Photo provided The 2024 catfish extravaganza runner-up Greg Carretti shows off his catch.

BELLAIRE — The sixth annual catfish extravaganza is set to take place Saturday and Sunday from 3 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Contestants will meet at Nelson Field to pay their entry fee of $35 per person from 3-8 p.m. before heading to the Ohio River to compete to see who can catch the largest catfish.

Emcee and co-organizer George Olshawsky said the idea for the event came to him over six years ago.

“It was put in my heart for several reasons while I was out catfishing. I fished a tournament one summer that a local church had done over in Wheeling. Then it dawned on me that we could have our own,” Olshawsky said. “I have a knack for catfish and a passion for it. And it was put on my heart because basically there’s a lot of people I run into that don’t have a church, and there’s a lot of guys displaced from other states Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma in this area doing gas and oil. So it’s a great way to invite them to church and their families and get connected into a local church, whether it be our church that we were at or any number of churches in the area.”

Olshawsky puts on the event in collaboration with the church he attends, Relevant Worship Center, based in St. Clairsville.

He said the two-day event is a great time to bond with your kids or get your kids outside and active during summer vacation.

“It’s just a chance to get the kids out and have a good time. It also gives them the opportunity to get out and learn about fishing, especially catfishing,” Olshawsky said. “It’s a great activity to get kids involved in and to pass on to the next generation in the area. We really try to push that.”

He added that in addition to Ohio Valley residents, the competition also sees people from all over the Midwest come and compete.

The first-place winner is guaranteed a minimum of $500, and all of the funds will benefit Relevant Worship Center’s Youth Program and the Teen Reach Adventure Camp.

In addition to the competition, there will be various raffles that will include a $250 summer meat package and a Yeti wheeled cooler.

“It’s not huge money, but it’s a great event and is for a good cause,” Olshawsky said.

He added that contestants can fish off the shore, but almost all participants exclusively fish from various boats.

“We recommend you don’t go any further than New Martinsville and no further north than Raylan,” Olshawsky said. “The reason for that is the fish have to be alive and well and in some sort of container to keep it alive and unharmed.”

He added that it prevents cheating and injury to the fish.

“West Virginia requires us to return these fish unharmed back to the river once we’re done fishing and they’ve been weighed and measured for the competition,” he said.

Olshawsky added that the competition is a perfect way for the church to do community outreach.

“We take pride in the fact that it’s affordable. Anybody can do this, and it’s a great time to bring your family and friends and have a good time that night,” Olshawsky said. “It also helps these at-risk youths and get them help because drugs are rampant here, as well as just boredom in general, and the kids are getting into terrible mischief.”

He added that the competition would not be possible without its various sponsors throughout the years. This year’s main sponsors are Panhandle Cleaning & Restoration and Whiteside Chevrolet.

“They’ve been behind us the last couple of years. We couldn’t have done it without them and their support,” Olshawsky said. “There’s a whole bunch of smaller ones that will be advertised there on the day of the tournament.”