BATH, Ill. – The annual Redneck Fishing Tournament was held in Bath in early August. This tiny hamlet of 300 people is located along Highway 78 near Havana, Ill. This was the 14th annual festival to try to reduce the invasive species Asian carp from the Illinois River. The festival was thought up by Betty DeFord to have fun, raise money for homeless veterans and to raise awareness about the danger the invasive carp present.

What are Asian carp? The USDA lists four types of carp termed Asian carp: bighead, black, grass and silver. They all originated from Asia and fall under the umbrella of the term “Asian carp” or “invasive carp”. Besides the Illinois river, they are also causing issues in the Mississippi River and surrounding waters. Asian carp are fast-growing and prolific feeders. They take up space and food that native fish need.

This invasive species arrived in the United States as a fish for aquaculture ponds, then through flooding and accidental release, they have made it to the rivers. The fish literally jump out of the water when they hear motorboats, thus they are also referred to as the “flying carp.”

Part of the fun is the costumes that fishermen and women dress up in at the event.  Joe Tooker, from Jacksonville, Fla., who dressed up like Corporal Klinger from the show MASH, said, “This is my first time here. I saw it on National Geographic and Facebook.  I came without a boat or plan with a fistful of money.”

Landing a space on a boat, Tooker had a grand time holding a net in costume at the same time.

Fishing is without a line; it is done by using a net when the fish are stirred to jump by the motors. Participants literally catch them in their nets with the goal to catch the most per heat. “Winners get trophies and cash,” DeFord said. “The top four winners divide the prize.”

There are winners each of the two days of the event.

Dan Thomas, who dressed as Uncle Sam, said this was his second time. “We are renting a boat. We do this every year. Whoever catches the most fish wins, and the fish go somewhere for pet food,” he added, sharing that the Asian carp taken from the river have a positive use. Aquatic Protein turns the fish into animal food.

Six individuals – Chris and Stacy Nolan, Laura Kiley, Dave Ducharme, and Vikki and Loren Barnes from Fennville, Mich., found their way to Bath to take part. “It’s a YOLO thing, you only live once,” one of the young women said about doing this fun event. The Michiganders had a team name of the “Michigan Mudpuppies.”

Rick Marr, of Clinton, Ill., and friend Matt Roth, of Morton, were on hand with their boat the General Lee to serve as a support vehicle on the Illinois River Bend. “We have three boats here and a trailer,” Roth said.

“We were college roommates. We do a lot of fishing and hunting. We do deep sea fishing and duck hunting,” Marr said about Roth and himself.

Marr and Roth have been to eight or nine of the events and have been big winners in the past with their record being 237 fish caught in a two-hour period. The General Lee went out in the first heat as a support boat to stir up the Asian carp. “We are here for the common cause to make them jump,” Marr added. “It is the frequency of the motor and the vibration that gets them to jump, we are looking for the right combination.”

The fish even jump in the boats, and Marr warned can hit boaters as well. The support boat hovered in the area with downed trees, “Fish congregate in the downed tree areas, and they like to jump in the more shallow areas.”

Marr and Roth are hoping to help remove the carp that Marr said, “Are voracious eaters that compete with the gamefish, the catfish and bass.”