The Florabama’s annual Mullet Toss is back. At the competition, participants sign up to see who can toss a mullet the farthest across the Alabama and Florida State Line.
Florabama musician Jimmy Louis came up with the idea for the Mullet Toss. It was inspired by a cow-dung throwing competition that he saw in Arkansas.
Pat McClellan, one of the owners of the Florabama, said that he liked Louis’s idea and used it as a way to promote the Florabama. He said that the event started off small, but that people loved it.
“Everybody showed up for the mullet toss. Everyone liked the mullet toss idea. So we set up a little discus circle on the Florida side and we threw the mullet into Alabama so we could say you threw the mullet from one state into the next, sort of a gimmick. But we had all sorts of people come out after that thing,” McClellan said.
That was in 1985. Now, the event brings in around 30,000 people over three days.
McClellan said that the event can get competitive and that everyone has their own technique.
“The guys that held the record were semi pro ball players that used to throw it high in the air like softball or a baseball. The best technique was actually throwing it pretty much like a softball high in the air. One guy bit the head off one time but that was disqualified,” McClellan said.
McClellan said that around 3,000 people usually toss in the competition.
For each fish chucked at the event, the Florabama donates to Local Youth Charities and the Community Drug & Alcohol Council. The competition runs Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. until 4, and it costs $15 to enter the competition. Find more information here.
