Optimist Club Fishing Rodeo Set for Saturday

The East Ridge Optimist Club will hold its annual Kids’ Fishing Rodeo this Saturday, June 3, at Camp Jordan Park.

The popular event, which allows kids under 14 to fish Dickert Pond for catfish and bass, is slated to begin with registration at 8:30 a.m. Fishing will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at noon, officials said. An awards ceremony will follow. In past years, awards were given for biggest fish, most fish and a Grand Champion.

And, there should be plenty of fish to catch. Stump Martin, the city’s Parks and Recreation Director, said that Bass Pro Shops recently stocked the pond with 150 catfish. The City of East Ridge and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency put 500 pounds of fish into the pond.

Not only will the kids have a fun day of fishing but free hot dogs and drinks will be furnished by the Optimists.

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.