91st ADSFR Adds Dock Space, New Categories

A new dock and boardwalk, a new live weigh-in category and a new species for catch and release are among the highlights for the 91st annual Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo (ADSFR), set for July 19-21 at the rodeo site on Dauphin Island. The new dock and boardwalk will increase the capacity for the number of boats that can be tied up to head to the weigh-in station, and the boardwalk will also provide access to the north side of the rodeo property. Along with approximately 4,000 rodeo anglers, marine scientists flock to the ADSFR because of the access to a wide variety of species, as well as the larger fish caught during the competition. A new feature that will aid marine scientists is the addition of the catch-and-release category for jack crevalle. In the “Coastal Conservation Association of Alabama Live Weigh-In Special Awards” category, flounder has been added to the species that can be brought to the weigh-in site alive, with those who caught them entered to win a variety of prizes. Ticket holders who weigh in a legal fish in the rodeo will be eligible for more than $450,000 in cash and prizes, including a Contender 25 bay boat with a Yamaha 250-horsepower outboard engine. This year’s rodeo will again feature shark categories for tiger and bull shark. Each shark weighed must be at least 80 inches, measured from the tip of the snout to the fork in the tail. As usual, the Roy Martin Young Anglers Tournament will be held the Saturday (July 13) prior to the ADSFR and is available to anglers 15 years old and younger. A project of the Mobile Jaycees, the ADSFR kicks off on Thursday, July 18, with the Captain T-Bone’s Liars Contest, followed by three days of fishing competition. The big rodeo opens with a cannon blast at 5 a.m. on Friday, July 19. The ADSFR closes with another cannon blast at 5 p.m. on July 21.