The 89th annual Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo returns this weekend.
The rodeo kicks things off Thursday night with Captain T-Bone’s Liar Contest, where anglers across the region share their tallest fish tales.
Fishing starts Friday at 5 a.m. A cannon blast will signify the start of the tournament.
Thirty-three fishing categories are offered this year, but one may stand out. After seven years of video submissions, anglers can now fish for four different species of shark at the tournament.
Coleman Moore is the Vice President of Publicity for Mobile Jaycees. Moore said the organization is paired with marine researchers Dr. Sean Powers and Dr. Marcus Drymon who suggested bringing the category back.
“It’s great for the ecosystem right now, and they gave us a go ahead to start bringing sharks back in [and] to not give any illusion that we’re bringing in all these sharks and not doing anything with them,” Moore said. “We don’t want somebody needlessly killing sharks. We want those big sharks that are going to be good for research. They’re going to take the vertebrae, stomach [and] reproductive organs and they’re going to use all of that for scientific purposes.”
Shark fishing is limited this year.
Tiger, bull, hammerhead and blacktip sharks are fishable, but they must be large in size. Mobile Jaycees and researchers extended the length requirement beyond federal requirements. Anglers must also have an Atlantic Highly Migratory Species permit to fish for sharks.
There are live musical performances on all four event days. Mobile Jaycees will also open its t-shirt room and a sponsor tent for local organizations to offer artwork, apparel and fish and tackle.
Moore said the rodeo is a major source of economic growth for Dauphin Island and South Mobile County every year.
“The amount of activity and business it brings them during our tournament is second to none,” Moore said. “It’s an island town. We joke we try to sink that island. There are so many people down there. There are vendors all over the place, not just on our site. The hotels, condos and houses get rented out the week after the rodeo for the next year.”
Over 100,000 visitors are expected to pass through the site over the three fishing days. Mobile Jaycees reports more than 3,800 anglers generally participate in the tournament every year.
Visitors may attend the rodeo for free and enjoy the sponsor tent, live music, live fish weighing and other amenities.
