It was better late than never for the first-ever Fish Dat Rodeo in St. Charles Parish, which had a successful debut this month.
“We’re very excited about our first year. There were a lot of door prizes and we had some wonderful sponsors. It was good,” said Duane Foret, the tournament’s coordinator. “The weather cooperated to some extent … it called for 100 percent rain, but we got many breaks with weather. It was overcast and stayed cool, and there was excitement down to the last weigh in at 3. We were really pleased.”
64 people registered for and participated in the inaugural event, which was rescheduled from an initial date of May 21 to Saturday, June 5 due to weather.
Saturday looked a bit iffy as well, but this time the event had to go full speed ahead. As it happened, things turned out well.
“We were kind of worried,” Foret said. “We had to go with this date, with several other things coming up in the near future. Luckily we were spared from the bad weather.”
The rodeo was open to all St. Charles Parish residents and legal Louisiana fishing licensed persons. Registration was $5 for children 12 years of age and younger and $10 for those older than 13. The event headquarters were the Bonnet Carre Spillway Lower Guide Levee Boat Launch off of Hwy. 61, though all parish and area waters were eligible for fishing. It had three weigh-in times and competitors could compete in four categories, bass, trim, sac a lait and catfish, with first, second and third place in each earning prizes. There were two fields divided by age: ages 17 and under and ages 18 and over.
The event saw the parish’s Parks and Recreation Department partner with the Hahnville High angling team in an effort to introduce local youths to fishing and get them involved with the outdoors. Foret called it a continuation of efforts to offer opportunities in conjunction with what is offered at the high school level in the parish.
“We’re looking forward to continuing the Fish Dat Rodeo from here on out,” Foret said.
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