No cats were harmed during the creation of the Casting for Cats Ladies All-Tackle Backcountry Tournament, which targets Keys anglers' favorite inshore fish in an all-release format. The event is slated for Friday and Saturday, Oct. 19-20, at Holiday Isle Resort, mile marker 84 oceanside in Islamorada.
A kick-off party is set for 6 p.m. Friday on the Holiday Isle beach. A rules meeting is to begin at 7 p.m. A single day of fishing begins Saturday, Oct. 20, with breakfast at Holiday Isle from 6:30 to 7:15 a.m. Boats can leave the dock at 7:15 a.m., and lines in is set for 7:30 a.m.
Ladies can earn points for catching bonefish, permit, tarpon, snook and redfish using bait, artificial lures or fly tackle. Points also will be awarded for ladyfish, sharks, jacks and spotted sea trout (also known as "speckled trout").
Though overall grand champion honors are to be cherished, the real catch is the Cat-Fish trophy, a handmade sculpture of (what else?) a cat and a fish. The prestigious Cat-Fish trophy awaits the lady catching the largest catfish.
While the ladies fish, Holiday Isle is to be alive with the Gathering of the Animals, a fun and educational experience for kids. Games and interactions with rare and exotic animals are in store for kids and their accompanying adults from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Scheduled to appear with some very special warm- and cold-blooded guests are representatives of Vanishing Species Wildlife in Pembroke Pines, Everglades Outpost in Homestead, Florida Keys Wild Bird Center in Tavernier, Islamorada's Theater of the Sea and Caring for Cats Clinic, and Marathon's Stand Up for Animals and Turtle Hospital.
Guest animals at past years' gatherings have included a baby Florida panther, tiger and lion cubs, and marine creature touch tanks.
All proceeds from the tournament and silent auction benefit Caring for Cats Clinic, a low-cost volunteer spay/neuter clinic in Islamorada that has spayed or neutered more than 2,000 feral cats and found homes for some 600 feral cats over the past five years, according to tournament director Sharon Mahoney-Ellenwood.
Entry fee for the tournament is $100 per angler. There is no charge to attend the Gathering of the Animals.
For more information, call (305) 664-2012 or visit the Casting for Cats Web site at www.castingforcats.org/index.htm.
