A Mayor’s Kids Fishing Rodeo free fishing event will be held on Saturday, June 11 at 9 a.m. at the ponds at John Ross Commons in Rossville.
"With school letting out soon, parents will no doubt begin the yearly task of finding wholesome and fun activities to occupy their children all summer long and a few of the Mayors of Walker County have banded together to help fill one of those many summer Saturdays," officials said.
Mayor Teddy Harris of Rossville says, “I’ve always enjoyed driving by the ponds and seeing the local youth out there fishing and one day it hit me - we should host a fishing rodeo.”
Along with the support of his fellow elected officials, Mayor Arnold of Lafayette and Mayor Bennett of Lookout Mountain, and with help from the Rossville Downtown Development Authority and several local citizens and organizations, the 1st Annual Mayor’s Kids Fishing Rodeo was planned.
"Although this is only the first year for the fishing rodeo, the event is already making a big splash in the community," officials said.
While the event is completely free to attend and is scheduled on one of Georgia’s “free fishing
days,” meaning no fishing license is required to participate, several organizers were concerned that some local youth may not have access to a fishing rod or other tackle needed to participate. To keep this from happening, several community members and businesses stepped up to donate funds and equipment - including 25 rod and reel setups that were donated by the Bass Pro Shops location just a few miles north of Rossville in East Ridge.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is also planning to stock the ponds with 400 catfish prior to the event.
Tobey Hill, executive director for the Downtown Development Authority, said, “Thanks to all our volunteers and supporters in the community, it looks like we are all set to have a successful fishing rodeo.”
For more information or to sign up a child to participate, visit the event on Facebook by searching
“Rossville Mayor’s Kids Fishing Rodeo.” There is a link in the event description where you can complete the sign up form, or the form will be provided via a QR code on the day of the event.
Prizes will be awarded to kids in select age groups for the first fish caught, the largest fish caught and the most fish caught.