General Outdoor

CCA STAR Tournament – STILL PLENTY OF TIME TO REGISTER!

As we approach the final weeks of the 27th Annual CCA Texas STAR, keep in mind the 2016 CCA Texas STAR Tournament doesn’t end until Labor Day, September 5 at 5p.m., so there’s still plenty of time to enter!  Over fifty tagged redfish are still out there swimming and three truck/boat/motor/trailer prize packages and five boat/motor/trailer prize packages are still available to win in the Texas Ford Dealers Redfish Division.  If you are planning to go fishing between now and Labor Day, don’t wet a line without your STAR Insurance!  Joe Contreras of Corpus Christi went fishing just days before last year’s tournament ended, caught a tagged redfish and won! To register go to www.startournament.org or your local Academy Sports + Outdoors.  Don’t miss “the boat” or “the truck and boat”… register today!

Last year’s fifth tagged redfish winner was registered and went fishing with less than seventy-two hours remaining before the close of the 2015 CCA Texas STAR Tournament. Corpus Christi resident, Joe Contreras, made plans to go fishing after work with a friend the Friday before Labor Day, but the friend decided not to go after all.  Contreras was about to go home, then decided to check out the tide for bait.  The finger mullet were in close so Contreras caught some and went wade fishing.  After two hours of catching several Ladyfish, Contreras was down to one last mullet.  Contreras’ leg was really starting to kill him, so he decided he would make one last cast and count to three hundred, then go home whether he caught a fish or not.  Between the pain in his leg and trying to count, Contreras wasn’t paying very good attention to his line.   He looked up, suddenly, realizing his cork was gone.  Contreras reeled the line tight and after a short fight, he landed a nice red.  The fish was covered with grass, so Contreras tried wiping it away, but there was one more piece that would not come off of the fish.  Upon further examination, Contreras realized it wasn’t a piece of grass… it was a CCA tag covered in moss!  “I couldn’t believe my eyes!” said Contreras.  He called his brother-in-law to tell him about the fish and asked him to look up the number for the weigh station so he could go weigh-in the fish.  Contreras weighed in his 2015 tagged redfish at official STAR weigh station, Roy’s Bait & Tackle.  He passed his polygraph test and took home a 2015 loaded Ford F-150 “Texas Edition” XLT SuperCab, pulling a brand new 23’ Haynie BigFoot boat rigged with a Mercury 150L Pro XS OptiMax motor and Coastline trailer prize package last October.  “Glad I went fishing that day!” said Contreras.

Half a dozen tagged redfish have been caught so far, but only two are confirmed winners.  Congratulations to 2016’s first two tagged redfish winners, Jeff Myers of Houston and Mike Boyer of San Antonio!  Fortunately, both were registered when they caught their tagged redfish, the first at the Texas City Dike and the second at St. Charles Bay in the Rockport area.  Each lucky angler will receive a 2016 loaded Ford F-150 “Texas Edition” XLT SuperCab, pulling a brand new 23’ Haynie BigFoot boat rigged with a Mercury 150L Pro XS OptiMax motor and Coastline trailer prize package, which will be awarded at the STAR Awards Ceremony, October 7, 2016.

Keeper-sized prizes can be claimed by STAR anglers who bring in the first 10 tagged redfish.  The first five winners will drive home in a 2016 loaded Ford F-150 “Texas Edition” XLT SuperCab, pulling a brand new 23’ Haynie BigFoot boat rigged with a Mercury 150L Pro XS OptiMax motor and Coastline trailer.  The next five tagged redfish winners will each claim a 23’ Haynie BigFoot boat with a Mercury 150L Pro XS OptiMax motor and Coastline trailers.

Last year ten tagged redfish were caught, but only five anglers claimed prizes.  The others, unfortunately, were not registered for the CCA Texas STAR.

Other fish can net big rewards in the tournament.  STAR contestants who catch the largest speckled trout in the north, central and southern regions of the Texas Coast will each take home the legendary Mowdy 22 V, powered with a Suzuki DF150 4S motor and Coastline trailer.  STAR blue water anglers who land the heaviest kingfish, dorado and ling (cobia) in the Offshore Division will each win the awesome Polaris Ranger Crew 570 EPS UVs in Polaris Pursuit Camo each with a Big Tex 35sa Trailer.  In the Inshore Division the Shoalwater 19’ Cat boat, Mercury 115 ELPT 4S motor and McClain trailer will also be given to the anglers for netting the biggest flounder, gafftop and sheepshead.

In hopes of luring more youth to the sport of fishing, the STAR Scholarship Divisions offer a total of ten college scholarships in $25,000 and $50,000 increments.  STAR participants, ages 6-10, who catch the largest flounder, sheepshead or gafftop will each be awarded a $50,000 college scholarship.  Participants, 11-17 years of age, who catch the largest flounder, sheepshead or gafftop, as well as, the largest speckled trout in each of the three Texas Coast regions (north, central and south) will each be awarded a $25,000 college scholarship.  In addition to these nine scholarship offerings participants, ages 6-17 years old in 2016, are eligible for a bonus drawing that will net one lucky youth a $25,000 college scholarship even if the participant never wets a line or enters a single fish during the entire tournament!

Major sponsors for the 27th Annual CCA Texas/STAR Tournament include Texas Ford Dealers, Tilson Home Corporation, Capital Farm Credit, Academy Sports + Outdoors, Whataburger, LP Building Products, Rio Ammunition, KTRK-abc13, Houston Community Newspapers & Media Group, Mercury Marine, Haynie Boats, Mowdy Boats, Dargel Boats, Shoalwater Boats, Hoffpauir Polaris, Texas Fish & Game Magazine, Texas Oilman’s Charity Fishing Tournament, Coastline Trailers, McClain Trailers, Chris’s Marine and Mt. Houston Marine.

CCA Texas STAR is a members’ only tournament.  To participate and win the prizes, you must you must be a current CCA member and registered for the 2016 STAR Tournament.    For ages 18 and up, CCA Membership Fee is $30 and STAR Entry Fee $20 for a total of $50.  For ages 6-17, CCA Membership Fee is $10.  As long as the youth paid the $10 CCA membership fee, they can participate in the tournament at no charge.  Go to www.ccamembership.org or Academy Sports + Outdoors to sign up today.

For more information, including a list of weigh-in stations, instant-entry registration locations in your area and weekly leader board updates, go to http://www.startournament.org.

CCA Texas is a nonprofit organization of sportfishing enthusiasts and conservationist working to save the natural resources of Texas coastal waters.  CCA Texas’ Web page can be found at http://www.ccatexas.org.

TF&G Staff

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