“Sharing the fun of fishing turns strangers into friends in a few hours.” — Eugenie Clark, pioneer fish and shark scientist
It was a swell morning to go fishing, and 100 kids and their adult companions did just that on June 10 to compete in the annual Bogue Chitto Youth Fishing Rodeo near Pearl River.
Young anglers fished along the bank of the Jim Schmidt Boardwalk Trailhead pond from 7:30 a.m. until 11 a.m., with fishing mentors available to give tips and instruction to less experienced anglers. Once rodeo fishing ended, the pond was opened to all anglers, and because it was Louisiana's Free Fishing Weekend, no one even needed a license in order to legally drown some bait.
At the rodeo, which was open to youth ages 4 to 15, there were even rigged loaner fishing poles for competitors who needed to borrow them, along with prizes (awarded by age of fishers and/or type of fish), rodeo T-shirts and a grilled hot dog lunch for registered anglers and their families.
June 10 was also the first day of a separate, weekend Virtual Youth Fishing Rodeo, which allowed youth anglers to fish in any Louisiana waters from sunrise to sunset on either day, then upload a photo of themselves their catches to the Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuges Complex Facebook page. The photos also had to include a sign that said #GetYourFishOn2023 or #GeauxFish2023.
Prize winners will be announced online June 16; have a look at www.fws.gov/event/2023-youth-virtual-fishing-rodeo.