For Immediate Release
Florida’s Gulf Coast — How do you turn a redfish into a brand new boat? Catch a CCA Florida STAR tagged redfish and you could win a brand new boat, motor, trailer package! That’s the premise behind the inaugural Coastal Conservation Association Florida State-wide Tournament and Anglers Rodeo (STAR). STAR anglers will compete for a total of nearly $500,000 in prizes and college scholarships during the summer long tournament which runs from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day. Entry fees are just $30 for current CCA members and $60 for non-members, which includes a one year CCA membership. Have an angler age 6 to 17 that would enjoy participating? CCA New Tide members fish the STAR for free for a chance to win a share of up to $100,000 in college scholarships.
STAR Florida is a 108 day long tournament designed to encourage anglers to get out and enjoy more time on the water and to educate the general public about the importance of conservation of Florida’s marine resources. The format encourages anglers of all ages to protect and conserve Florida’s fishery resources for future viability and availability for all recreational anglers. By promoting participation in STAR, CCA Florida will aid in the collection of significant scientific data while providing anglers of all skill levels with the opportunity to participate in a family-friendly angling competition. All STAR participants should develop a heightened appreciation for the challenges facing Florida’s fishery resources and should thereby develop a newfound awareness of the efforts needed to preserve them.
The signature division, STAR tagged redfish, will have Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and CCA Florida officials releasing up to 80 STAR tagged redfish along the west coast of Florida several days prior to the start of the tournament. These specially tagged redfish will be released throughout hundreds of miles of Florida’s gulf coast and bays, from Pensacola to the Everglades National Park.
Terrific prizes can be claimed by STAR participants who catch and bring in the first 6 STAR tagged redfish. The first six tagged redfish winners will claim a brand new boat, motor and trailer package including a Contender 22 Sport, a Pathfinder 2200 TRS and a Hell’s Bay Waterman. All boat packages come complete with Yamaha motors and custom trailers. Donors like Costa Del Mar, Power Pole, Wells Fargo Bank, Papa’s Pilar, Florida Sportsman Magazine, Shimano, Raymarine, Finlandia and LIVETARGET have also made significant donations that will go to support scholarships and other prize categories.
In addition to the tagged redfish division, STAR will also feature Catch & Photo contests in the Open, Ladies, Fly and Kayak divisions with the eligible species being spotted seatrout, snook, cobia and sheepshead. All categories except the Tagged redfish division are catch and photo, allowing all STAR anglers to release fish to be caught again another day. STAR will utilize a state of the art smartphone app and website to allow anglers to submit their catch.
In hopes of luring more young anglers to the sport of fishing, STAR offers a Scholarship Division with prizes valued at $100,000. The Youth Scholarship Division will provide two winners a $25,000 college scholarship each and an additional ten winners a college scholarship of $5,000 each.* STAR will offer FREE entry to participants ages 6 to 17 who are current New Tide members. STAR participants, ages 6 thru 17, who enter a spotted seatrout, snook, cobia, sheepshead, ladyfish or jack crevalle in the Scholarship Division will be eligible for the drawing of the winners in that division.
Another featured division, unique to Florida STAR, is the Conservation division. This division is designed to reward anglers who provide the most catch data on all fish caught and released, no matter what species or size, while fishing in the STAR tournament. To date there has been little or no catch data provided by recreational anglers or tournament participants to the fisheries management community. The non-tournament species data combined with the tournament species catch data will be extremely instrumental in science-based fisheries management. Therefore the quantity and quality of the catch data provided via the STAR Smart phone application and website will be a benchmark initiative.
STAR will also have a Professional Guides division which offers licensed charter captains the ability to win prizes based on the number of clients they register for the tournament.
Every angler skilled enough to catch a fish has the chance to be a winner. Winners of STAR will not be determined by the length or weight of their catch. To be eligible to win, participating members need only enter a photo of their qualifying catch through STAR’s smartphone app or website.
STAR is not a new concept for CCA. CCA Texas STAR is in its 25th year and in 2013 had over 45,000 angler participants making it the largest saltwater tournament in the country. CCA Louisiana STAR is in its 20th year with over 11,000 angler participants, making STAR the largest saltwater tournament in their state. In 2013, CCA Texas STAR had eleven tagged redfish caught but only six anglers claimed prizes. The others, unfortunately, were not registered for the tournament and therefore could not claim a prize. This year in STAR Louisiana, the first two tagged redfish caught were by anglers who were CCA members but were not registered for STAR and therefore could not claim a prize.
STAR is a not-for-profit entity. There is an entry fee of $30 for CCA members; non-members are $60, which includes membership. Youth 6 to 17 enter FREE, if they are a New Tide member of CCA. New Tide membership is $10.00. Registration for STAR is easy. Visit www.CCAFLSTAR.com to enter.
The first year of STAR will be limited to the West coast of Florida, although anglers throughout Florida are eligible to participate. A stated goal of STAR in future years is to expand to all Florida state waters, including the east coast and the Florida Keys. In doing so, the tournament will eventually include other species in its format (pelagics, for example). Your help is needed to promote and sponsor this CCA initiative. The major focus of STAR is to educate recreational anglers and the general public about the importance of conservation of Florida’s marine resources.
For further information or sponsorship opportunities of the State-wide Tournament and Anglers Rodeo (STAR) please contact: Leiza Fitzgerald, Tournament Director, 352-665-4860, Lfitzgerald@CCAFlorida.org or go to www.CCAFLSTAR.com .
Coastal Conservation Association Florida
Dedicated to Conserving and Protecting Florida’s Marine Resources