By: Ryan Duey

Belleville Community Empowerment will host its first Youth and Adult Fishing Tournament of the year at Rocky Pond in Belleville on Saturday, May 10th. Registration starts at 8:30 a.m. with the tournament starting at 9:00.

Rob Kasl with Belleville Community Empowerment and an organizer of the Fishing Tournament said they do three or four tournaments a year.

“We started back in 2020 and turned out pretty good. So, we’ve done 3 or 4 a year.”

“It’s just something that a bunch of old guys sit around and watch young kids, and their families or grandparents have fun at, and we have fun. That makes it enjoyable.”

The tournament is free and open to all. There will be a kids’ division and an adult division, with multiple prizes being awarded. Bait will also be available.

Kasl said that people have come from all around the area for the tournaments.

“We’ve had people from Miltonvale, Morrowville, Mankato, and Hebron. So, yeah, about a 30-40 mile radius around us that has come.”

“Everybody usually leaves with some type of gift. You might catch none, or you could catch 17. It seems like the last couple of winners caught 17 fish in two hours. They must find a little hole, and they do a wonderful job of grabbing them and bringing them in.”

Kasl said there have been a couple of nice catfish caught, putting up a good fight for the kids. Head to Rocky Pond and enjoy a few hours outside with the family.