(DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala.) - A weekend of fishing, fun and whole lot more kicks off on Dauphin Island for the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo. LOCAL 15's Darwin Singleton shows us what the island has to offer in this week's Coastal Community Spotlight.
A group of daredevils hit the water on Thursday for Hydro-cross. It's extreme jet ski riding and the highly trained individuals brought their show to Dauphin Island for the rodeo. Then, Thursday night the liars came out of the woodwork for the annual Liars Contest. It's a competition to tell the best, or worst, fish tale.
But the main event, the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing rodeo kicks off at 5 a.m. Friday with a cannon blast. Organizers say they have their sights set on a record.
"Well, we're bringing in Guiness World Records to count the number of anglers," Gene Fox with Mobile Jaycee said. "We've known for years, we sell 3,500 tickets. These guys aren't buying tickets to leave them at home, they're fishing. We've just never counted it before."
Anglers from all over will be hoping to net the big ones and when they do Dr. Bob Dickey and his fellow scientists will be watching. Scientists with the FDA monitor the catch each year, but especially this year.
"The purpose of the deployment on Dauphin Island is to continue the surveillance that we've been doing for the last nine months, since the spill began," Dickey said.
Some are estimating as many as 3,000 boats will participate in this year's Dauphin Island Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo.
