The Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo has been going on for more than 65 years, and it's turned into an event that people from miles around come to attend. The term "fishing rodeo" was a new one to me, and while it conjured images of salt-encrusted cowboys wrangling sharks and tuna, it turns out I was only a little off. Instead of the salty, stetson-sporting sportsmen, I found a seriously diverse group of people competing to win in one of the 26 different categories. People were fishing for anything from shark to barracuda, blue fish, gar, grouper, bass, flounder, catfish - you name it, there's probably a category for it. Visit their website if you want to get a good look at some of the categories. There's no entry fee, and the fishing waters are listed as "anywhere in the Mississippi Sound or the Gulf of Mexico. For fresh water fishing...anywhere in the bays, bayous, rivers, creeks, lakes or ponds. All fish must be caught with conventional tackle and in a sportsmanlike manner."
But, as these events often do, the rodeo expanded to offer quite a bit of fun for the landlubbers. The rodeo takes place at the Gulfport Small Craft Harbor near Barksdale Park. And while the fishing's going on out in the Gulf, there are plenty of rides, arts, crafts, and games to enjoy. Rodeo organizers estimate that nearly 10,000 people attend every year, with nearly 500 registered fishermen.If you're new to fishing, or if you have young ones who would marvel at the catches and the variety of fish, this is definitely the event to attend. In addition, even if you're not interested in fish - the rides and games alone make for a pretty decent carnival.
It's worth making the trip to see it, and if you're a fisherman, given that there's no registration and quite a few prizes to be won - you probably want to sign up and see what you can reel in.
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