HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — The Los Cochinos’ Second Annual Fishing Tournament starts at 1 p.m. on June 15, 2019, with weigh-in at 7 p.m.
This is a casual tournament for fishing enthusiasts or beginners from the general public says Jaime Valdez. Only requirement is for those 17 and older having a valid Michigan fishing license.
Valdez, who loves fishing, said he’d participated in the 2014 Holland Sheepheaders Tournament, along with a few friends. He ended up winning, and the combination of spreading word about the event and his triumph led people to think he’d organized it — and they wanted to know when he’d have the next one.
“I’d rather fish than hold a tournament and watch everyond fish,” Valdez said. But, after people kept asking, he talked to a few fishing buddies — they call themselves the Los Cochinos Fishing Crew –and they agreed to create a different kind of fishing event.
“You either have big lake fishing tournaments or bass tournaments. They are expensive to enter and you need thousands in equipment to have a chance to win,” he said. The group held the first event last July.
“We used our own money to buy prizes and food to give away, all in the name of having fun,” Valdez said. “We figured to use all entry fee money to go into the pot for the winners.”
The cash is split between the people who catch the biggest sheephead and the biggest catfish.
They expected about 20 people would enter.
“Boy, were we wrong,” Valdez said. More than 70 entered, from 5-year-olds fishing with their parents, to those 60 and older.
They collected $1,200 in fees, but more importantly, “everyone had fun — and that was our main goal,” Valdez said.
The rules are simple: Fish anywhere from Paw Paw Park all the way to the Holland piers, from shore or boat.
Organziers debating about allowing boats, but agreed that it would be an even competition. Last year’s winners were a sheephead caught from a boat near Dutton Park and a catfish snagged by an angle standing on the Kollen Park boardwalk.
“We do ask for the fish to be alive when we weigh them, so we can throw them back into the water,” Valdez said.
This year, the Los Cochinos have made a few small changes, though the overall goal of creating a fun community event remains the same.
All entry fees go straight into the prize pot. Food is free to those entering the tournament and their families.
This year, though, “every child that enters the tournament is automatically entered into a raffle. We have fishing poles and tackle as the prizes,” Valdez said. “We also got some sponsors this year, so aside from the cash pot, we will have gift certificates and prizes to hand out.”
The entry fee is $20 per person. All DNR rules apply, meaning three fishing piles per person.
History of Los Cochinos Fishing Crew:
Valdez learned to fish when he was 16.
“I didn’t have anyone to show me how to fish growing up, so I just winged it and never really caught much fish,” he said. Then, his friend friend Dan “The Man” Schuurman “took me under his wing in my late teens and taught me all he knew about fishing. Since then, I fished weekends on the Kalamazoo River off the banks when I didn’t have to work.”
In 2013, Valdez began recruiting other friends to the sport, “and they got addicted,” he said. “I showed them the ropes and my secret fishing spots. We were known to come back home really dirty from fishing. We would jump in the mud or water after a fish so we wouldn’t lose it.”
And that, he said, is where the friends named their group “Los Cochinos Crew” which, roughly translated, means, “dirty boys fishing crew,” he said.
“We will come home covered in mud and fish guts, but we will have the biggest smiles on our faces,” Valdez said.
Their enthusiasm includes taking photos of the catch and posting it on social media — which led to more people getting interested in fishing, he said.
These days, Los Cochinos is comprised of men, women and children.
“Our bond is great and we have fun fishing every chance we get,” Valdez said. “I love teaching kids how to fish. I sometimes receive messages from single parents asking to help their kids catch fish. The expressions the kids have when they pull in a fish for the first time is priceless.”
