The Gate Jacksonville Fishing rodeo kicks off July 1st thru 3rd! This fishing tournament rounds-up a variety of fish species.
Jacksonville Fishing Rodeo
Jacksonville, FL – “Finally we’ll have a true fishing rodeo on the east coast of the United States,” said Jack Holmes, Managing Partner of the Southern Kingfish Association and Promoter of the event. “This rodeo is patterned after the famous Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo, the largest saltwater sportfishing tournament in the country.”
For a $40 fee, anglers can fish from 6AM on Friday morning, July 2nd, to their prescribed weigh-in times on Saturday, July 3rd at Metropolitan Park, downtown Jacksonville, Florida. There are no checkouts and check-ins, you simply must be back to Metropolitan Park by the prescribed times on Saturday. Lines in the water at 6AM on Friday morning. Weigh-in begins at the Park on Friday morning at 10AM and closes at 7PM. All specie categories can come to weigh-in by boat, car, or truck. Winners will be polygraphed on site. You can literally fish from 6AM on Friday till your prescribed weigh in time on Saturday.
Any angler who weighs a legal specie in the event will have a portion of their rodeo ticket placed in a drum for a drawing on Saturday night at 6PM for a 21′ Contender Boat, with a Yamaha outboard, and trailer. The winner will obviously be a very happy person! The winner does not have to be present to win. An attempt to contact the winner by phone will happen immediately after the winning ticket has been drawn if they are not present.
Each of the 16 species an angler can catch will have an award of $1,000 for the biggest of the specie, $500 for second, and $200 for third. As an added incentive, a $250 cash bonus will be paid for the biggest fish in each specie per day.
Species include: Freshwater–Largemouth Bass, Bream, Catfish, Inshore Saltwater–Flounder, Redfish, Sheepshead, Trout, Whiting, Offshore Saltwater–Barracuda, Grouper, Kingfish, Menhaden, Blackfin Tuna, Vermillion Snapper, and Wahoo.
For your $40 you can compete in any or all of the different categories.
Then there will be two Jackpot Divisions, one for Redfish and the other for King Mackerel. Jackpot tickets can be purchased for $400 for King Mackerel with an $80,000 overall payout based on just 200 boats, and for $350 you can enter the Redfish division with $35,000 up for grabs based on just 100 boats. The jackpots will pay one place for every 10 boats entered with 100% payback.
Top prize for the Kingfish Jackpot is $20,000 and $10,000 for Redfish.
The biggest two-fish stringer for the event will determine redfish winners by the boat team. The biggest king per boat will determine king mackerel.
It is recommended every angler interested in fishing the Rodeo go to www.jacksonvillerodeo.com or www.fishska.com for all the information and rodeo rules.
Tickets will be available at all Jacksonville area Gate stores after June 15th. Tickets can also be purchased on Thursday July 1st at Metropolitan Park beginning at noon. The Captain’s meeting will be held at 7:30 PM at the Park also on the 1st.
So, come fish the Rodeo, you won’t regret it!
About The Southern Kingfish Association:
The Southern Kingfish Association (SKA) was founded in 1991 and has emerged as America’s premier saltwater tournament trail. The king mackerel is relatively easy to catch, especially in school size, while the larger kings require skill and patience. Equally beneficial is their abundance, due to sound fisheries management and strong conservation practices among our anglers. King mackerel migrate along the eastern seaboard from Virginia to Florida and throughout the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Texas. The SKA tournament trail follows this pattern.
