RODEO 2009 — GET HOOKED: Guts are off limits on Rodeo docks but shark are welcome (with RODEO RAP, VIDEO)

What do guts, trash cans and shark have in common?

They all have a place in the 61st Destin Fishing Rodeo, which gets under way Thursday, Oct. 1.

For guts, their place is not at the Rodeo docks.

“It’s really nothing different,” said Rodeo executive director Helen Donaldson. “It’s just going to be enforced.”

According to the rules, “no gutting will be allowed at the Rodeo dock. All fish are to be drawn and washed for inspection prior to pulling into the Rodeo dock.”

“This is mainly to expedite things at the scales,” Donaldson said.

Backlogs at the scales late in the evening were commonplace last year, when the event weighed in a record 1,182 fish.

“We’re just trying to avoid any delays,” she said.

However there will be “some gutting for recreation,” Donaldson said, noting that Miss Destin Kelsie Jacobs will have to get her hands dirty at least once. Gutting a fish has become a customary task for all Miss Destin’s to experience.

And there are a couple of other exceptions when it comes to guts.

“If you feel you have a world-record catch, we will weigh it whole,” Donaldson said. As well as measure and follow the procedures for qualifications.

The other exception will be made for fish that will be released if they do not qualify for the leaderboard. In other words, there is no need to kill a fish that will be released, she said.

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GET RAPPED UP IN IT
The Rodeo Rap, brought to you by AJ’s, is back! The Log’s daily look at the Destin Fishing Rodeo in words, pictures and video can be accessed by clicking here.

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As for the trash can, it’s all about the slam.

“We still have people getting in on the Trash Can Slam,” Donaldson said.

A Trash Can Slam consists of  a ladyfish, Jack Crevalle and a sailcat, all caught by the same angler, but not necessarily on the same day. The heaviest aggregate weight of the tournament will win the division.

Entry fee for the Trash Can Slam is $25 per angler. First place is $1,000 and second is $500.

The shark takes the spotlight on Saturday.

Every Saturday throughout the October Rodeo has been tagged Shark Saturdays.

The largest legal shark brought to the weigh scales on every Saturday will be the winner of $250. No nurse, lemon or federally protected shark will be allowed and all state and federal laws and rules must be adhered to, according to the Rodeo rules.

Sponsors for this division are @2Z Specialty Advertising, Guys Glass & Mirror, Ledbetter & Associates, and North Light Yacht Club.

For those interested in the big fish and the big money, there is the annual king mackerel jackpot. To get in on the jackpot money, entry fee is $100 per boat. The largest king mackerel for the month gets 50 percent of the pot, while second wins 30 percent and third will take home 20 percent.

As of noon Monday, 66 charter boats and 58 private boats had registered for this year’s month-long fishing tournament.

But, “the phone is ringing off the wall with people saying they want to register,” Donaldson said.

“I think the first of October has just snuck up on them this year,” she said, noting she had three charter boats register over the weekend.

“I don’t think we will have as many boats as in the past, but I think we’ll have as many spectators,” she said.

Weigh-ins are daily from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. on the docks behind AJ’s Seafood and Oyster Bar.

The scales open at 10 a.m. Thursday morning.

“I have a lot of people excited about catching that first fish,” Donaldson said, noting she had several people admiring the “first fish” trophy at the kickoff party last week.

“I feel sure we will have some early morning contenders and I fully expect when we get there at 8 a.m. there will be somebody with a flounder in a bucket or something,” she said.

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To read about the resiliency of the Rodeo, click here.