterans leaned on their extensive experience to navigate tough post-hurricane conditions. They opted to stay local and ran 35 miles roundtrip, sight-fishing and blind-casting Berkley Gulp! ripple mullets.

“Although we didn’t get to scout much, we did very well,” said Adams. “We had some luck on our side that helped.”

Along with the new Ranger boat, the team added $1,332 in Anglers Advantage cash and won the $750 Berkley Gulp! Big Redfish award, along with $250 credit for Berkley Gulp! products, for a total of $31,436 in winnings.

Chad Harvey, of Mandeville, Louisiana, and Keary Melancon, of New Orleans, Louisiana, round out the top three by bringing in 34.03 pounds of redfish. The team reported windy and tough conditions while they sight-fished with swimbaits. The anglers won a total of $3,543 in winnings for their efforts.

The total payout for the championship event was more than $108,000.

IFA events are made possible through the sponsorship and continued support of these well-respected brands: Ascend, Ranger Boats, Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Mercury Marine, Sunline, AFTCO, Garmin, Lucas Oil, Berkley Gulp!, Berkley Gulp! Alive!, PENN Reels, Spiderwire, Navionics, Power-Pole, Valley Fashions,  T-H Marine, ATLAS, G-Juice, and Powertex Group.

For more information or to become a member of the IFA, visit www.ifatours.com.

IFA Redfish Tour – Championship

Houma, La. (Top 10)

1. Nicky Savoie/Shane Pescay – 36.21 lbs.
2. Eddie Adams/Sean O’Connell – 34.72 lbs.
3. Chad Harvey/Keary Melancon – 34.03 lbs.
4. Brandon Arceneaux/Bubba Corbin – 34.01 lbs.
5. Bill Coleman/Lawrence Sanchez – 33.54 lbs.
6. Robert Bounds/Trey Mikell – 32.97 lbs.
7. Charlie Barton/Cody Barton – 32.79 lbs.
8. Fred Meyers/Britt Ordes – 32.65 lbs.
9. Mike Davis/Terry Westcott – 32.65 lbs.
10. Shane Haas/Nick Morelli – 32.32 lbs.