GEORGETOWN, S.C. — Born and raised in Charleston, S.C., Ben Powers hopes local knowledge serves him well in this week’s Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter Boats.
Powers, an unknown in tournament redfish circles, wants to make a name for himself this week. The 28-year-old is the only competitor from the region, and he makes part of his living guiding for redfish around Charleston Harbor, the southern boundary of tournament waters.
“I’ve been fishing for redfish in the Low Country since I was old enough to hold a fishing pole,” Powers said. “Made a career of it right out of high school. I live and breathe these fish. That’s my specialty. It’s what I’ve done my whole life.”
When contacted, Powers had just finished the second day of sunrise-to-sunset practice with teammate Pat Schlapper, a Bassmaster Elite Series pro from Wisconsin. Powers was then attending to his second livelihood, an oyster business. With tournament boat in tow, Powers picked up a load from his harvesters to deliver to restaurants.
Fishing more than 200 days a year, most of them chasing redfish, Powers should have the best feel for how the briny foragers react to variables there.
The other teams that qualified through redfish tournament circuits hail from Texas, Florida and Louisiana. The Elites competing on all-star teams are Justin Atkins, Drew Cook and Scott Canterbury, who is fresh off winning a gold medal with Team USA in the Black Bass World Championships in Portugal.
The teams launch from Georgetown’s Winyah Bay at around 7:15 a.m. ET Friday through Sunday, and Redfish LIVE coverage will be on Bassmaster.com each day beginning at 8 a.m. ET, with FS1 taking the feed weekend mornings.
The playing field spans about 60 miles south of Georgetown almost to Charleston and about 35 miles north near Conway. Each team can weigh four fish under the 23-inch slot.
“I definitely am not in my normal realm,” Powers said, “but I’m right on the cusp. I have some home water. I have some areas I fish a couple times a year I’m more familiar with than farther up north near Winyah Bay. It’s nice having a southern boundary touching home plate.”
After a front passed, Powers and Schlapper had a disappointing first day of practice, never putting one in the boat. A move on Tuesday proved fruitful.
“Most animals like stability. Having that drastic change in weather, a little drop in water temperature, change in barometric pressure, the fish had shutmouth yesterday,” Powers said. “We fished another part of the region that we were happy with today. They acclimated and were much happier.”
As a guide, Powers has been witness to all levels of anglers. Having a Bassmaster pro in his boat like Schlapper, who finished 19th in the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings to qualify for his third Bassmaster Classic, was a little intimidating.
“I consider myself still young in the industry,” he said. “I’m going on my 10th year of owning my own company and running my guide business — Reel Time Charters. I’ve been filming and doing video shoots and product development and testing for six or seven years now with a few different companies.
“Being with a heavy hitter, it was kind of intimidating at first. We’re meshing well together. I feel really excited and pumped to have him as a partner. We’re after the same thing. We both want to win.”
Last year, Louisiana redfish pros Eddie Adams and Sean O’Connell won the first-place prize of $75,000 with a three-day total of 48 pounds, 3 ounces. That weight came on two fish a day with a 28-inch top end slot.
Powers didn’t want to tip his hand at what weights should be competitive this week as to not clue in others. He did say the fishery is loaded with food, and the fish are at their heaviest weights.
“I don’t want to talk about weight because I may be experiencing something different from everybody else,” Powers said. “Different schools will have far different body mass.
“You can be on an excellent school of fish, which I like to call line-beaters, and they can be skinny and in an area where they’re getting a lot of pressure from the dolphins and burning a lot of calories. That’s huge. Finding those big, fat happy fish that haven’t been pressured too hard by all their predators is the name of the game right now.”
A Hunter’s moon on Saturday’s second day of competition will create morning tides almost 2 feet higher than the previous weekend. Powers said a plan of attack includes capitalizing on tidal movement, up or down.
“I think it’s taking advantage of the tide and knowing where the fish are going to be cooperating in what bodies of water at the right times,” he said. “We’ve seen fish all the way from the sandy beaches all the way to the pine trees. They’re kind of all over the place. There’s definitely some areas where they’re more prevalent and a little happier.”
There are so many variables to consider, Powers said, but fall is prime redfishing time in the Low Country, with schools of similar-sized fish staying shallow and relatively close to their favored haunts.
“This is the best time of year to be fishing,” Powers said. “There’s a ton of shrimp in the water. There’s also a lot of finger mullet still around, just a ton of bait that we’re competing with. We’re not allowed to use bait, but it’s great to have the bait because the fish are happy and active. We’re throwing plastic, and they have a lot of meat around them.”
Powers is looking forward to the opportunity, which he received from the title sponsors, and he’s hoping to do them proud.
“I have been lucky enough to be on the team with Yamaha and Skeeter going on five years now,” he said. “They asked me to represent them. I was very blessed to have this opportunity.
“I have my boat behind me all polished up. I had it waxed last week, have it detailed, got it ready to represent well and hopefully we can come in and compete.”
