CCA Florida STAR 2023 Tournament runs from May 27 to Sep 4, 2023
The 2023 CCA Florida STAR competition presented by Yamaha will offer more opportunities to win than ever before.
The 100-day, summer-long competition begins Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and invites CCA members, non-members, anglers and non-anglers to take a shot at winning their share of prizes valued at OVER $500,000 including boats, motors, electronics, tackle, scholarships and more. The winning begins even before the competition does with the early registration package providing a complimentary raffle ticket to win a Hewes Redfisher, 25% discount from T H Marine, and free access to the Redfish Mastery course from Salt Strong.
But it's not just about anglers winning but the fishery too. Not only can participants become winners they will become citizen biologists and citizen garbologists by submitting photos of their catch or garbage collected during the competition in the STAR app. In order to win participants must take their entry photo on the 2023 CCA FL STAR Official Measuring device which can be picked up for free after May 20th in any West Marine store or one of the many other STAR distribution locations throughout Florida.
The CCA Florida STAR competition presented by Yamaha has a division for everyone, from the non-angler to the experienced angler. It is comprised of 15 divisions targeting 12 inshore and offshore species plus the Costa Kick Plastic Trash Division presented by Papa's Pilar which encourages cleanup of trash from Florida's coastal waters. STAR’s signature Tagged Redfish Division offers 7 winners , 5 adults and 2 youth, the choice of a Contender Boats 22 Sport, Pathfinder Boats 2200 TRS and STAR would like to welcome back Carolina Skiff offering the 162 JLS. STAR has additional new Tagged Redfish sponsors with Dek Kat Boats offering a 27 Flatz Kat and Sea Doo and Can-am offering a fun package of a Sea Doo FishPro Trophy and the can-am Defender. Each boat will be powered by a Yamaha, the competitions presenting sponsor. Be the first winning tagged redfish angler for your choice of all these packages as your prize.
Once again in 2023, we have the ALTA SUPER STAR tagged redfish swimming in Florida waters and if it is recaptured, the winner will receive $50,000 cash! For the first two youth anglers who win in this division, prizes include a tiller boat powered with Yamaha Outboard, trailer, Minn Kota trolling motor and Humminbird electronics.
Each of Florida's coastal counties will have on average 4 tagged redfish for a total of over 160 prize winning fish. The best opportunity to catch one of this year’s tagged redfish will be in Citrus and Charlotte Counties, STAR’s 2023 Destination Counties which each have 8 tagged redfish in their coastal waters.
For the offshore anglers, the Tigress Outriggers and Gear Tagged Dolphin Division offers one winner a $10,000 cash prize. The first STAR registrant and CCA Florida member who catches one of the tagged dolphin will win. Twenty dolphin (Mahi Mahi) will be tagged and released for STAR in the lower keys of Florida.
STAR is a family-friendly competition, and CCA Florida youth members (ages 6 to 17) can participate for free. Kids are encouraged to submit entries in the Youth Scholarship Division presented by Realtree Fishing for an opportunity to win one of twelve scholarships totaling $100,000. To date the Florida STAR competition has awarded $800,000 in scholarships to youth from all over the state. Another great component of STAR for youth participants is they can earn 30 minutes of community service for every 5-gallon bucket of trash they pick up from Florida's coastal waters and submit via the STAR app.
Other divisions include the Power Pole Conservation Division, Bonafide Kayak Division and Ladies Division as well as the Yamaha Guides which allows guides to participate when they are not on a charter for hire. Since most division winners are determined by a random drawing, it is not about catching the biggest fish, any size fish can win. Remember, it is very simple really, every fish you catch between Saturday, Memorial Day weekend and Monday, Labor Day offers the CCA member who is registered in STAR the opportunity to win their share of nearly $500,000 in prizes and scholarships. But you can't win If you are not registered.
Not only is the STAR competition a wonderful way for participants to win amazing prizes it is a tool to gather catch data, it creates awareness for conservation, our sponsors and CCA Florida. Launched in 2015, the competition has set the bar for other fishing tournaments to follow by implementing conservation friendly alternatives such a catch-photo-release format and a trash division. Florida STAR focuses on conservation with its technology-based, CPR format and dedicated smartphone app which promotes the proper handling of species and allows participants who are members of CCA and registered in the competition to upload photos of their catch or trash buckets in the STAR competition and be rewarded for their efforts. This eliminates the requirement that some traditional tournaments have to harvest or capture and transport fish to win. CCA Florida also provides access to the data collected from the app to other conservation organizations and universities to help educate the public on the importance of protecting Florida’s marine resources and for use in their studies on conservation, habitat and stock assessments.
About CCA Florida
The Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) was founded in 1977 after drastic commercial overfishing along the Texas coast decimated redfish and speckled trout populations. One of 19 state chapters, CCA Florida became the fifth state chapter in 1985. A 501(c)3 non-profit, the purpose of CCA is to advise and educate the public on conservation of marine resources. Through habitat restoration projects, water quality initiatives and fisheries advocacy, CCA Florida works with its over 19,000 members including recreational anglers and outdoor enthusiasts to conserve and enhance marine resources and coastal environments. Join the conversation on Facebook page or learn more at ccaflorida.org.
