ESPN Saltwater

CHARLESTON, S.C. — When Day One leaders Ron and Steven Silverman checked in Sunday at the Seabreeze Marina, they thought their lead might vanish when the final totals were posted in the ESPN Outdoors Saltwater Series Redbone Lowcountry Red Trout Celebrity Classic.

The father-and-son team won this event in 2004 and Ron Silverman was the Grand Champion Angler that year.

But when they heard that their guide from Saturday, Chris Wilson, had helped his team of Tom Stokes and Rhett Denton catch 37 redfish and 4 sea trout Sunday, the Silvermans figured any hopes of another title were gone.

Stokes, who is from Charleston, and Denton, who is from Chapin, S.C., didn't have any idea who won. That's because Sunday was their first day on the water. They were fishing as part of a four-man team representing Sanders Brothers Construction Co.

As it turned out, the first-day Sanders Construction team had boated only three redfish and three sea trout. Thus the Silverman's Sunday of two sea trout and five redfish kept them atop the standings.

"We had a fabulous tournament," said Ron Silverman, 69, who retired here in 1992 after a career as a business executive in the New York City area. "I didn't think we won when we came to the dock. But that's the thing about this tournament. It's a two-day event. You have a different guide each day and different conditions."

Plus, Sunday earned them another award. Steven Silverman, a 41-year-old oral surgeon from Flanders, N.J., caught a 20.5-inch sea trout Sunday morning, which took honors for the biggest of the tournament. He caught it on a D.O.A. Shrimp.

But Ron and Steven were most excited about another result from Sunday. It was announced that the Redbone Lowcountry Red Trout Celebrity Classic raised $130,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Most importantly, that's a net total, after expenses.

Ron Silverman had already become involved with raising money for the CF Foundation in South Carolina several years ago, before finding out that Steven's daughter, Danielle, now 6 years old, had been diagnosed with CF.

"That's fabulous," Ron Silverman said, when he heard the total amount raised here this weekend.

Though they finished second overall, Stokes and Denton couldn't have been much happier. One day of fishing, 37 redfish and 4 sea trout will make you feel that way.

"We had boats on both sides of us," said Denton, who traces a friendship with Stokes back to high school and college days. "We were just wearing them out, and nobody else was catching anything."

They gave all the credit to Wilson, whose teams totaled an amazing 5,275 points in the two-day event. Just like with the Silvermans on Saturday, Wilson took his anglers to Bull's Bay on Sunday.

"It was another perfect day," Wilson said. "The water was clearer today than it was yesterday. You could see the fish and stay on them. And there was a pile of redfish in there."

They used a variety of live mullet, cut mullet, D.O.A. Shrimp and Berkley Gulp! baits and lures.

"When the tide started falling, we switched from fishing for trout to fishing for redfish," Stokes said. "That school probably had 200 fish in it. There were two oyster rakes (beds) and we set up in the middle of them. It was almost like they were a funnel."

On the celebrity side of the event, the team of Ronnie Pitts of McClellandville, S.C.. and Jay Miller of Charleston, guided by Fred Rourk of Georgetown, S.C., posted the best two-day score of anyone - 3,200 points. In the celebrity division, teams were allowed to fish with the same guide each day.

Like the Silvermans, Saturday was much better for Pitts and Miller. They caught 26 of their 34 fish that day. In their two-day total of 34 fish (22 sea trout and 12 redfish), 28 were caught on spinning tackle and artificial lures.

For the tournament, fish caught on fly tackle scored 150 points, spin tackle and artificial lures scored 75 points and bait-caught fish were worth 50 points.

"(Saturday) the trout bite was on," Rourk said. "We probably caught 50."

But "only" 17 met the 15-inch minimum length limit. Rourk said his anglers caught their fish on D.O.A. Shrimp fished under a popping cork on fluorocarbon line.

Over two days, the 32 two-man teams caught 485 fish — 183 sea trout and 302 redfish, which had an 18-inch minimum length limit.

Grand Champion Angler - Ron Silverman (guides Chris Wilson, Jamie Hough)
Celebrity Grand Champion - Ronnie Pitts (guide Fred Rourk)
Team Grand Champion Anglers - Ron & Steven Silverman (guides Chris Wilson, Jamie Hough)
Grand Champion Lady Angler - Gail McManus
Grand Champion Junior Angler - Russell Parker
Spin/Plug Division Champion - Bill Downey
Fly Division Champion - Ron Silverman
Largest Redfish - R.C. Utnik (34.75 inches)
Largest Sea Trout - Steven Silverman (20.5 inches)