Bink Fox Catfish Tournament returns to raise cancer research funds
Sixteen openings remain for the Bink Fox Catfish Tournament at Racine Boat Ramp, where a $100 team entry will help fund gas and food cards for local cancer patients.
Sixteen openings remain for anglers who want a Saturday on the Ohio River to do more than chase catfish. The Bink Fox Catfish Tournament is set for Saturday, May 30, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Racine Boat Ramp in Racine, with a three-person maximum team entry fee of $100 and a 75-percent payback.
The Vinton County Cancer Research Group, a volunteer 501(c)(3), says the tournament is one of its largest annual fundraisers. The money helps provide gas and food cards for Vinton County residents traveling for cancer treatment, a practical form of support in a county the group says is the least populated in Ohio. Its website says the county’s cancer incidence rate from 2016 to 2020 was 502 per 100,000, above Ohio’s 465.3 and the U.S. rate of 438.7. The county’s cancer mortality rate during the same period was 217.2 per 100,000, compared with 166.1 in Ohio and 149.4 nationally.
The tournament also carries a personal backstory that has helped turn it into a recurring county event. Catfish Now reported that James “Bink” Fox and his wife, Janet, created the tournament after Fox survived cancer and wanted to pay forward the support the couple received during his illness. That history gives the fundraiser a name people in the county can recognize and a reason that reaches beyond the weigh-in.
This year’s event will award prizes for first, second and third place, along with a big-fish prize. Raffles and a 50/50 drawing will also be part of the day, giving the tournament the feel of a full community fundraiser rather than a single competition at the ramp. Organizers said the event still had room for teams as the date approached, keeping the tournament open to local anglers and crews from outside Vinton County.
The catfish tournament has already proven it can draw a strong field. In 2023, the second annual event was capped at 85 boats and filled every spot. That year, 175 anglers competed and more than 2,000 pounds of catfish were brought to the scales. The funds went toward gift cards and vouchers for cancer patients in Vinton County.
A January 2026 notice said the May 30 tournament would again be limited to 85 boats. With Racine serving as the launch point and the cause rooted in local cancer support, the event is set to bring anglers, families and volunteers together for a day that combines competition with direct help for neighbors at home.
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