Thursday, June 14, 2001

A $50,000 redfish

David Adame/Caller-Times

Rick Rosenberg holds up the tagged redfish that will allow him to replace his rusty Dodge pickup with a new Ford F-150 XLT four-door truck. Rosenberg said he would have been more excited if his son had caught the fish, ‘but I’m still having fun with this.’

Rick Rosenberg's first cast of the afternoon produced a mild backlash on his new Shimano reel, a gift from his family.
   This was not a sign of things to come.
   On Sunday, Rosenberg was waist deep, wade-fishing and determined to catch more fish than his 23-year-old son, Seth, who soon would be going off to the police academy in Dallas. Through the years, a touch of friendly competition has raised the stakes during fishing trips for this Flour Bluff builder and son, who have been fishing partners since Seth was a small boy.
   Dad, however, was about to clinch the title - possibly for life.
   He calmly sent his second cast deep into the waters near Packery Channel - and hooked a new Ford F-150 XLT four-door pickup, hitched to a Magnum galvanized trailer with a Blue Wave 220 Super Tunnel, equipped with a 150 horsepower Mercury.
   What a catch for a Sunday afternoon.
   Rosenberg had hooked one of 60 specially tagged redfish in the annual Coastal Conservation Association Texas STAR Tournament. Officials tagged 60 redfish, then released them along the Texas coast in May. Anglers who are entered in the event spend three months trying to catch one of the prized 60.
   Rosenberg's redfish was the first tagged fish reported to have been caught. A second tagged redfish was caught Monday by an unregistered angler near Pita Island. A third was caught Tuesday in Matagorda Bay.
   That leaves 57. The tournament ends on Labor Day.
   Passing the lie detector
   The first five qualified anglers who catch tagged redfish will win the $50,000 truck/boat packages if they can pass a polygraph test to verify they were entered at the time the fish was caught and that they caught the fish. The next five tagged redfish result in boat/motor/trailer packages.
   Rosenberg is scheduled to take his polygraph Tuesday.
   As the small redfish came into sight, Rosenberg considered throwing it back, he said.

Contributed photo

This Ford F-150 is similar to the one Rick Rosenberg will receive once he passes a lie detector test to ensure that he fairly caught a tagged redfish.

   "I looked at the fish as I was reeling it in and noticed it was pretty nasty looking," he said. "It was all beat up with red blotches on its stomach. I didn't want to keep it. We release a lot of our fish anyway."
   But then, Rosenberg saw a thin red tag extending from near the 21¤ -inch fish's dorsal fin. His heartbeat quickened.
   Still, Rosenberg assumed it might be some sort of conservation tag, put there to help biologists track redfish.
   He adjusted his eyeglasses for a closer look. And through his bifocals read "CCA STAR."
   His grip tightened.
   Family excitement

Where you can learn more For STAR information, call (713) 626-STAR (7827) or visit www.ccatexas.org.

   Rosenberg's son was so excited he wanted to end the trip then. But Rosenberg placed the fish on his stringer and said no. They could verify their prize later, he decided. The fish were biting and there was still at least three hours of daylight to burn.
   "I would have been more excited if Seth had caught it," Rosenberg said. "But I'm still having fun with this."
   Rosenberg explained that good fortune almost didn't shine on him.
   On the fence
   Two hours before catching his $50,000 fish, he and his son had stood at the counter of Roy's Bait and Tackle Outfitters, debating whether to sign up for what Rosenberg calls the sportsman's lottery. Both anglers had been annual STAR entrants since the tournament began 12 years ago. Neither had ever won anything.
   This year, the younger Rosenberg had decided against entering because of his pending move to Dallas. But Dad was still on the fence.
   Luck was bound to change

STAR Tournament In the annual CCA STAR Tournament, anglers enter to catch one of 60 specially tagged redfish from May 26 through Labor Day. The redfish caught by Rick Rosenberg was the first tagged contest fish reported to have bee caught so far this year. Two others have since been reported. There are 57 left in coastal waters. The first five anglers, including Rosenberg, who catch tagged redfish win a prize package of a Ford F-150 XLT four-door pickup, a Blue Wave 220 Super Tunnel boat, a Magnum boat trailer and a 150 horsepower Mercury motor.

   Rosenberg said his son, however, told him that his luck was bound to change.
   Rocky Guerra, manager of Roy's Bait and Tackle Outfitters, said he has heard many such debates from across the counter. In the end, most of his customers enter the annual tournament, but for different reasons. A few never will, he said.
   "The guy who comes in to buy a few hooks and a pound of shrimp to bottom fish with isn't interested," Guerra said. "All he's looking for is something to eat."
   The first weekend, more than 200 anglers entered the STAR at Roy's alone, Guerra said, and sales have been steady ever since.
   "The STAR attracts a real mix of people from all walks of life," he said. "You get a lot of fishermen who're going after a tagged redfish. That's anybody's game.
   "But some of them are set on catching the biggest gafftop or flounder, because that's the kind of fishing they know. Of course, there will always be the ones who think they can catch a 10-pound trout to win a boat. They have three months to try. I think some people just do it because they want to support CCA.