Rouses Everyday - May & June

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CCA
I loved growing up in Louisiana. My grandfather started taking me fishing when I was
two. You get out on the boat with the sun and the wind and the anticipation of what
you’re going to catch ... there’s just nothing better.
When you first start to fish, it’s all “this many”— I caught this many fish today, I caught this
many fish last week. Later, it becomes all about the size of the fish; that’s where tournaments
come in.
My wife,Kara, and I go fishing throughout the Spring and Summer, and our oldest daughter
is just learning how to fish. We want her and her sister to have the same appreciation for
our coastline that we do.
The Coastal Conservation Association is a marine conservation group that looks after our
coastline and protects our fisheries. It is a voice for our marine resources. CCA partners
with 4-H Clubs to offer fishing seminars for kids; it also does outreach efforts to teach
people why conservation is important.
CCA has 206 chapters and 100,000 members in 17 states. Texas was the founding CCA
state in 1977. CCA of Alabama was founded in 1982. Louisiana was founded in 1984,
Mississippi in 1986. The association helps build artificial reefs, creates finfish hatcheries,
and monitors freshwater inflows all over the Gulf Coast. It has applied nearly $2.7 million
to marine habitat projects alone. CCA Louisiana has been instrumental in banning gill nets
in state waters and establishing redfish as a gamefish.
I joined CCA forever ago, and Rouses is now a major partner. I fish CCA’s STAR tournament
every year. I never win, but I never give up trying. STAR is the Statewide Tournament and
Angler’s Rodeo that CCA Louisiana started in 1994. It is one of the largest and richest
saltwater fishing tournaments in the country. It lasts all summer-long, beginning the Saturday
of Memorial Weekend, May 23rd and ending 108 days later, on Labor Day, September 7th.
The water boundaries extend from the Texas/Louisiana line all the way to the Mississippi/
Alabama state line.
The tournament includes a Tagged Redfish
Division where 50 tagged redfish are released
along the coastline.Whoever catches the first
tagged redfish wins a Chevy Silverado (other
prizes include a 2110 Nautic Star and a 150hp
four-stroke Mercury Outboard boat package).
Mississippi is now a redfish division all its
own; the first angler to catch in Mississippi
waters wins a Polaris Ranger 570.
CCA has added a Tagged Trout Division
to STAR, as well, with four $2,500 tackle
packages as prizes. Other heaviest fish
categories include flounder, red snapper
and mangrove snapper (also called gray
snapper), lemon fish (cobia) and mahi-mahi
(dorado).
STAR has plenty of chances for your kids
to win, too. The youth division, open to
anyone 17 and under, is for speckled trout
or flounder measuring 14 inches. Winners
are drawn at the end of the tournament.
Preserving Our Coastline
by Donny Rouse, 3rd Generation
Donny Rouse’s Red Snapper
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
2 1-pound snapper fillet with scales still on,
pin bones removed
⅓ cup Rouses olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup minced parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
Juice of 1 lime
HOW TO PREP
Light a charcoal or gas grill.
Brush fillet with olive oil and season with salt and
fresh ground pepper.
When grill is hot, place fillet directly on the grate,
skin side down. Close the lid, and grill until the flesh
easily pulls away from the skin, about 10 minutes.
Using a large, flexible spatula, slide the fillets off
their skin and onto a platter. Discard the skins.
In a small bowl, whisk together garlic, parsley, lime
juice and the remaining olive oil. Season with salt
and pepper and pour over the fish.
Join your local CCA and register for
STAR at the same time. Log on to
or call on your
way down to the coast at any time,
1-877-4CCASTAR (1-877-422-2782).
RECIPE, try me!