Fishing Rodeo on Elks Lake aims to give quality time with families, police

Scattered showers may have delayed the start of Sunday morning’s Fishing Rodeo at Elks Lake in Cape Girardeau, but by the time the skies cleared, fish were biting at nearly every line cast.

The inaugural free event, sponsored by Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 51 and the Boys and Girls Club, drew more than 100 attendees to the lake at Elks Lodge 639.

Upon arrival, children were greeted with free raffle tickets for prizes including six bicycles, a scooter, fishing poles and sporting equipment.

Fishing was the main attraction at the rodeo, but a variety of non-aquatic activities were featured as well, including food, a petting zoo and a station where children could learn about gun safety and shoot BB guns at targets.

With poles and bait provided by the Missouri Department of Conservation, many children took the opportunity to cast a line and hook a fish for the first time.

Jake Scheper helps his 3-year-old son Peyton take a fish off of a hook during the inaugural Fishing Rodeo, hosted Sunday by the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 51 at Elks Lake in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

Fraternal Order of Police vice president Bobby Newton was pleased the fishing rodeo drew locals out for fishing fun with the family.

“It’s been awesome. I was down there awhile ago, and some of the kids, every time they’d catch a fish, they’d go, ‘I’ve got a fish!’” Newton said. “They were just ecstatic that they were catching, and that’s what we want to see.”

While eyes of first-time fishers lit up at the bite of a bluegill, other young anglers kept their eyes fixed on their bobbers, awaiting bigger bites.

After a few hours of catching small fish, 13-year-old Nathan Crowe netted a largemouth bass about noon — his best catch of the day.

Nathan said while he goes fishing frequently, he enjoyed the Elks Lake event and continued casting even after his big catch.

“I’m going to see what else I can catch,” Nathan said. “Maybe I can catch something bigger than that.”

Cape Girardeau police officer and Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 51 president Shaun Alsdorf said his organization began the event to give back to the community and to give local children a chance to interact with police.

“We kind of found out just by talking to people that fishing is on the downside. No one is really fishing anymore like they did with kids,” Alsdorf said. “So now we’re working more on getting out to a place where there’s no electronics, and we’re just fishing with the kids.”

Alsdorf is looking toward expanding next year’s event to include more fishing locations for outdoor family fun.

“All these kids are out here. They’re not attached to anything electronic — and their moms and dads are with them, which is even better,” he said. “This is what we wanted, and if the weather keeps going, I think we’ll have even more kids.”

bmatthews@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3652

Pertinent address: 639 Elks Lane, Cape Girardeau, Missouri 63701