Annual fishing rodeo is in deep water

A 71-year-old tradition for the Mississippi Gulf Coast could be coming to an end soon after 2018 turned out to be a rough year for the Mississippi Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo.

This year, event organizers were depending on seeing a minimum of 12,000 people pay admission fees, but with a week of wet weather and the Fourth of July holiday landing on a Wednesday, crowd turnout was weak.

The rodeo is about $60,000 in the hole after this year’s poor financial returns. Board members are expected to meet sometime today to discuss the situation and an announcement on the future of the long-time tradition is expected sometime in the near future.