A fisherman in Vermilion Parish won free beer for a year after catching a tagged redfish during the CCA Louisiana STAR tournament. The statewide tournament tags and releases redfish along the Louisiana coast with prizes from T-shirts to new trucks and boats. Tournament director Micah Denesse says Delcambre local Wayne Toups was thrilled when he found out what he’d won.
“When he found out, he was like, ‘Man, free beer for a year, that sounds good!’ And then what’s funny is, his wife was in the background and his wife said, ‘Oh yeah, Michelob Ultra for a year, that sounds amazing!’ They were pretty excited to get that beer,” Denesse said.
While fishing in Vermillion Bay, Toups reeled in a redfish with a special blue tag for a case of Michelob Ultra every week for a year. Denesse says at first, Toups thought it was just a yellow tag for a free T-shirt.
“He happened to have that second glance and said, ‘Well, let me look at it one more time,’ and realized it was blue and said, ‘Oh wait, no, it’s a blue tag, I don’t know what that is,"” Denesse noted.
Toups brought the tag to Don’s Boat Landing in Erath, gave Denesse a call and celebrated his catch.
Toups said he is still searching for a red tag to win a new boat. The tournament lasts through Labor Day, and Denesse says it is still not too late to register. You can register at CCASTAR.com for $35.
“You never know, when you hook up on that fish of a lifetime, that puts you in that boat that maybe you didn’t know you could buy or afford, but now you have that because you signed up for the tournament,” Denesse explained.