Two tagged redfish already caught for STAR tournament

BATON ROUGE — It didn’t take long for fishermen to pluck two tagged redfish from the water in the 26th annual CCA Louisiana Statewide Tournament and Angler’s Rodeo presented by Chevron.

The STAR contest began May 23, a week ago Saturday. Already, James Loup and Lloyd Pickering are potential winners.

On Saturday morning, Loup saw an advertisement for the STAR in an email. He “broke down and registered,” according to a prepared statement by Rad Trascher, STAR tournament director.

Loup went to work for a few hours, then went after crawfish and redfish with his wife. As luck, all good, would have it, he hooked and boated the first of 100 tagged redfish of the 2020 STAR Tournament, left the fishing spot and weighed it at Nick’s Marina in Lafitte.

Pending further investigation and stress test results, that lucky cast will net him a brand new Chevy Silverado donated by the Super Chevy Dealers of Acadiana, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Trascher said Wednesday.

“I am so excited. If you are not a member or signed up for the STAR, please do so, it’s a great program that helps protect our pastime,” Loup said.

“We are happy for James, who has been a faithful Ride the Bull participant for years, that he decided to sign up for STAR and it paid off,” the CCA Louisiana official said, noting it was Loup’s first time entering the STAR.

The excitement barely had time to settle down before another tagged redfish was caught and weighed.

On Monday evening, Pickering, of Baton Rouge, another first-time STAR participant, sought shelter during a storm and went inside Port Fourchon Marina. He asked the manager what tournaments were going on this summer and she said one, then handed him a STAR brochure.

Pickering filled out the form and sent it in. A few hours later, the angler caught a tagged redfish, returned to the marina and had it weighed.

Pending further investigation and stress test results, Pickering will win a Keystone Passport travel tailer from Bent’s RV, Trascher said.

A third tagged redfish was caught over the holiday weekend by an unregistered angler.

“So there are 97 tagged redfish still out there and some incredible prizes, including NauticStar and Mercury boat packages and Gatortail boat packages, and that’s just for the Tagged Redfish Division,” Trascher said.

If the first two tagged redfish hold up, he said, the next three prizes are 195 NauticStar and Mercury Outboard boat packages. The sixth- through 10-prizes are Gatortail boat, motor and trailer packages.

STAR Chairman Snoop Roth said, “Special thanks to the Super Chevy Dealers and Bent’s RV for providing such great prizes. And we still have a ton of other great prizes, including the bonus prize money from the Louisiana Sportsman Magazine, so don’t forget to become a subscriber.”

There are eight tagged redfish swimming in and around Vermilion Bay and Marsh Island thanks to Corry Landry of New Iberia. The CCA-Louisiana southwest region director tagged and released them the week before the tournament began.

For more information call 225-952-9200.