PORT ARANSAS, Texas — Calling an audible at the line of scrimmage yielded the game-winning score for Tony Vercillo and Darren Frost, who took first place at the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter at Port Aransas.

Hailing from Fort Pierce and Melbourne, respectively, Vercillo and Frost placed third on Day 1 with a two-fish limit of 15 pounds, 6 ounces and held that spot with a second-round limit of 13-5. On Championship Sunday, the winners posted 12-6 and tallied a three-day total of 41-1.

Overtaking Easton Fothergill and Clark Jordan Jr., who led the first two days, by 4 1/2-pounds, Vercillo and Frost split the $75,000 top prize.

“This is a dream come true; I’ve been doing this (redfishing) since I was 5,” Vercillo said. “We’ve worked so hard to get here.”

Frost echoed his partner’s sentiment: “It hasn’t completely hit me yet, but I was about to cry three or four times (while sitting in the hot seat). I don’t remember the last time I cried.”

For two days, Vercillo and Frost had worked a two-stage plan in which they started their mornings in areas north of the takeoff site at Fisherman’s Wharf, inside Port Aransas Municipal Boat Harbor. By late morning, they would run south to the upper Laguna Madre, where they caught their better fish.

That plan likely would have worked again, but Day 3 saw a cold front unleash brutal conditions. With a forecast for 25- to 35-knot north-northeast winds, Vercillo and Frost discussed the option of fishing closer the night before, but Championship Sunday’s harsh reality prompted an easy decision.

“Our best fish were a good ways south and we’d have to cross Corpus Christi Bay,” Vercillo said. “Last night, we were 80/20. We were desperate to get to those fish. We could win if we got to them.

“This morning, it was more like 50/50 and by the time we came around the corner for check-out, I said, ‘No sir, we’re staying close.’ We both agreed. We were very much at piece; there was no argument.”

Spending their final day on the west side of Redfish Bay, north or Port Aransas, the winners targeted oyster bar habitat.

“We dedicated Wednesday’s practice to finding spots that were out of the wind,” Vercillo said. “We found two spots that were holding fish and we just let it ride. We were done by 9 o’clock. We never caught another good fish after that.”

Frost said he and Vercillo anticipated they could catch about 12 pounds in Redfish Bay, so their final-round productivity was right on point.

“That’s what we saw pre-fishing; we has a couple of low-6’s and that’s what we ended up catching,” Frost said. “We kinda knew what was there and that’s why we didn’t go there yesterday.”

Vercillo noted that similarities to their Florida home waters helped him and his partner excel in their first Port-A visit. One of the biggest was finding areas with significant mullet activity — typically considered an indication of good redfish waters.

For the first two days, Vercillo and Frost caught several of their fish on spoons. When Day 3 found the fish less willing to chase the shiny baits, they switched to more subtle presentations.

Vercillo threw a Rapala Crush City The Mayor paddletail rigged weedless on a Strike King Hack Attack Heavy Cover Flipping Hook. His partner fished a Berkley Gulp! Shrimp.

“I rigged (the Gulp! Shrimp) weedless on a wide gap hook with a 3/16-ounce tungsten weight,” Frost said. “I added a little gold Colorado blade between the weight and the bobber stop to add a little flash."

In its fifth year, the Redfish Cup Championship fielded 10 two-angler teams — six comprising all redfish anglers and four pairing a Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series pro with a redfish pro.

Representing the hybrid teams, Fothergill — the reigning Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour champion — and Jordan took the early lead with a Day 1 limit of 17-3, the event’s heaviest catch. Adding 16-8 in the second round, they held on to their lead.

Day 3 delivered an early blast with what appeared to be the day-maker, as Jordan caught an 8-pound red that measured a breath below the 28-inch maximum length.

Tournament anglers know that fish typically enter the live well slightly shorter from contracting stress, but on a day unlikely to offer many opportunities, Jordan and Fothergill decided to take their chances that the fish would remain at or under 28 inches on the tournament’s official measurement.

Unfortunately, the fish had become relaxed in the livewell so it measured just over the 28-inch mark. Weighing a single fish of 2-14, Fothergill and Jordan settled at second with 36-9.

“After we caught that big fish, we thought we had a good plan the rest of the day to catch a couple 4 1/2- to 5-pound fish and just never got bit,” Jordan said. “We pulled the plug at the last minute and came in. Easton made a good sight cast with a Berkley Gulp! Shrimp to catch that one we weighed in.”

In third place, Ryan Rickard and Patrick Marsonek turned in weights of 15-0, 11-0 and 10-8 to finish with 36-8. The game plan, Rickard said, meant devoting three days to the Upper Laguna Madre, where he partnered with Bassmaster Elite Series pro Chris Zaldain to win the inaugural Redfish Cup Championship in 2021.

“Knowing what we had in practice, I said going into this that we just had to get bit right,” Rickard said. “I felt like if we could catch 10-12 fish a day, we would have what we needed. Unfortunately, on Day 1, we still caught 10-12 fish, we just didn’t have any great ones and that’s what bit us.

“We did all we could do and it just gave us what it gave us.”

Rickard and Marsonek caught their fish on the new 1/2-ounce gold Aqua Dream spoons.

This event was hosted by Port Aransas Fisherman’s Wharf.

2025 Redfish Cup Championship Title Sponsor: Yamaha
2025 Redfish Cup Championship Presenting Sponsor: Skeeter Boats

About B.A.S.S.

B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.