Junior Fishing Rodeo celebrates its 68th anniversary in Memphis
On May 2, 1972, President Richard Nixon signed the first proclamation of National Hunting and Fishing Day, writing, “I urge all citizens to join with outdoor sportsmen in the wise use of our natural resources and insuring their proper management for the benefit of future generations.”
With prompting from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, by late summer that year all 50 governors and more than 600 mayors had joined in by proclaiming state and local versions of National Hunting and Fishing Day (NHFD). The response was dramatic.
Still, National Hunting and Fish Day, which this year’s honorary chairman is Dale Earnhardt Jr., has nothing on an event held annually in Memphis for more than six decades.
It is the Mid-South Junior Fishing Rodeo, which will celebrate its 68th anniversary on National Hunting and Fishing day on Saturday, Sept. 22 at Johnson Park Lake behind Germantown Baptist Church near the GermantownCollierville city limits.
Since April, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has hosted 26 youth fishing rodeos in West Tennessee. Only two remain – the MSJFR and a mid-October event in Decatur County. None has the history of the MSJFR, which is believed to be the oldest event of its kind Tennessee and, quite possibly, in the southeastern U.S.
For sure, none has the tradition of the Mid-South Junior Fishing Rodeo, which from 1951 through 2000 was hosted by The Commercial Appeal. The TWRA has hosted the MSJFR since 2001. Over the years, it is estimated that more than 50,000 youth have participated in the MSJFR, which at one time was a threeday event with five 2 hour sessions.
So, it is a free event that fits perfectly into the National Hunting and Fish Day agenda.
Hunter Henley, TWRA lakes and hatchery manager for West Tennessee, says about 800 pounds of catfish will be stocked several days before the MSJFR at the twin lakes at Johnson Road Park. The fish, which will average about 1 to 2 pounds, will be purchased from Ed Davis Fish Farm in Milan.
“The fishing rodeos provide an opportunity for kids to have a place to fish with increased chances of success that they otherwise may not have,” Henley says. “We plan to have 15 to 17 TWRA employees working at the Mid-South Junior Fishing Rodeo. It is an important part of our program.”
It is also important to the City of Germantown.
“The fishing rodeo is about much more than reeling in the prize fish,” says Will Kassner, special events and marketing coordinator for the Germantown Parks and Recreation. “It’s about spending time with family. There’s something special that happens (at the rodeo) in a child’s eyes.”
Kassner says the Mid-South Junior Fishing Rodeo is an event that brings families together, one that has numerous benefits, the foremost being the memories and impressions that are made of each participant.
“Combine that with lessons of patience and sportsmanship and you have something that money can’t buy,” Kassner says.
The MSJFR is open to youth 5 through 12 years old. Registration will be from 7-9 a.m. with fishing from 9-11. Prizes will be awarded to the youth with the biggest fish in each age group. Registrants will also have the chance to win prizes in drawings after the rodeo. The youth catching the overall biggest fish will earn a three-day, two-night vacation to Blue Bank Resort on the shores of Reelfoot Lake, donated for many years by resort owner Mike Hayes and his family.
If that’s not enough, in a drawing after the event, one lucky Tennessee-resident participant will win a lifetime hunting and fishing license donated by Danya Welch in honor of her late father, Jackie Welch. The prize could be worth $618 or $988, depending on the age of the winning youth.
Several members of the Mid-South chapter of Legacy Outfitters will be among the volunteers who will patrol the shore-line to help young anglers should a problem arise with their fishing tackle. Participants are urged to bring a net to help land big fish. As usual, I’ll be the MSJFR’s director and share the awards stage with fishing TV personality Bill Dance.
We’ll let Bobby Wilson, assistant TWRA chief, sum up what the MSJFR and other such youth fishing events mean to the TWRA: “Kids fishing rodeos are an important and fun way to provide outdoor entertainment for young people across the state. These events are rewarding for all the volunteers and TWRA employees who put them on. I think my last count found almost 90 fishing rodeos across the state from April through October. Our agency is committed to help make these successful by providing channel catfish to sweeten the pot. The ultimate goal is to get kids outside and hopefully become anglers for life.”
Anglers for life would be a good motto for the Mid-South Junior Fishing Rodeo.
Got an item or note? E-mail Larry Rea at lroutdoors@att.net or go to his web site at lroutdoors.com; listen to Larry Rea on Outdoors with Larry Rea on Saturday mornings from 6-7:30 on ESPN 790-AM and 1520-AM and 95.3 in Brownsville, Tenn., and 6:30-8 on News/Talk 101.5 in Jackson, Tenn.