The Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo

The Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo, also known as the ADSFR, is one of the most interesting and fun things to do in the state of Alabama.

This unique festival of sorts attracts all kinds of anglers not only from the south, but the entire country.

It brings in professionals as well as amateurs, as well as professional teams with numerous sponsors.

This beloved contest offers 30 prize categories, and because of this, it is considered to be the most diverse event of any fishing competition in the entire country.

The History of the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo

The Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo Shack

The history of the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo all began in the summer of 1928, in the city of Mobile Alabama.

A small party of businessmen were going through Mobile Bay with their fishing lines ready to go.

To everyone’s surprise, “the big one” struck a line, and from there the idea of this special tournament came about.

These group of businessmen met again several weeks after their event, following a fishing trip at the home of L.G. Adams, Sr.

They collectively begin to bug the Alabama State Game and Fisheries Commissar at the time, to start this amazing event.

This move alone spawned what today is known as the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo, and it has become extremely popular.

The event was held in 1929, and was so successful, an association was suggested to hold this as an annual event.

Well, it did not take long, as over 260 very enthusiastic sports fisherman joined the event.

At that time, the first “rodeo” ticket was just 5.00 cash, and this covered your sleeping quarters and special prizes.

The meals that were served were of course seafood, and a lot of different types.

In the early years of this fishing exhibition, Fort Gaines Pier was the headquarters, and the only way to get there was by a boat.

The leader of this event, Mr. Adams, served for five years, and this amazing tournament grew for not only Alabama, but seven other states.

In the year 1948, the Mobile Junior Chamber of Commerce and the Mobile Jaycees, assumed the leadership of this event.

The reason for this was quite simple: it was getting too big and popular for one man to handle.

The Growth of Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo

The Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo continues to this day to grow in popularity and has become the nation’s largest as well as the oldest.

It is a saltwater fishing competition, and is now held off of Dauphin Island, at the head of the Mobile Bay.

It is held in a 3-day period in July, and it will annually attract over 3,000 contestants, as well as thousands of excited spectators.

In this amazing fishing “rodeo” anglers will fish for blackfish and white trout inshore, and amberjack to yellow tuna offshore.

However, that is just the tip of the iceberg for this event, as there are other great events.

Both amateur anglers as well as professional teams participate, and the teams are heavily sponsored.

They are sponsored by boat makers as well as fishing equipment companies, making it a tremendous event to attend.

In all, the ADSFR offers 30 prize categories.

The Judging at the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo

The Crowd at the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo

Judging for the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo is for the following categories in total:

Inshore Fishing

Florida Pompano
Flounder
Gray Snapper
Sheepshead
Speckled Trout
Tarpon

Offshore Fishing

Amberjack
Barracuda
Bonito
Grouper
King Mackerel
Red Snapper
Shark
Yellowfish Tuna
Wahoo

The event gained even more momentum and prominence for its work with the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, as well as the state university system to provide fish sample for study.

The fish are judged and awarded according to the weight as well as the species, and the rarer the species the more the points awarded.

Prizes for the top 3 finishers include a plaque as well as fishing equipment, that is worth thousands of dollars.

This event became so popular, that in the early1990’s, polygraph tests were given to enforce strict guidelines on who actually caught the fish.

The Continued Growth of the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo

The Boats Get Ready at the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo

As this tournament kept growing, something interesting happened in 1998.

An author named John McPhee, attended this unique “fishing rodeo”, and published a story about it in the New Yorker.

This naturally raised the event’s public profile, and because this, this event has become the “official fishing rodeo” again not just in the state, but in the country.

Each and every year the Governor of the State of Alabama proclaims the official start of the three days in July.

In the year 2011, this unique event set an official Guinness world record with 2,200 anglers.

If you have never been to the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo, you and your family are missing a very unique experience.

You can get a complete schedule for you and your family to enjoy, by the adsfr.com link below.

Enjoy yourself.

References

https://adsfr.com/about-us/

Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo | Encyclopedia of Alabama