EASL’s 54th Annual Kids Fishing Rodeo

By: Dane Bourgeois

On Saturday, August 2, 2014, 175 kids showed up for the “54^th Annual EASL Kids Fishing Rodeo.”  It was a big success! Once again it was held at Twin Lakes Mobile Estates in Dutchtown. Thanks to Mr. Bobby and Mr. Virgil for their hospitality and hard work in preparing the grounds so that the kids had easy access to the lakes.

As always, there were several kids in line to register before our team of EASL members and volunteers were set up to sign them up. But it didn’t take long to get everything lined out. In just a short while, kids were getting signed up and donuts were being handed out. It seems everything was lined out.

Wait, not so fast. Did I say that “everything was lined out?” Everything but the crickets, that is. It seems like no one thought about getting cups to put the crickets in. I told a couple kids if they could carry a couple crickets in their hands, they would catch more fish. They weren’t buying it. These kids were young, but not all that gullible. We needed to do something, and do something quick! So I jumped into my truck and was off to EASL’s storage shed. Within a couple of minutes I had the cups and lids and was headed back toward Twin Lakes. As I approached the lakes I could hear everyone cheering… “Here he comes to save the day!” Not really. I don’t know if anyone even knew that I went to pick them up. What’s important is that shortly after the cups arrival, there were crickets all around the lakes and at 7:00 sharp a horn was blown to signal that it was time to fish.

There was a big chance of rain early in the day. But as the morning played out the weather gods shined on us. The sun never poked out from behind the clouds, so the temperatures stayed a little cooler than normal which was a blessing. There was a lite sprinkle for a few minutes, but didn’t discourage any of the kids, or should I say “the fishermen”. It actually felt good.

Well as always before you knew it, two hours had passed by and the horn sounded once again. It was time to stop fishing and start counting and weighing fish.

While the fish were being counted, a delicious jambalaya cooked by Mr. Pete and Jeff Bourque and Mr. Barrett Jenkins was being served, as well as all the hotdogs and cool-aid one could want. Thanks to some fast counting & weighing, it was time to announce the winners.

There were 175 kids that participated – 116 boys and 59 girls. The results are as follows:

Overall Winners:

Biggest Fish – Caden Hughes with a 2.7 lb. catfish

Most Fish (Girls) – Mikaylah Bordelon with 54

Most Fish (Boys) – Ayden Fatherree with 48

Age Group 2-4:

Biggest Fish – Miles Bowman with .33 lb.

Most Fish (Girls) – Abbygail Lambert with 9

Most Fish (Boys) – Phoenix Townsend with 21

Age Group 5-7:

Biggest Fish – Cleore Billiot with .59 lb.

Most Fish (Girls) – Lillian McClure with 53

Most Fish (Boys) – Kace Poche with 40

Age Group 8-10:

Biggest Fish – DeShawn Hunt with 1.05 lb.

Most Fish (Girls) – Emilee Kennison with 43

Most Fish (Boys) – Caleb Gautreau with 41

Age Group 11-14:

Biggest Fish – Garrett Leeper with .73 lb.

Most Fish (Girls) – Elizabeth Kennison with 31

Most Fish (Boys) – Garrett Leeper with 29

Bike Winners:

Girls – Olivia Hutchinson and Tiffany McCormick

Boys – Carson Dabadie and Jackson Peltier

After the rodeo and bike winners were announced, all kids registered were awarded a pickup truck full of door prizes. Thanks to the following sponsors & contributors who helped make this possible:

-Twin Lakes Mobile Estates

– American Sportsmen Against Poachers

-Benton Equipment Co.

-Shell Pipeline Company LP

-Bayou Metal Works

-Motiva Rec Club

-Parish President Tommy Martinez

-Pure Fishing

-Fluker’s Cricket Farm

– St. John Knights of Columbus council 8342

-Cabela’s

-Jumonville’s Bakery

-Riverside Barber Shop

-Canal Bank

-Acadian Ambulance

– Diversified Materials & Consulting

-Industrial Consulting & Supply Corp.

-Robert Taylor Enterprises

-Harry Robert Insurance

-Diez Sign Co.

-Hutch’s Ace Hardware

-Ryan Shilling

-Mike & Carrie Brown

-any others I may have failed to mention

All the kids were on their way home by 11:00a.m. I tip my hat to all EASL members who helped put this together and made it such a success. We will need a rodeo chairman for next year. There is a list of things that need to be in place prior to the weekend of the rodeo and it’s the chairman’s duty to see that these things are being taken care of. I ask that someone consider stepping up and volunteering to chair this outstanding event. I promise it will be a rewarding experience.