The 15th annual Catfish Tournament

As many of you know, since 1986 we've been winter-storing our boat (and the two before it) at Portland Riverside Marina. Fifteen years ago, we came up with an event that would attract people to the river, perhaps add some new customers at the marina and above all, be fun. Ken and Elsie Gouin, who own the marina, and Karen Cecil who is now the manager, put together the Connecticut River Catfish Tournament and it has been going strong now for 15 years.

Bill has been the emcee for all of those years (except for one, when we were stuck on Block Island due to the weather) but that only means that I introduce and thank everyone who helps put the event together and then turn the mic over to Portland's First Selectman, Susan Bransfield, and Elsie Gouin, who together award the prize money to the three kids and three adults who have caught the heaviest catfish.

Entering the marina, one first notices the water grotto created by Ken (without a water diversion permit). He says that it simply serves to discourage the beavers who, before the grotto, delighted in creating a dam on this stream and eventually flooding the area.  The beavers are gone now, replaced by a single concrete fisherman.

The end of the tournament is a day-long event and everyone is fed. The Side O' Beef had been cooking since 4 AM.  Notice the engineering that makes the spit rotate. Yum!

Since this is an environmentally-friendly event, each qualifying fish that is caught over the weekend leading up to the final day is weighed and then kept in a rowboat fitted with a pump to constantly circulate river water.  The kids are fascinated by seeing the nasty looking fish up close.

At noon, the National Anthem is played and a black powder cannon is shot off, marking the official end of the tournament. This year's event drew 130 fishermen young and old, which set a record.  The crowd gathers in a building known as "the cannery" waiting for the prize money to be awarded. The top five kids also receive fishing rods.

The winning youngsters are announced first.

And then the top three adult fishermen. The first and second place prize this year went to two guys who drove their outboard-powered 23-ft. boat to Portland all the way from Niantic.  They bested all the locals and they weren't about to share just how they pulled off this 1-2 win.

There's also a raffle with a wide array of prizes that Karen gets from area sponsors. It is amazing how well organized this event is without ever compromising the fun.

Once the prizes have been awarded, it's time to release the catfish back into the river and the kids just love this part! The setup to do this includes sections of plastic pipe that have been cut in half to make a sluceway.  The kids take their fish from the rowboat and push it down the water-filled pipes so the fish slide down back into the river.

Just after the last fish was released, the sky opened up and it began to rain really hard.  No matter. The beer was cold, the Side O' Beef was almost ready and everyone went inside to trade fish stories.

It is such a great event. It's a little different from the pristine shores of Shelter Island or sitting quietly on Coast Guard beach on Block Island but it's still a wonderful part of our boating experience.