The annual Memorial Day Kids Fishing Tournament, sponsored by the Port O’Connor Chamber of Commerce, had a great turn out, despite all the rain we have had! Approximately 48 kids showed up and gave it their very best! Many fished from the pier, and some along the banks of King Fisher beach and the little jetties. Winners for age group 3-5 were Danica Mendoza for most fish (16), Reagan Butler for smallest fish (2 ¼”), and Emery Kubenka for largest fish (15 ½”). Winners for age group 6-8 were Hunter Leiker for most fish (42), Faith Boysen for smallest fish (2 ¼”) and Jordan Butler for largest fish (20 ¼”). Winners for age group 9-12 were Marshall Plummor for most fish (32), Carrigan Pohler for smallest fish (2 ½”), and Morgan Butler for largest fish (23”). A HUGE thanks to POC Rod & Gun, The Two RV Park and Beacon 44 Seafood for their sponsorships and help. Also, a HUGE thank you to Brent Hart, Mike Overton and Debbie Michalek for their hospitality and help at the tournament. To see more pictures, go to our Port O’Connor Chamber of Commerce Facebook page!

Along with the Kids Fishing Tournament on the same day was the annual Kite Flying Contest sponsored by Coastal Bend Marine. The winds were awesome for the beautiful colors in the air! There were all shapes, sizes and colors flying through the skies! Thank you Karie Skalak and your team for helping out… judging was not easy… competition was TOUGH!!!! Awards were given for Highest Flying, Most Colorful, Best Trick, the First Up, Best Theme, Longest Flying and Most Unique. For more pics of our kites flying over King Fisher Beach, check out the Port O’Connor Chamber of Commerce Facebook page!

Kids Tournament Winners, Ages 3-5

Kids Tournament Winners, Ages 6-8

Winners, ages 9-12:
Biggest Fish
Morgan Butler 23 inch fish
Smallest Fish
Carrigan Pohler
2 1/2 inch Fish
Most Fish
Marshal Plummor
32 Total Fish

Kite Flyers

And they’re off! Volunteers with Coastal Conservation Association of Texas are currently hard at work releasing tagged redfish worth up to $100,000 each from Sabine to South Padre Island. This years’ CCA Texas STAR Tournament, kicking off at 6 a.m. May 29 and running through 6 p.m. September 6, will have a different look than what Texas anglers have seen before. Due to the effects of Winter Storm Uri on coastal ecosystems, the CCA Texas STAR volunteer committee voted to do what they can to minimize our impact on affected fish stocks. All while adding to the $1,000,000 in prizes and scholarships up for grabs!

For the first 31 years of the STAR Tournament, the Texas Ford Dealers Tagged Redfish Division has always been the favorite division of most anglers, with sixty of the specially tagged fish released across the coast. This year STAR is expanding on this model and will feature FOUR tagged redfish divisions, tripling the number to nearly 200 TAGGED REDFISH released along the coast! The Texas Ford Dealers Tagged Redfish Division will remain the same with the first five eligible anglers who catch one of these red tags, taking home a Ford F-150, Haynie boat, Mercury motor, and Coastline trailer package, and the next five taking home the same boat package.

The first new tagged redfish division is the Blue Tag Division. The first three Blue Tag winners will take home a 22’ Mowdy boat, Mercury motor, and Coastline trailer package. The next six anglers will receive a $750 Academy Sports + Outdoor gift card.

As much as we all loved the STAR Gafftop and other species in the Inshore Division, they have been replaced     for now by the Green Tag Division.  The first three Green Tag winners will take home a 19’ Shoalwater boat, Mercury motor, and McClain trailer package. The next six anglers will receive a $750 Academy Sports + Outdoor gift card.

For those young STAR anglers, we have the STAR Youth Division. Any entrant between 6 and 17 years old who catches a Green or Blue Tag will each receive a $30,000 college scholarship!
There is one other MAJOR CHANGE to this years’ tournament, ALL tagged redfish categories are mandatory catch and release! Anglers now just have cut, pull, or clip off the exposed portion of the tag and turn it in to their nearest weigh station. Catch, Clip and Claim!

So grab the kids, grab your fishing poles, get your STAR entry and head for the coast this summer to claim your share of over $1,000,000 in prizes and scholarships!

When: May 29- September 6

Where: All 600 miles of Texas coast. From Louisiana to Mexico.

What: 2021 Coastal Conservation Association State of Texas Anglers Rodeo (STAR).

They say separation makes the heart grow fonder so let me start by confirming that theory as fact as it is great to be back writing this column after a couple months off.

During that small hiatus, I moved back South from Illinois, just not as west as when I was in Port Lavaca and the great state of Texas and I now find myself living in the city of Knoxville in the good state of Tennessee.

It’s part of Appalachian territory technically and I’m right near the Smokie Mountains as well so it has been a different experience than other locations I’ve lived, as so far, everything is up a hill or down a hill and the roads in parts look like something you’d see in a cross country car race, with twists and turns like you’ve never seen.

I’m also living in a trailer that has a patch of forest behind it, so other adjustments have been listening to the new sounds nature has brought to my porch and my ears, from the car alarm like drone of the cicadas to what had to be a coyote.

All in all, it’s nice to get out and see a bit more of this great country of ours and interestingly enough this is as far east as I’ve ever gone, and because this is an area dominated by those aforementioned hills and mountains, it’s also quite beautiful at times.

It also of course has its issues…

If you’re used to flat land, those hills and mountains can feel a bit much when you’re carrying a bag of heavy trash up a steep incline to the dumpster.

Any time you’re so close to nature that you can hear it as I described above, it also means you get to be involved with nature in other ways as well, such as the ant colony that has decided that this trailer would also make a nice home for them as well, or at the very least a canteen line.

To say nothing of the carpenter bees, which loved digging into the railings on the deck but so far have refused the charms of my forty dollar plus carpenter bee trap.

Of course these are the joys of living anywhere in any state; there will always be little details that are less than perfect but it is how we adapt to them and take on those challenges and changes that really show us who we are in a way.

So in the end what do I want to find here in this new place?

Hopefully it is a home, be it brief or for a long period of time, although no other area will ever take the place of the Chicagoland area, hopefully in Tennessee, much like Texas, I can find another place that I also think of just as fondly, if not call home.