Youth fishing rodeo set for Lake Patsy in Oxford

Lake Patsy at Pat Lamar Park gave Oxford families a free youth fishing rodeo on June 4, putting children 15 and younger in a supervised place to fish without a ticket, a membership or an entry fee. The outing paired the Lafayette County Law Enforcement Officers Association with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, turning one of Oxford’s most familiar recreation spots into a family event with a public-safety presence.

MDWFP says youth fishing rodeos are built for anglers 15 and younger and are held in controlled, safe environments. The events include educational activities focused on fish, fishing and environmental concerns, along with boating safety information. Rodeo ponds are stocked with channel catfish, and participants are encouraged to bring their own fishing gear, catfish bait and stringers. Registration usually begins between 7 and 9 a.m., a detail that makes the event especially accessible for families trying to plan a morning around children’s attention spans and summer schedules.

The setting at Pat Lamar Park fit the rodeo’s purpose. Pat Lamar envisioned the park in the late 1990s as an outdoor arboretum with walking trails, garden features and a quiet lake stocked with fish so young generations could learn the sport. The City of Oxford describes Lamar Park as a place for quiet outdoor pursuits and individual or family enjoyment, and its statement says no formal organized events are allowed there. That made the fishing rodeo stand out as a rare, highly visible use of a park designed around low-key recreation.

The event also showed how law enforcement and wildlife officials use community programming to build trust in a non-emergency setting. That partnership has deep roots in Lafayette County: in 2022, the Oxford Park Commission said the Lafayette County Law Enforcement Association and MDWFP were hosting the 20th annual youth fishing rodeo at Puskus Lake. MDWFP’s current schedule also lists a Puskus Lake Youth Fishing Rodeo in Oxford for June 20, 2026, showing that youth fishing remains part of the county’s summer recreation calendar.