By Louis Zylka
The 830 Times
The annual Armored Catfish Tournament will take place in the San Felipe area from Friday, June 19, through Sunday, June 21, and families and friends are invited to help with removing the invasive species.
The 42-hour tournament is a collaboration between the Casa de la Cultura, the San Felipe Creek Coalition and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The purpose of the tournament is to extract as many of the invasive armored catfish from the San Felipe Creek as possible.
Lupita De La Paz, executive director of the Casa De La Cultura, talked with The 830 Times to give more information about the tournament, discussing how the tournament has been an ongoing event for over 10 years. The armored catfish is a fish native to the Amazon River basin in South America and was discovered in the San Felipe Creek area during the late 1990s.
Registration, which is free, will take place between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Friday at the Casa De La Cultura, 302 Cantu St., where participants will be provided information about the catfish from De La Paz and Nora Padilla, park interpreter from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Participants will also receive bracelets to help verify their registration.
De La Paz said they want to get everyone registered on Friday as best as possible. Participants only need their names and phone numbers to register. The cash prizes for the teams participating include $400 for first prize, $250 for second prize and $150 for third prize. Teams can be made up of three or four members.
De La Paz said participants do not need a fishing license to capture the catfish since they are an invasive species, and she recommends teams to use a casting net when catching the fish. She also said the catfish will be easier to catch during the hotter hours of the day, which is why the tournament is held during the summer.
With Father’s Day being on Sunday, 21, De La Paz said the tournament is a “good experience” for families to something together. She said it is fun to see families spend time at the creek.
“Families really enjoy this event, and not only are they spending quality time together, but they are also making a difference in our community,” De La Paz said.
Participants can fish for as long as they can between Friday and Sunday morning, as long as they follow park regulations. De La Paz encourages participants and non-participants to attend Sunday’s weigh-in, which will be at noon, adding that it is a “cool experience” seeing all the fish being counted and collected in the patio area of the Casa de la Cultura. After being counted, the armored catfish will then be composted in a nearby area.
