By Jessica Domel
Multimedia Reporter

Texas anglers have a chance to win a new truck and boat, all-terrain vehicle, boat and trailer package and college scholarships this summer as part of the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) of Texas’ annual STAR tournament.

The State of Texas Anglers Rodeo (STAR) kicks-off coast-wide at 6 a.m. Saturday and runs through 6 p.m. on Labor Day.

“CCA Texas’ STAR Tournament is a wonderful opportunity to get Texans and families on the water,” Ryan Towns, assistant tournament director, said. “There are over a million dollars in prizes and scholarships for this fishing tournament.”

Anglers must be members of CCA Texas and entered into the STAR Tournament to be eligible for prizes.

“The STAR Tournament acts as a membership drive for CCA Texas,” Towns said. “Your CCA membership helps support the reef projects we have going on up and down the coast. In joining the STAR Tournament, you are helping conserve Texas’ marine resources for future generations.”

There are 13 different divisions for anglers this year—both inshore and offshore.

In the red-tagged redfish division, the first five anglers who catch a redfish, clip the tag, release the fish and then turn in the tag win a 2023 Ford F-150 pickup truck, a 23-foot Haynie Bigfoot, Mercury motor and Coastline trailer package.

“We release 120 tagged redfish up and down all 600 miles of Texas coastline,” Towns said in an interview the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network. “We release them at piers, jetties, docks, boat ramps and into the bay systems by boat. Even if you don’t have a boat, you have a great chance of catching one of these tagged redfish.”

The first five anglers who bring in a blue tag from a redfish will with a 220 SVT Cat with a raised center console, a 150 Mercury motor and Coastline trailer package.

The redfish division remains catch-and-release only to allow the fishery to continue to recover after the winter storm in 2021.

“It helps repopulate the redfish into our bay system,” Towns said. “Texas has the two largest warm water and saltwater hatcheries anywhere in the world. One is in Lake Jackson, and the other is in Corpus (Christi). They just released some numbers. They have introduced 970,820,000 fingerlings into our bay systems with 822,000 of those being red drum.”

The inshore division this year rewards anglers who bring in the heaviest sheepshead, gafftop and black drum.

The winners of those categories at the end of the tournament will take home a 2023 Shoalwater 19-foot Cat Boat with a 115 horsepower Mercury motor and a McClain trailer.

“For black drum, we have our own specific slot for it, which is 24 to 28 inches,” Towns said.

Inshore anglers have 24 hours to have their fish weighed at a participating scale location or turn in the tags from the tagged redfish.

A list of STAR weigh-in stations is available on STARTournament.org.

This year, the winners of the offshore division will walk away with Polaris Ranger ATVs. There are four categories: kingfish, cobia (ling), dorado and snapper.

“For the kingfish, it’s a 30 pound minimum. Dorado is a 20 pound minimum. Ling, or cobia, is a 50 pound minimum, and red snapper is a 20 pound minimum,” Towns said. “For the offshore guys, you have 36 hours to bring your catch to the weigh in station.”

The fishing tournament offers youth and teens the opportunity to win money to continue their education.

“For our young anglers, six to 17 years old, we have great, great prizes for those guys. For the gafftop and sheepshead divisions’ first place, the angler’s going to go home with $30,000. Second place is $20,000, third place is $15,000, fourth is $7,500, and fifth is $2,500,” Towns said.  “Every kid that’s on that final leaderboard is going to go home with some sort of continuing education scholarship, whether they want to do that at a traditional college, a technical school or a trade school.”

Anglers can sign up for the fishing tournament, view the rules, a leaderboard and full list of prizes at STARTournament.org.