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Well, some of you have already heard...but.....I was out scouting by myself in my 20' Skeeter Bay boat and checked several areas, the redfish bite was happening. Trout were eating too. They were whacking my bone Zara Spook junior on a fairly regular pace. Things slowed down as the day progressed so I stopped at the long bar in front of Shell Point and tossed a live shrimp out under a Back Bay thunder popping cork w/20" of 20lb.flouro and a kahle hook and almost immediately it disappeared. When the line came tight I started cranking and the fight was on. Pulled some drag, rolled and wallowed around on the surface and finally came boat side where I promptly netted a nice 23.5 inch red. As I pulled it out of my net I noticed a nice wad of dark algae looking moss attached to it's back. I thought that's weird and grabbed it and realized it was coated on a nice little yellow tag. I scraped the algae away and there it was....... a yellow tag that said CCA FL 147 and a phone number.......now I will remind you that the Star Tournament ended 108 days of fishing on Sept.7 at 5pm....I sat there fantasizing about what could have been, a nice new Hell's Bay Boat rigged and ready {Value aprox. $45,000.00} sitting in my driveway...........and then came back to reality to remember that Guides and Charter Captain's are not eligible to win any of the big prizes BUT I will be available to try to repeat this feat next year when the 2016 CCA Florida Star Tournament starts for anyone that wants to book a trip with me.........{Cheap Advertising} ....but seriously SUPPORT CCA by joining, entering their tournament and make an effort to stay involved and educate yourselves on the issues so we can maintain and improve our Gulf fishery for future generations!!!
Captain Steve Hobbs
SkeeterBite Fishing Charters
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850 363-0527
See ya on the water!!!!

Looks like a winner, Captain Steve.

That's cool

I heard a couple of days ago and thought about what mixed feelings I would have had...
What does a $40,000 fish taste like

Crazy that you caught it in a spot 100s of folks fish and on shrimp under a cork.
Can't get simpler that that!

At least it will be there next year for some fortunate angler. Nice catch Steve.

fishinfool wrote:At least it will be there next year for some fortunate angler. Nice catch Steve.

Huh? That lokes like a harvested fish from the pics. I don't know of any trees,like in the second pick, on shell point reef. Unless he released it back at the ramp.

You're right Salty, that fish went home...........never had a $45,000 fish dinner before. They will use different tags next year and a whole new adventure begins! Catch em up!

Well done Captain Steve.

Me and Luc fished that area hard over the last 6 weeks of the tournament. Who would've thought they wanted a shrimp! Back to basics. Think it makes you a celebrity - at least for those who sought the tag.

nice job. I was sitting on the beach watching the windsurfers race and was wondering if they would mess up the fishing but I guess not. My neighbor fishes the long bar all the time with good results most of the time. K