Page 12 - March & April

10 MYROUSESEVERYDAY MAY | JUNE 2013
No one can tell a fish story the way the
anglers of Louisiana can. It all started
in Grand Isle in 1928. Tarpon are large and
powerful fish. They buck and pull and fly
out of the water like a bucking bronco or
a bull and rider. Of course this first fishing
tournament would become known as a ro-
deo. The name has stuck.
The rodeo season begins in May with the
Grand Isle Speckled Trout Rodeo and con-
tinues in late July with the Big 3 tournaments.
One rodeo is the Faux Pas Lodge Invitational.
This rodeo, now in its 15th year, offers dif-
ferent levels of competition
so that new fishers, as well as
professionals, are competing
at their own levels and in dif-
ferent types of environments,
including inshore and rig cate-
gories. Like the Faux Pas Lodge
Invitational, the West Delta
Kingfish Invitational takes place
at the mouth of the Mississippi
River at Venice. This rodeo is
sanctioned by the Southern
Kingfish Association, the larg-
est offshore fishing association
in the world. It has spawned
fishing rodeos along the Gulf
of Mexico beginning at Texas and north
up the Atlantic coast to the Outer Banks of
North Carolina in 50 locations.
The granddaddy of them all, the Grand Isle
Tarpon Rodeo, turns 85 this year. It’s locat-
ed at the end of Highway 1 in Grand Isle at
the Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo Pavilion.
This summer, there are newer rodeos, like
the Gone Pecan at the Acadiana Marina
on Pecan Island, to go along with old-
timers, like the Tarpon and 65th annual
Mississippi Deep Sea Rodeo. At rodeos all
over the Gulf Coast, the measurement and
Local Fishing Rodeos
by Elizabeth M. Williams
TAXIDERMY TIDBITS
If you’re planning to mount your fish, wet it, wrap
it in wet towels, and freeze it in more than one
plastic bag to prevent air damage.
Many saltwater fish cannot be skin mounted, so
a replica can be made instead of preserving the
actual fish. Document the fish with numerous
photos and measurements. This data can be used
to produce a replica by taxidermy artists.
Many taxidermy shops produce large hollow
wooden and fiberglass fish with large hooks for
hanging – one will hang in the Gulf of Mexico
exhibit at the Southern Food and Beverage
Museum – painted on one side with a plain side
facing the wall.
Think outside the board – fish mounted in life-like
poses placed in a habitat have become popular,
supplementing the traditional fishmounted on a board.
Photo credit Bob Dennie
An unidentified angler and grinning youngster pose with a sailfish at Raoul’s Marina near the east end of Grand Isle.
Photo credit Bob Dennie
New Orleans Coroner Dr. Charles B. Odom (left) presents a
trophy at the 1962 rodeo while New Orleans Mayor Vic Schiro
looks on from the background.
weighing of the various categories of fish
create an exciting aspect for the observers.
There are records to break and champions
to be named.
Another very important aspect of these
rodeos are the stories that they generate – and
not just the fish stories. News stories about
the rodeos reminds us of the importance of
fishing for commerce and recreation, and that
the health of our water has to be protected.