Story from CCA STAR
Senior Chief Stephen Berris, USN, ret. of Corpus Christi, TX is the FIRST BLUE-Tag CERTIFIED WINNER. Steve will be awarded a 2022 Mowdy 22′ V boat with a Mercury 150L Pro XS Optimax and Coastline Trailer.
Steve and his fishing buddies, Jim and George pushed off early June 20 from North Padre Island. While running down the ditch, George asked the guys, “Where do y’all want to fish this morning?” Jim replied, “Wherever the tagged redfish are.”
George set a course to one of their tried-and-true spots on the flat near Pita Island. With the motor up and a slight breeze at their back, they floated across the extensive flat. Being the good friend that he is, Steve positioned himself at the stern of the boat to let his buddy Jim cast from the bow in hopes to get him on more fish.
With a rod and reel in hand and scattered potholes all around, Steve let his bone super spook fly. With a few twitches of the wrist that familiar sound of a topwater exploding on a calm morning set in and Steve was hooked up. He exclaimed, “She Blew it Up!”
It was not until the redfish was safely in the net before they realized that it had a BLUE- tag waving at them! With cheers all around, Steve clipped the tag and released the redfish.
With the Blue tag in hand, Steve headed off to one of our official weigh stations, Roy’s Bait & Tackle Outfitters, to turn in the BLUE Tag. Thank you, Senior Chief Stephen Berris, USN, ret for 26 years serving this country!
For more information, including a list of weigh-in stations, instant-entry registration locations in your area and weekly leader board updates, go to www.startournament.org.
