Children's Fishing Rodeo set for June 9

The annual Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency (TWRA) Children's Fishing Rodeo is scheduled for Saturday June 9, 2018.

You don't want to miss this special event. TWRA Game Warden Mark Vance does an outstanding job in making sure the children have plenty of big catfish to catch. He stocks Stone's River with several hundred catfish and he makes sure each child gets a very special tackle box. I know if I had received one of these tackle boxes when I was a kid, I would have thought that I had the world by the tail, with such a special gift. It is "Cracker Jack."

The Hilton Stone American Legion Post 279, working with Vance, sets up the check-in station and gives out the tackle boxes. The Legionnaires of Post 279 prepares the hot dogs, buns, drinks and chips. Mike Alexander of Christie-Q Bar-B-Que cooks the hot dogs and the Legionnaires prepare them and serve them along with the drinks and chips. Vance provides plenty of ice and good cold bottled water.

Fishers have to bring their own fishing gear and bait. Gates open early at 7 a.m. and fishing starts at 8:00 a.m. The early bird gets the worm. But in this case the early fisherman gets the fish.

A special thanks to Game Warden Vance and TWRA for this truly great event for our children. A special thank you to Christie-Q Bar-B-Que, to Piggly Wiggly for providing the hot dogs and buns and to Dollar General and Frito Lay for providing the drinks and chips.

Thanks to the City of Woodbury and city employees for getting Dillon Park ready and looking good. And thanks to the American Legion Post 279, and everyone who volunteers and makes this a great event for the children.

There is no fishing on either the Dillon Park or opposite side of the river from Wednesday to Saturday morning.