Bath, IL – The Redneck Fishing Contest at Bath on the Illinois River grows yearly, but the number of Asiatic Carp in the river is not being reduced .
The contest started four years ago. The rules call for using a dip net to catch the leaping carp while they're in the air. No poles are allowed.
Organizer Betty DeFord says boats entered from 10 states, including Kansas for this year's tourney.
She got the idea for the contest when the invasive species began crowding out native fish. The carp now are estimated to be up to 70 per cent of the fish in that stretch of the Illinois River.
While the contest usually takes between one and two thousand fish from the river, DeFord says it's hard to notice any difference in the number of leaping fish.
DeFord says people are still being hit by fish weighing 20 pounds or more. Some injuries are reported.
She says the Illinois Department of Natural Resources has been monitoring the Asian Carp population in the river and had representatives at the contest.
One firm is investigating whether the carp can be reduced to a protein powder for possible sale overseas. Beardstown, downstream from Bath, has been mentioned as a possible plant location.