Ray and Matt Lamb, a father and son team from Atlantic Beach NC won the Team of the Year award in the Atlantic Division IFA Redfish Tour. Matt Lamb and his family operate Chasin Tails Outdoors on the Atlantic Beach Causeway in Atlantic Beach NC. Matt says that “the road to get to the Championship was challenging fishing to say the least. In the event in Charleston, SC, we battled a tropical storm that passed through the day before the event making very tough fishing conditions with 14 teams weighing in two fish. Dad and I caught only five fish all week during pre-fishing. After that we were off to Savannah GA in the middle of the summer in the heat with temperatures in the 90’s each day. The heat made that event extremely tough with only 13 teams weighing in two fish“. But Matt says “to get to Houma, LA was worth fishing extreme conditions in the two prior events. Louisiana has the best Redfish action in the nation. We’ve been there two times before this year’s Championship and it has always treated us well. We have a 9th, a 10th, and now a 14th place finish there three consecutive years against the best anglers in the nation.”
“We went to Louisiana with one thing on our minds: to bring home the Team of the Year Title. When the Championship round opened, we were sitting in 3rd place just five points out of first. We knew we had a good chance if we could find some good fish. One of the teams in front of us already had won two Team of the Year titles, so we knew they would be tough to beat. After day one of the event we were in 17th Place. On day two we came in with over 16lbs of fish and while we were really feeling good about our chances, a team from Charleston, SC brought in a huge bag and we waited with our nerves on end for what seemed like an eternity. In the end, we did what we wanted to do and came out in first place.”
The Team of the Year title is one of the most valued honors in any Redfish series. It is very difficult to win this when competing in only three events. One mistake takes you out of the running. The hardest thing according to Matt “is fishing events out of our home waters. When you enter a tournament away from your home waters you’ll be fishing against a lot of guides that fish every day so they know where the fish are and what their patterns are. If they are not guides, they are local fishermen who fish the area every week, so they too know where the fish are. For an out of town team to come to town and win in those circumstances requires real skill.
Matt and his father have fished every Redfish Tour event together since 2008 with one goal in mind; to win a Team of Year Title. To them, winning a Team of the Year title means that you were the best for that season. To catch fish consistently you must rely on more than luck. Matt and Ray have another goal in mind. That is to win a Red Fish Tour event. They have come close a few times but it has eluded them. A few years ago while fishing in Charleston they had a winning fish in the boat, but had motor trouble on the way to the scales and missed the weigh in. I’m sure that was a heart breaking experience. Chasing these fish all over the country is not an inexpensive proposition. Matt and his father get some help with their expenses from the following sponsors:Chasin Tails Outdoors Bait & Tackle, Star Rods,Daiwa Reels, Slayer Inc., Power-Pole, Berkeley Gulp, Goose Creek Marine, and Egret Boats.
