Overview The Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo is a three-day Captain's Choice fishing tournament on Dauphin Island, Alabama, that its organizers bill as the largest fishing tournament in the world, with 30 categories paying first, second and third place. It is sanctioned by the Southern Kingfish Association, crowns one Master Angler, and pays cash jackpots for king mackerel, speckled trout and big game; a boat, motor and trailer anchor the prize package. The Mobile Junior Chamber of Commerce, later the Mobile Jaycees, took it over in 1948, and the 93rd rodeo ran in July 2026. On site Spectators come to the rodeo headquarters on the island for the live weigh-ins, an air-conditioned sponsor tent lined with 10-by-10 booths and a music stage that runs all weekend. In 2026 the week opened on Thursday with Captain T-Bone's Liar's Contest, Bruce Smelley played that night and Mustache The Band on Friday, and a new swordfish jackpot was added. The Saturday before, the Roy Martin Young Anglers Tournament runs its own 30 categories in one day for anglers 15 and under, with awards on site once the weigh station closes. Audience The Jaycees say the weekend music brings more spectators onto the site and keeps them there longer. Every angler who buys a ticket gets the rodeo's digital brochure. The young anglers tournament brings more than 1,000 kids and their parents to the island. Track record The first rodeo, in 1929, drew 260 anglers at a $5 entry fee. The rodeo has given more than $400,000 to the University of South Alabama's School of Marine and Environmental Sciences, funds academic scholarships every year, and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab collects scientific data from the catch. Ticket sales from the young anglers tournament, which reached its 68th year in 2026, pay for the Mobile Jaycees Christmas Shopping Tour. Brand presence A President's sponsor can put its name on a category or division: CCA Alabama's name went on the live weigh-in for redfish and speckled trout, and it carried through the rodeo's TV appearances, radio interviews, website and social posts. Joe Bullard Chevrolet took the music stage the same way. The Liar's Contest, the awards ceremony, the ticket outlet, the cash prize dock, the hospitality tent and the weigh station can all be named, and in 2026 Piggly Wiggly presented the young anglers tournament. The Jaycees say most sponsor-tent tenants return year after year.