71st annual Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo

May 29, 2018

In just one month, thousands of fishermen will be dropping their lines in Coast waters hoping to reel in the big one.

With more than $72,000 in prizes, there are some important changes you need to know about when it comes to this year’s Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo in Gulfport.

It will be all hands-on-deck as the 71^st annual Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo gets underway June 29^th to July 4^th in Gulfport. It’s a family friendly event that reels in thousands from throughout our region and a tradition for some including the families of some young volunteers. Mississippi Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo President Richie Valdez said, “The rodeo is run all by volunteers and they start out early. Both of them have been in there, their parents have been in there. Their grandparents have been in there. It’s a good thing to get them started early and they take over.”

There is a big change to this year’s tournament when it comes to snagging the prize. Before dropping your line, you will need to go online. “This year at the fishing rodeo, you have to register for the two bounties we’re putting on, the stingray and the tiger shark. You’ve got to register one minute before midnight on June 28^th, that’s very important,” said Valdez.

Mississippi Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo Executive Director Donnie Armes said, “Two years ago we did the bounty on the tiger shark. It was broke. This last year, we did the bull shark. It was broke.”

To win this year’s prize, you must first sign up at mississippideepseafishingrodeo.com or someone at the Barksdale Pavilion will sign you up on June 28^th, the day before the fishing rodeo starts. This year, more than $72,000 in cash and prizes is up for grabs, but beware, tournament organizers expect the competition to be fierce.

Win, lose, or draw, there’s a little something on tap for everyone, including a kid’s fishing rodeo during this year’s six day event. “We usually have 150, 200 kids come out. We’ve got some good prizes for them. We have a couple of prizes that have just been donated the past few days for them,” said Armes.