and will award $17,500 in prizes to the three guides who register the most anglers for the tournament. “Where most recreational tourna-
ments exclude guides, we wanted to find a way to help the guys and gals who are some of CCA’s best supporters and often our eyes and ears on the water,” said Fitzergald, a licensed char- ter boat captain who developed the Guides Division. STAR is a nonprofit tournament
focused on attracting people to Florida’s outstanding saltwater resources. It gets families on the water and helps educate all anglers about the importance of conserving and protecting their coastal resources. Last year, Texas, with less than 400 miles of coastline, had 45,000 people fish STAR. By comparison, Florida enjoys more than 1,300 miles of coastline and boasts more than 1.2 mil- lion licensed saltwater anglers. With numbers like that, CCA Florida hopes to reach thousands of new anglers every year through the STAR Tournament. “This tournament represents the
most exciting opportunity in our history to educate the public about Florida’s marine resources and how we can best
preserve the future for our children,” said CCA Florida Chairman Bill Camp. Much of the excitement over this
tournament stems from the enthusiasm of the sponsors that have provided overwhelming support to the launch of the Florida STAR.
The newer boat sponsors, Hell’s Bay “Maverick Boat Company has been
an integral part of the success of CCA Florida for more than 25 years and they have stepped up once again with another donated Pathfinder bay boat,” said Brian Gorski, CCA Florida execu- tive director.
Boatworks and Contender, have lent incredibly strong support as well. In addition to the boats already donated for Florida’s banquet program, these corporate stewards of our marine resources have each donated a second boat for STAR prizes. Other donors like Power Pole, Wells Fargo Bank, Costa, Papa’s Pilar, Florida Sportsman Maga - zine, Shimano, Raymarine, Finlandia and LIVETARGET have also made significant donations that will go to support scholarships and other prize categories. During its first two years, CCA
Florida STAR will release tagged fish on the west coast of the state providing an opportunity to catch a tagged red- fish from Pensacola through the southern reaches of Everglades National Park. After those first two years, Florida expects to expand STAR tagged fish to the entire state and will potentially include more species. For complete rules and to enter
Florida STAR, visit
CCAFLSTAR.com, and make plans to get in on the action this summer.
10
www.joincca.org
TIDE
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64