There are not many days left in the 2022 CCA Texas STAR Tournament, and we have too many unclaimed prizes still swimming out there, which means y’all have an excellent opportunity to catch that fish of a lifetime!

As you may know, we released 123 tagged redfish along the Texas coast, averaging a release every 4.8 miles. They were released from the boat ramps, piers, jetties, bridges, channels, flats, or popular spots where people fish, with most being released from shore. Typically, I will get on a mobile map app and search for popular fishing spots in my area for intel. Then, I’ll look at the winds, tides, and water temperatures before determining the spot to fish.

If you have been following our CCA Texas STAR Tournament social media pages, there are breadcrumbs to follow. For example, our most recent post highlighted the latest red-tagged redfish caught by Kasey Arnst at Virginia Point in Galveston. Check the satellite view on your favorite mobile map app to see where this tagged redfish was caught. What catches my eye about this spot first are the break walls a half-mile north of the causeway bridge. These break walls create a structure for smaller bait fish to hide in and around, making them easy pickings for redfish who love effortless meals. Next, check the wind conditions for July 11 in Galveston. That afternoon, the wind was out of the south. With the south wind, the bait fish around the causeway get blown into that Virginia Point shoreline. In Kasey’s case, the first place those bait fish feel comfortable stopping is in shallow water near the shoreline or at some structure (i.e., a break wall).

As we dig a little further into this post, we find out that Kasey was using mud minnows for bait that he caught with a cast net on the north shoreline, where all the bait was blown up that afternoon. When you step back and look at each of these variables: structure, wind, and bait, you can begin to work through these scenarios on any given day and apply the knowledge to your next outing for a more educated opportunity to catch a tagged redfish.
Go back through our tagged redfish winner posts and read between the lines to extract more insight. We really need the help of our CCA-registered anglers to claim these prizes, so get out there and plan your next fishing trip! https://www.startournament.org

– Ryan Towns, Assistant Director, CCA Texas STAR Tournament

Join us for a coastwide fall cleanup on the Texas coast!

Sat, September 17, 2022
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Boggy Nature Park, Port O’Connor
King Fisher Beach, Port O’Connor

Check-in opens at 8:30 am. The cleanup begins at 9 a.m. and runs until noon.

Roxanne Ochoa, King Fisher Beach Clean Up Organizer: roxochoa7@gmail.com

Online registration will remain open until noon on Saturday, September 17th. For more information, contact the Site Coordinator listed for the site you want to visit. You can also call the Texas General Land Office Adopt-A-Beach program at 1-877-TX-COAST (892-6278).

About the Texas Adopt-A-Beach Program:

Since our first cleanup in 1986, more than 557,000 Texas Adopt-A-Beach volunteers have picked up more than 9,700 tons of trash from Texas beaches, some of it originating from as far away as South America.

A Mississippi Kite at rest on a power line.-Photo by Mike Williams

I recently moved into a different home, leaving the bayou front for a wooded city block. We will miss the water birds, but we’re already finding a whole new set of birds to enjoy! To me, exploring new places to see what bird species, and other flora and fauna, are around the next corner is what makes birding so interesting and exciting! What will I encounter next? I can’t say how many hundreds, maybe thousands, of times, I had my breath taken away by nature’s beauty, complexity, and intricacies.

One of the first birds I heard from the trees behind the yard was the distinctive call of a Mississippi Kite! I’ve never lived in a place where kites nest in the neighborhood before. I knew they used residential neighborhoods to nest and to raise their young, and I’ve seen them in other’s yards before, but… here is our “own” pair! It will be a pleasure to walk out into the yard in the morning hearing that call! It will be nice just knowing that they’re there, at least till it’s time for them to head south for the winter. We had a pair of Great Horned Owls we enjoyed watching across the bayou, on the island, at the old house. Now we have the opportunity to watch these kites!

And who knows what wintering bird may show up! There is always a rotation of different birds coming or going, or just moving through. It’s part of that newness that really never gets old in the birding world. And at the same time it’s also a welcome reoccurrence when the winter birds show up or when spring brings the summer birds, and so on. There’s always something to enjoy and look forward to.

Birds, besides being little engineered marvels, can take your mind off the daily issues of this world and your life. And they normally bring you outdoors, which is just plain good for you anyhow! We know, through studies and science, that spending time outdoors helps us in so many ways, both physically and emotionally. And there is nothing like the peace one gets when you can escape into the wilderness, even just a tiny, wooded patch somewhere, or on the water, anywhere really. It reduces your stress level greatly.

There are so many ways to enjoy birds and birding, even if it’s just through your kitchen window at home. Maybe you put up a feeder or two, or a big array of them! Maybe you enjoy the birds in the city park, or on the beach when you visit. Or maybe you get really bitten by the birding bug and buy fancy binoculars and travel all over the world. That’s the beauty of enjoying birds… you can do it at any level and anywhere you wish. I have the privilege of enjoying birds through my work here at the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory! It’s still work, but what a very nice perk!

Take some time and watch the birds around you this summer. They are everywhere, albeit in a much-reduced number than years past, but they are here. Enjoy them. Do what you can to protect what we have left. And let them help you through the day!