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Fishing that's fun even for fish

Ex-Buc Scot Brantley has kept his annual catch-and-release tournament affordable and environmentally friendly.

By TERRY TOMALIN

© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 26, 2001

TIERA VERDE -- Scot Brantley likes contact. Football or fishing, it doesn't matter. As long as there's hitting, hard hitting, he's happy.

"These fish can fight," the former Buccaneer said as he battled to keep a frisky jack crevalle from wrapping his line around the propellor. "You gotta love it."

When it comes to fishing, the 43-year-old linebacker turned sports radio host is no snob. Sure, he liked to fly to Costa Rica every weekend to chase billfish, but unfortunately for Brantley, the NFL hadn't started handing out gold bullion to draft picks when he signed in 1980.

"I'm just a regular guy," Brantley said. "I grew up fishing farm ponds from an old jon boat that we threw in the back of a pickup truck. That is why from the start, I wanted to keep my fishing tournament simple."

Brantley's tournament, in its 10th year, doesn't have a high dollar entry fee, and you don't need a fancy boat or new equipment to win it. You just need a couple of good fishing spots and the basic motor skills needed to operate a camera.

"I've always been a catch-and-release fisherman," the former Gator said. "I'll keep a fish now and then, but only if I am going to eat it right away. I think it is a crime to put fish in a freezer. Either eat it or let it go."

Brantley wasn't always so conservation minded. Growing up in South Carolina and later Ocala, there were plenty of bass in local ponds and sea trout and redfish in the rivers that fed the Gulf of Mexico.

In 1977, about the time Brantley was punishing running backs at the University of Florida, a group of concerned anglers in Houston formed the first chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association.

"I moved to Tampa in 1980 and everybody was talking about saltwater fishing," he said. "Then I caught my first snook and I swore I would never go bass fishing again."

But it didn't take long for Brantley to realize something was wrong. The red drum, once so plentiful in the waters off Homosassa and Crystal River, were nearly gone.

In 1986, about the time Brantley put forth five double-digit tackle performances in 16 starts, the Florida Conservation Association (the fifth state chapter of the CCA) was doing some heavy hitting of its own. In one year, the FCA handed the commercial netting industry its first major legal defeat (Spanish mackerel) and forced the Secretary of Commerce to enact emergency measures to stop the netting of redfish.

It took more two years for the FCA to achieve gamefish status for the state's drastically depleted redfish stocks. It was the first time since 1957 that a commercially caught species was removed from Florida's markets.

Brantley, winding down his football career after eight seasons with the Bucs, was looking for something to do.

"Playing football, all we did was practice and fish, practice and fish," he said. "I found myself looking to get involved."

So Brantley joined the CCA and used his celebrity status to start an innovative photo-and-release tournament to raise money and awareness for the organization's ongoing conservation battles."I wanted to put together a fun tournament for the average angler and at the same time do something for the environment," he said.

In 1994, Brantley, now a well-known sports radio talk show host, helped the Save Our Sealife Committee and its volunteer grassroots army in its quest to limit gill netting in state waters. The S.O.S. amendment was overwhelmingly approved by Florida voters by a 72 to 28 percent margin.

Brantley's tournament has steadily increased in popularity as anglers learn that a great photo lasts much longer than a couple of fillets.

"The best thing about it is the tournament is still just $50 to enter," Brantley said. "I always wanted to keep it a tournament that regular folks could afford."

10th Annual Scot Brantley All-Release Flats Tournament

WHEN: Saturday.

CATEGORIES: Redfish, Snook and Trout; Youth and Women's Divisions.

INFORMATION: Captains Meeting, 7 p.m. Friday, Gators on the Pass, Treasure Island; call (727) 363-0071. To learn more about the Coastal Conservation Association, call 1-800-201-3474.

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