Lodging In Venice Louisiana

Excitement high as rodeo nears

For the first time in decades, Schouest was unable to participate in one of his favorite summer activities — the Grand Isle International Tarpon Rodeo. The rodeo was canceled because of the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico that led to a massive oil spill off Louisiana’s coast.

“It’s tough not having it when you’ve been doing this for more than 30 years,” he said. “It left a big void last summer.”

But the long wait for Schouest and thousands of other fishermen will come to an end as the 89th installment of the three-day rodeo begins on Thursday.

“I can’t wait for it, but I’m not the only one,” Schouest said. “Everybody is excited that the Grand Isle rodeo is coming back.”

The Grand Isle International Tarpon Rodeo is the island’s biggest event of the summer. It typically attracts more than 15,000 tourists to the island, which is 10 times its normal population.

The rodeo’s return is welcome news for Grand Isle businesses, as nearly all of the island’s hotels are booked for the extended weekend.

“There is some excitement in the air,” said Buggie Vegas, owner of Bridgeside Marina in Grand Isle. “Everybody is excited about it. It’s looking like it could be one of the best ones.”

All signs are also pointing to a banner year for fishermen.

Many of the summer fishing rodeos have reported bountiful catches since their return from a one-year hiatus. The catches have been good for both offshore and inshore fishing.

Although he mainly goes for tarpon, Schouest said he’s heard the speckled trout fishing has been outstanding in recent weeks.

“The trout season has been really, really good,” he said. “I’ve been hearing good speckled trout reports, especially out of the Houma area. It may be a little slower around the Grand Isle and Venice areas because of the (Mississippi) river water, but that should not stop the fishermen from bringing in some nice trout.”

Rodeo weighmaster and Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologist Martin Bourgeois said he would not be surprised to see some quality tarpon brought to the Sand Dollar Marina weigh station, especially after four fish known as the “silver king” were caught during the 63rd Annual Golden Meadow-Fourchon International Tarpon Rodeo.

Archive for February 2011 « cajunodysea

Venice Louisiana offshore charter fishing is booming…. Last year people could not get offshore because of the BP Oil spill so this year it appears the customers are making up for lost time. My phone is ringing off the hook and the e-mails are pouring in. For once I think there is more of a demand for offshore charter fishing than there is Charter Captains to take the trips. Simple- Louisiana is testing and sampling more seafood than they have in the past becasue of the possible risks. OR should I say risks that one might would assume could be possible. The State of Louisiana, NOAA, Food and Drug Administration, NMFS, all these agencies are watching the seafood so close it makes things safer and safer for you and I the consumer. CUDOS to the State for their sampling and testing efforts. We started the week with Jess Williams and the Wahoo bite was great early in the morning… The seas were rough as we exited out of South Pass so I opted to stop short of my intended location of Elf. We stopped at BP-109 and fished the rig as well as the “cans” for stand by vessels. The water was blue and the sea grass was floating around as were the Jellies, the temperature was 65 degrees and I really felt we would hammer the ‘hoos. As we trolled by the cans the reels would scream drag and the normal was doubles and some triples, however , this did not last much over an hour and we had a long day after that in rough seas. Just to tell you how the Wahoo move, when I returned to the dock I told Capt. Kev and Wade where to find the fish at first light being the first boat… They returned and NOT ONE WAHOO BITE… As the week progressed we saw the arrival of the long over due JUMBOZ… My days run together but I can tell you it was a real sweet treat to finally catch big fish (see photos @ www.CajunOdysea.com) on the usual haunts. The Midnight Lump produced a 196 LB Jumbo for me as well as a 91 LB Amberjack. Boats were successful each day but the bites were few and far between. Our best day yielded 4 real nice fish. When fishing for the JUMBOZ top notch equipment is mandatory. Tackle set ups are like elbows and belly buttons, but I will share my favorite set up with you.

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The southern reporter

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