The winning team in the Guided Bait division of last weekends Redsnook Catch and Release Charity Tournament from left to right are Captain Aron Blaisdell, Dan Summers and Mike Watkins. The tournament benefited the Conservancy of Southwest Florida's juvenile snook study.

The earlybird might catch the worm, but it’s the early guide who catches the shiner that catches the fish that wins the tournament.

For last weekend’s Redsnook Catch and Release Charity Tournament benefiting the Conservancy of Southwest Florida’s juvenile snook study, Captain Aron Blaisdell wasn’t big on strategy, but he was big on common sense.

Having served as an inshore guide in Naples for the past nine years, Blaisdell knew that the tides in the 10,000 Islands could get low, which would make catching the tournament’s target fish - snook, redfish and tarpon - difficult for his team of Dan Summers and Michael Watkins.

With great help from Blaisdell’s planning, Summers and Watkins, fishing in the event’s guided bait division, took home the first place trophy Sunday night.

“The hardest part of the tournament for everybody was trying to catch three redfish each day,” Blaisdell said. “Anytime you fish in backwater, tide is really important. The water was going out so it was getting really low fast both tournament days. And once the tide gets low, a lot of shallow areas we fish, get exposed and we can’t fish them.

“My theory was to get redfish first while the tide was up and it worked out, and luckily we got our snook in the same spot.”

According to Blaisdell, Summers and Watkins were able to catch all the fish they needed each day by 8 a.m., a time when many of their competitors were still scouting for baitfish.

“We used shiners for bait,” Blaisdell said. “I caught them the day before and penned them up so my team was all ready to go. We didn’t have to catch bait in the morning, so we could go right to our first spot. I think that helped.

“We had all our fish in the first hour each day. My whole job as a guide is to put people on fish, and that’s what I was able to do.”

The tournament, long affiliated with the YMCA, but now in its second year benefiting the Conservancy, was able to raise more than $60,000 for the Conservancy’s juvenile snook research study - the first in this area in 30 years. Also participating in the event were fishing great and Golden Gate resident Roland Martin and former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Mike Alstott.

At the awards ceremony last Sunday in downtown Naples, Watkins and Summers gave all credit for their victory to Blaisdell.

“I’m really happy,” Summers said. “Our guide was great. All credit goes to him. Aron really knows his stuff.”