People pay twenty-five dollars to enter a fish in the race.
Contestants write tall tale stories about their fish, how they trained the fish to race, and why it is going to win the race. These stories are published in the Paris Post-Intelligencer . The stories are judged and trophies are given for the best stories. A book can be purchased with some of the best stories along with tee-shirts, hats and other goodies. The races, held on the court house lawn are arranged by heats.