The Mighty Mississippi River is calling catfish anglers again. Saturday Oct. 1, 2016 is the day for the Bass Pro Shops Big Cat Quest (BCQ) out of New Madrid, MO. Plenty of big catfish are likely to come to the weigh-in. New Madrid is a catfish friendly town where anglers, friends and family are welcomed with open arms.
The city is having a festival along with the BCQ tournament. There will be great food, vendors with fun and entertainment for the entire family. This year will feature a Civil War reenactment and covered wagon rides.
A highlight for the kids is a fishing derby. It will be held at the New Madrid Fishing Park on October 01, 2016 from 8:00 am. until 11:00 am. The event is free for the kids and the BCQ will provide free hot dogs following the fishing. Anglers are welcome to bring the whole family to New Madrid and join in on the fun.
The weather forecast is good for tournament day. The sun will rise a 6:53 am to partly cloudy skies. A low temperature of 54 degrees is expected to rise to around 75 with winds forecast at 6 mph.
New Madrid is a team tournament with boats launching from two designated ramps. Teams may launch from the ramp at 1005 Levee Road ( this is near downtown) or the ramp at 297 Levee Road ( this ramp is near Cargill). Note, no trailing is allowed, all boats must launch from one of these two ramps.
Boats may be put in the water any time after 12:01 am on tournament day, but may not leave ramp area waters until 4:00 am. Fishing hours are from 6: 00 am. until 3:00 pm. Anglers may fish the Mississippi River and its tributaries reachable by boat from two required launch sites.
At the end of fishing all boats must be on trailers and proceed to the weigh-in line on Levee Road. Any team not in line with their boat on the trailer at 4:00 pm will be disqualified. The last boat in line will be marked and no others will be allowed to weigh-in.
Registration will be set up at the Mill Street Community Building, 1199 Mill Street, New Madrid, MO. from 4:00 pm. until 8:00 pm on Friday September 30, 2016. The City will be hosting a fish fry at this site from 5:00 pm. until 7:00 pm. and all anglers are encouraged to attend.
The weigh-in site will be in front of The Bank of New Madrid, 229 Main Street, New Madrid, Missouri. Boats will enter onto main street to weigh from Levee road only. The scales will be open for business at 2:00 pm. Visitors are welcome and encouraged to attend.
“New Madrid is one of my favorite events on the trail,” commented tournament director Ken Freeman. “It is a great community to host this event.” For more information on the tournament you can contact Freeman at 1-731-234-188 or visit the BCQ website.
For more information on New Madrid visit their website.
