Children to join the King Kat tournament
Published 10:03 pm Monday, June 18, 2012
While the adults will be on the Alabama River when the Cabela’s King Kat Tournament Trail makes a stop in Selma this weekend, area youth will also have a chance to catch a prize catfish on the same day.
In conjunction with Cabela’s King Kat Tournament on Saturday, June 23, Selma will also host the Cabela’s King Kat Free Kids Fishing Rodeo at the East Selma Fishing Pond located on Plant Street and Hardie Avenue.
The event is open to children ages 12 and under, and will take place Saturday with registration going from 8 to 9 a.m. and fishing from 9 to 11 a.m.
Elton Reece, director of the Selma Parks and Recreation Department, said the event offers a safe place for young anglers.
“The Cabela’s King Kat Tournament, each site that they have a tournament for the adults they also have a tournament for the youth if they’ve got a place where they can safely fish,” Reece said. “A lot of places they don’t because they fish in the rivers, but here is a perfect site because we have our own fishing pond that’s immaculate, fenced in, full of fish and it’s the perfect place for the youngsters to come fish. They’ll come fish the same day that the adults do.”
Reece said there will be two age groups in the competition — ages 1 to 7 in one group and ages 7 to 12 in the other — and prizes will be given out, with the person that catches the biggest catfish in each age group receiving prizes from Roundtree Outdoors.
Reece added the six youth that catch the most total weight will advance to Cabela’s World Series Tournament that will be in Selma on Sept. 27-29, and all of which will be in a drawing in which all will be eligible to win $1,000 college scholarships.
All youth who participate must be accompanied by an adult.
“It’s a great thing. The youth will bring an adult with them, but they have to do all of the fishing,” Reece said. “If [participants are] too small, the adult can take the fish off of the hook for them. Each one of them has to be accompanied by an adult. It’s just a good thing.”
For more information contact the recreation department at 874-2141.