2012 John Cherry Rockfish Rodeo On The Tar

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The team of Dempsey Dupree and Rick Goines garnered top honors at the TASS 2012 John Cherry Rockfish Rodeo On the Tar on Saturday, sharing first place. Dupree also captured the Big Fish in Honor of Jimmie Keel award, sponsored by O’Malley Tunstall, LLC.

May 1, 2012

2012 John Cherry Rockfish Rodeo On The Tar

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Correspondent Rick Goines The Daily Southerner Tue May 01, 2012, 06:10 PM EDT

TARBORO — Saturday was a cloudy and overcast day, but did not stifle the enthusiasm of the 61 anglers participating in the 2012 John Cherry Rockfish Rodeo On the Tar. TASS officials began inspecting and allowing the 33 boats to launch at 4:30 a.m. as anglers competed for more than $4,000 in prize payouts.

First place honors went to the team of Dempsey Dupree and Rick Goines, with a two-fish weight of 10.5 pounds. Dupree also snagged the “Big Fish in Honor of Jimmie Keel,” the single largest rockfish, which weighed in at 7.78 pounds. Dempsey said, “Winning the Big Fish Award in honor of Jimmy Keel was very special to me because I always had a lot of respect for the man and his many fine contributions to the community.”

Joe Dail captured the award for the largest blackfish, and Stuart Murphy landed a big 33.86-pound flathead, to take the largest catfish prize. J. Williams won the junior division, and the new Lady Angler prize, just added this year, went to Carol Long.

Proceeds from the tournament continue to fund the John Cherry Memorial Scholarship at Edgecombe Community College as well as other ongoing TASS community projects.

Sponsors Salute - Tournament organizers would like to extend a special thank you to the Gold Sponsors: Doug Henry Ford & Doug Henry Chevrolet and Tarboro Savings Bank.

The following are results from the tournament with weight and sponsors.

Rockfish

First place - Dempsey Dupree, Rick Goines 10.5 lbs Doug Henry Ford and Cheverolet

Second place - Sam and Samuel Anderson 7.7 lbs Carolina Metal Building Components

Third place - Jimmy and Jim Dupree 7.4 lbs Allstate Insurance, Anderson Agency

Fourth place - Joe Dail, Donnie Vick 7.16 lbs S & W Metal Works

Fifth place - Ricky Denny, Junior Baker 7.1 lbs Fleming Landscaping

Sixth place - Greg Bottoms, Robert Kelly 6.62 lbs Nash Co. Metal Buildings

Individual Awards

Big fish- Jimmie Keel award - Dempsey Durpee 7.78 lbs O'Malley Tunstall

Blackfish - Joe Dail 4.12 lbs Roberson & Dupree Shoe Store

Catfish - Stuart Murphy 33.86 lbs Bailey's Garage LLC

Lady Angler - Connie Long 3.78 lbs Telco Credit Union

Junior Division - J. Williams 2.74 lbs TASS

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Banner Day at Battle Park
Sunday was Mother’s Day. I am not a mother, but I played one in a school play years ago, so I figured that entitled me to go fishing on Mother’s Day. Need an excuse or rationalization to go fishing? Check with me, I’ve got plenty!
After suffering through 2-3 days of a rain induced swollen, unfishable Tar River at Battle Park in Rocky Mount, it was jackpot time on Sunday. Without a doubt, I had my best white shad fishing day ever, fishing from sunrise to early evening. Action was good all day, with a little lull for about 2-hours in the heat of the afternoon.
I am proud to report to you that I enjoyed a 50-fish day. I caught a personal best 46 white shad, 3 hickory shad, and foul-hooked a very angry, upset 3-foot gar. I thought I had two large white shad, or maybe a big rockfish, so I was a little surprised to see Mr. Gar. It was like reeling in an uncooperative 2x4 piece of lumber.

May 17, 2013
NCWRC enforcement officers doing a great job
North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission has two enforcement officers assigned to each county. That’s 200 dedicated, educated, and highly trained individuals protecting our North Carolina environment and natural resources. To become an enforcement officer applicant, one must participate in a highly competitive selection process. A typical candidate is required to pass extensive background and psychological screening. Also included is a vigorous 19-week training academy that is patterned after a military boot camp, with an emphasis on physical fitness.

