Author: Hank Beaumont

The Sargent Trout And Redfish Tournament works because it is built around the way Texas coastal fishing actually happens: early launches, familiar bay water, local sponsors, amateur anglers, weigh-in pressure, and a community gathering point at the end of the day. The Sargent Area Chamber of Commerce lists the 17th annual S.T.A.R.T. Fishing Tournament for Saturday, June 13, 2026, on the Matagorda Bay complex, with tournament hours from 6:00 a.m. … Read the rest

Texas anglers are used to thinking about catch-and-release as an ethic. The Gulf-wide disCARD study asks them to think about it as data, too. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is partnering with Mississippi State University and the other Gulf state agencies on a new reef fish discard project that relies on anglers filling out hybrid catch cards and submitting trip information after offshore fishing. For Texas saltwater anglers, the … Read the rest

Texas’ 2026 federal red snapper season opened earlier than many coastal anglers expected. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department announced that the private recreational angler season in federal waters would open May 22 instead of the typical June 1 start, giving offshore crews a longer runway that includes Memorial Day weekend. For Texas coastal anglers, that date change affects more than the first legal snapper run. It changes how families … Read the rest

The 2026 CCA Texas STAR Tournament is not built like a normal fishing weekend. Running from May 23 through September 7, the event stretches across more than 100 days and the entire Texas coastline, which turns it into a summer-long test of preparation, patience, travel planning, and coastal knowledge. For Texas anglers, that scale matters as much as the prize list. It changes how families plan trips, how teams decide … Read the rest

The 2026 CCA Texas STAR Tournament has always been more than a summer fishing contest. It is part coastal tradition, part conservation campaign, part family event, and part redfish treasure hunt stretching across the entire Texas shoreline.

But this year, one rule change carries more weight than it might seem at first glance.

For the 2026 tournament, tagged redfish divisions now emphasize a clear process: catch the fish, clip the … Read the rest

For years, most Texas anglers understood redfish movement through experience alone—watching seasonal tides, tracking bait migrations, and learning how weather patterns shifted fish across the bays. That instinct-driven knowledge still matters, but in 2026, science is adding a much deeper layer to the conversation.

Across the Texas coast, redfish tagging programs are expanding, and the data coming from those projects is beginning to reshape how biologists, tournament anglers, and everyday … Read the rest

In 2026, one thing hasn’t changed along the Texas coast—Port Aransas remains the center of gravity for championship-level redfish tournaments. While other bays continue to grow their tournament presence, no location consistently attracts the same level of competition, exposure, and logistical scale.

The proof isn’t just anecdotal. In November 2025, the Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship returned to Port Aransas, bringing a stacked national field and reinforcing the town’s … Read the rest

In 2026, tournament fishing in Texas is no longer defined by a single weekend. Instead, a growing number of anglers are participating in long-format events that stretch across months, transforming how competition fits into everyday life on the coast.

At the center of this shift is the CCA Texas STAR Tournament—one of the largest and most influential fishing events in the country. Running from May 24 through September 2, … Read the rest