Rodeo time here in Louisiana
Rad Trascher, director of the Statewide Tournament and Angler's Rodeo, The S.T.A.R, readies the release a specially tagged redfish for S.T.A.R.'s Saturday's opening day of the summer-long rodeo that runs through Labor Day. The rodeo is sponsored by Coastal Conservation Association-Louisiana and CCA membership and a $25 fee is required to win S.T.A.R. prizes. The first entered fishermen to catch one of the 50 specially tagged redfish released across the Louisiana coast wins a Chevrolet silverado pickup truck, one of the top awards among the $500,000 in prizes in 14 Open, Women's and Youth divisions.
Got the fishing itch, the rodeo fishing itch?
If you’ve felt it coming on, then, come Friday, you can start a summer-long scratch.
The annual Grand Isle Speckled Trout Rodeo gets a one-day head start on the big Statewide Tournament and Angler’s Rodeo — S.T.A.R. — that runs through Labor Day and opens a full two months of competitive saltwater fishing for Capital City area and south Louisiana anglers.
The Memorial Day Weekend rodeo and S.T.A.R. end May with a flourish before June arrives with a list that includes:
- a state-sponsored Children’s Tournament and the Save Our Lake Rodeo/Back to the Beach Festival the first weekend in June;
- the increasingly popular Swollfest Rodeo continues June 7-9 on its run out of Sand Dollar Marina on Grand Isle;
- after a weekend open for Father’s Day, the Catholic High Alumni Rodeo takes up June’s next weekend (June 22-23) at Moran’s Marina at Fourchon.
And those are just the headliners: There’s lots of other action in the mix, too, not the least of which is the Bassmaster Elite Series’ June 7-10 tour on Toledo Bend near Many, an event that will bring the top pro bass fishermen to the state, including bringing back home Gonzales’ Greg Hackney and Pierre Part’s Cliff Crochet.
Throw in the state’s top one-day, big-trout event, the June 2, Lake Charles Trout Shootout on Calcasieu Lake and Louisiana’s “Free Fishing Weekend” set June 9-10 (no licenses required to fish in all state waters) and it makes June the prefect time to get into the long-established Golden Meadow-Fourchon, Grand Isle and Southwest La. Fishing Club rodeos in July.
The 16th annual Grand Isle Speckled Trout Rodeo has added a “rat” redfish (under 27-inches long) category to its “board” fish and, come Sunday evening, will again crown Louisiana’s Master Speckled Trout Angler at Bridge Side Marina, the first stop after crossing the new high-rise bridge spanning Caminada Pass.
A new addition is the crystal vases that will go to the man and woman bringing in the heaviest speckled trout during the three-day run.
Other than the eight places for specks, there are eight other specie categories and three categories for Junior Division (12 and younger) anglers.
The $20 entry fee includes chances to win $3,000 in cash prizes and door prizes. Weigh-in hours at Bridge Side are 5-7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday. A dinner and dance is set for 7 p.m. Saturday and the awards ceremony will happen at 3 p.m. Sunday. See website http://www.speckledtroutrodeo.com.
All marinas on Grand Isle have tickets.
The S.T.A.R.
The biggest news for the summer-long rodeo is that red snapper are back on the leaderboard.
“We decided that putting it back in the rodeo completed the competition for the anglers,” tournament director Rad Trascher said. “We support expanding our opportunity to catch red snapper off our state’s coast, and that’s why red snapper is making a return.”
The recreational red snapper season runs June 1-July 10.
Starting Saturday, the first rodeo’s registered angler catching a specially red-tagged 2012 S.T.A.R. redfish wins a Chevy Silverado pickup truck and the next nine catching one will take home a 2110 NauticStar bay boat rigged out with the new 150-horse Mercury four-stroke outboard among the $500,000 in total S.T.A.R. prizes.
That same boat is the top prize for the top speckled trout weighed in the four geographical divisions in state waters. Other categories are Mangrove Snapper, Cobia, Dorado (bull dolphin), Ladies-only Speckled Trout, Fly Fishing, Kayak, the Calcasieu Calcutte for speckled rout, Sheepshead, Flounder, a Youth/18-and-younger and two new Mississippi (Open speckled trout and Youth) divisions.
There’s a $25 rodeo fee, but no fee for Youth Division anglers.
Events’ websites include: http://www.ccastar.com and http://www.swollfest.com.