ADSFR Celebrates 75th Fishing Rodeo
By DAVID RAINER
The Alabama Gulf Coast is abuzz with anticipation as one of the most celebrated events in fishing looms on the horizon.
The 75th annual Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo (ADSFR) is scheduled for July 20-22, but it’s much more than that.
To kick off the week of activities on Dauphin Island is the Roy Martin Young Anglers Tournament, which is scheduled for Saturday at the rodeo site on Dauphin Island. The young anglers’ event had record participation last year with 1,518 youth competing for a variety of prizes.
The liar’s contest cranks up the excitement for the big rodeo on Thursday, July 19 and there will be plenty of tall tales to go around.
At the report of the cannon at 5 a.m. July 20, anglers can cast their baits into the water and try to make ADSFR history with a fish for the record books in the nation’s largest saltwater tournament, which drew more than 3,000 anglers last year.
“It’s a big year, our 75th rodeo,” said Ricky Brooks, the 2007 rodeo president. “That’s how we were able to be able to get bigger and better prizes, and we have a record number of sponsors.
“This is the first time in three years we’ve been able to do improvements at the rodeo site instead of rebuilding after storms. The fishing has been really good lately, so everybody is really excited about the rodeo.”
Nostalgia withstanding, Brooks said this year’s event will focus on scientific research, as well as the great fishing that anglers enjoy in coastal Alabama and the Gulf of Mexico.
“We’re hitting the research and science part of it heavily this year,” Brooks said. “Dr. (Bob) Shipp will have his usual crew from the University of South Alabama (USA) Marine Sciences, plus we’ve got the University of West Florida, Florida State University and LSU, which are all going to send representatives to the rodeo.
“They’re going to be looking at three - lane snapper, redfish and red snapper over 20 pounds. LSU is studying red snapper caught on oil/gas rigs. Lane snapper and redfish are not rodeo categories, but they are asking everybody who catches a lane snapper or redfish to bring it in for the scientists to study. Dr. Shipp will give out free Marine Sciences T-shirts to the first 100 people who bring in those three species.”
Brooks said there will be several changes to this year’s event, including the categories for king mackerel and tarpon, the species which prompted the birth of the rodeo in 1928.
“The king mackerel jackpot has been split into two divisions,” he said. “We’re going to have open and recreational categories. The open entry fee is $375 with $15,000 first-place guarantee. It will pay places two through 10, plus the top 23-and-under boat. The recreational entry fee is $150 and pays through 10 places, and payouts are based on the number of entries. Examples of the payouts are on our web site (www.adsfr.com).
“The tarpon category has also changed. For tarpon less than 78 inches it has to be catch-and-release. There must be video proof. They catch the fish, grab the leader, show the tournament designator and release the fish. Each catch-and-release fish is worth 125 points. For fish greater than 78 inches, the anglers have the option of catch-and-release or they can bring it to the rodeo site to weigh it. If it is longer than 78, the angler gets a point per pound.”
Anglers who weigh a tarpon are required to have a $51 tarpon permit, which can be purchased from the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Marine Resources Division.
“The reason we added the tag-and-release for tarpon was we hate to kill these fish, but we wanted to enhance the competition,” Brooks said. “We got together with the serious tarpon fishermen – Hayden Olds, Noel Nelson, Ernest Ladd and John Toomey – and came up with a solution that everybody could live with. If you don’t want to kill the fish, you don’t have to. If you catch a potential record breaker, you can still bring it in. We worked with them and talked to Dr. Shipp and got his blessing. But remember, you must have a tarpon permit to weigh in a fish.”
As mentioned earlier, the top prizes – all selected through random drawings of jackpot entrants – are significant. A 23-foot Contender with Yamaha 250, Nautical Towers T-Top and Loadmaster trailer will be awarded through a random drawing for everybody who enters a legal fish during the rodeo. The king jackpot’s top prize is a 22-foot Nautic Star with Yamaha 250, Nautical Towers T-Top and Loadmaster trailer. The winner of the speckled trout jackpot, also chosen in a random drawing, gets a 19-foot Twin Vee catamaran with a Yamaha 150 and Loadmaster trailer.
The rodeo also doles out proceeds – $12,500 to USA Marine Sciences, $4,000 to the Children’s Christmas Shopping Tour and $1,500 in scholarships to USA Marine Sciences students.
With everything in place for the rodeo, Brooks said it all boils down to Mother Nature.
“We’ve got the prizes, and I think it will help that the price of gas has come back down,” he said. “Last year we had 3,013 participants. We hope to do better this year, but it all comes down to weather.”
###
|