May 10, 2013
Tight Lines declares Ginger Perry of Nashville the shad queen
One of my favorite places to bank fish is the boat ramp at Battle Park in Rocky Mount. I have met a lot of interesting people there. Three or four times this season, I have watched this amazing lady, Ginger Perry, fishing with her friend, Big Kelly, for white shad. Simply put, she is one good angler! She casts and retrieves like a pro, and always catches her fair share of fish. Maybe a few more than her fair share! This lady can flat-out fish!

April 19, 2013
Time for the John Cherry Rockfish Rodeo on the Tar river
Tarboro Association of Saltwater Sportsman (TASS) presents the annual John Cherry Rockfish Rodeo on the Tar on Saturday, April 27th. Entry fee is $100 per boat.
Registration and information is available daily at Roberson & Dupree Shoe Store, Main Street, Tarboro. The absolute registration deadline is Friday, April 26, by 8 p.m., at the boat landing on River Road, or when the maximum limit 40 boats have been signed-up. Attendance at the Captain’s meeting Friday night, 7 p.m. at the boat landing on River Road, is highly recommended. Rules will be read, questions answered, and you will receive your Captain’s Bag, tournament t-shirt, and other goodies. Each boat is allowed to weigh-in 2 of their largest rockfish, as chosen by the Captain.

April 12, 2013
Sign-up this Saturday for John Cherry Rockfish Rodeo
One of the TASS premier events that local anglers always enjoy is the annual John Cherry Rockfish Rodeo. Registration is limited to the first 40 boats. Full grown men, me included, will be standing in line like giddy teeny-boppers looking concert tickets early Saturday morning waiting for Roberson & Dupree Shoe Store to open at 9 am to plunk down that registration fee.

April 5, 2013
Bottoms Up! Greg Bottoms Wins TASS Shad Tournament
To my knowledge, Greg Bottoms does not smoke or drink, but he does have another habit, and an enviable one at that. Greg wins fishing tournaments. He won the Fall Speckled Trout Tournament, and last week claimed top honors in the shad tournament. Obviously, the man knows his way around a rod & reel. Greg is a skilled angler, and a nice guy, deserving of that success.

March 29, 2013
Shad Tournament participants weighing-in some good fish
All indications are that this will be a banner year for the 12th Annual TASS Hickory
Shad Tournament. The timing is perfect because the shad “bite” has turned on
considerably everywhere. At the halfway point through the week-long tournament, the leader board is already showing some impressive fish weights. Charles Strickland leads the top tier adult category with a healthy 2.56 Hickory Shad. That will be a hard “Hick” to beat!

March 22, 2013
Time to sign-up for the 12th Annual Hickory Shad Tournament
The TASS Twelfth Annual Hickory Shad Tournament week is one of my favorite weeks of the year. This year’s tournament dates are Saturday, March 16th through Noon, Saturday, March 23.
Entry fee is only $10, but you must sign-up before 5:30 p.m. Friday, March 15, if you wish to be involved. You do not need to be a member of TASS to participate, but you must be a member of TASS to receive TASS bonus-money. Registration is at Roberson & Dupree Shoe Store, 418 Main Street, in downtown historic Tarboro.

March 8, 2013
Anglers kindness and generosity never fail to amaze me
The “Shad Hole” on River Road in Tarboro functions not only as a great place to fish, but also a good place to meet and greet like-minded fishing enthusiasts. An informal group usually congregates at the “Shad Hole” nightly during shad season to wet a hook, or simply to exchange pleasantries. These “Shad Hole” friends come in different ages, and walks of life. These are salt-of-the-earth type guys. If it ever comes down to “Us” versus ‘Them,’ I want these guys in my foxhole watching my back.

March 1, 2013
Martin Marietta Materials plans to dump into Blounts Creek
Martin Marietta Materials has applied for a discharge permit to dump groundwater and stormwater directly into Blounts Creek. One person close to the situation tells me we are talking about 12 million gallons of discharge a day. I don’t profess to be an expert on the matter, but that doesn’t sound really healthy, or harmless, for the environment, and specifically Blounts Creek. (Filed documents say the average discharge would be about 9 million gallons a day, but could increase to 11 million on some days.)

February 22, 2013
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