NATCHEZ — This Saturday will mark the 10th annual Fishing For A Cure McCartney Oil Team Bass Tournament and the tournament shows no sign of slowing down.

The tournament will take place near Jonesville at the 4-Rivers which consists of the Ouachita, Tensas, Black and Little rivers.

“This event draws in a lot of people that don’t normally fish,” tournament weighmaster Eddie Roberts said. “They just come out here to help a great cause.”

The tournament was founded 10 years ago by Darrel McCartney, vice president of McCartney Oil Company in Jena, La.

McCartney created the tournament because he wanted to help raise money for people that were affected by muscular dystrophy.

Each year the tournament donates all of the proceeds to the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Louisiana.

“The tournament has given over $50,000 since the first year,” Roberts said.

The tournament is open to people of all ages, but Roberts said that most of the teams are father-son duos.

“We have anywhere from 80 to 100 teams each year,” Roberts said. “Sometimes there are semi-professional fishers and sometimes there are people who have never fished before in their lives.”

However, fishing is not the reason for the tournament.

“My favorite memories are when people take the time to go talk to the children who are affected by MD,” Roberts said. “A lot of people don’t know what MD is, and coming out here and talking to these kids can really inform people about what the disease is.”

There are a total of 15 cash prizes for the teams in the tournament, and all are donated by local businesses.

“The $110 entry fee for each team goes straight to the MDA of Louisiana,” Roberts said. “We have food, drinks and door prizes. It’s a great outing for the family.”

Fishing hours are from 6 a.m. through 3 p.m.

Once the fishing is over there will be a weigh-in ceremony at Little River Park in Jonesville at 3 p.m.