Three weekends from now dozens of avid Teche Area saltwater fishermen will be wetting a line in the 52nd annual Kay-Cees Saltwater Fishing Rodeo at Cypremort Point.

When the anglers go to the weigh-in, they can get a break from the relentless heat or a thunderstorm, if that’s the case, under the spacious new pavilion along Quintana Canal. They will find, as hundreds of anglers, fishing contest officials, relatives and friends have discovered at events this summer, the 40 foot by 80 foot pavilion sure beats a small structure or, in a worst-case scenario, nothing at all.

The pavilion is seven months old. It replaces a much smaller pavilion that was blown away in 2005 by Hurricane Rita.

Although it has been open since February, the pavilion got the traditional ribbon cutting ceremony Friday.  

It’s a welcome addition to Cypremort Point. People found that out over the Fourth of July holiday weekend during the Iberia Rod & Gun Club Saltwater Fishing Rodeo and at several events after that, including the Southcentral Fishing Association Classic, the inaugural Denise P. Breaux Memorial Redfish Derby, and Saturday’s August Angler’s Addiction Saltwater Fishing Tournament put on by the Lydia Cancer Association.

Fishing rodeo officials have been waiting for something like that pavilion for years. Next time we get to try it out will be opening day of the three-day Kay-Cees Saltwater Fishing Rodeo on Sept. 3.

I’m sure veteran fishing rodeo officials like Ronnie Boudreaux will appreciate the big shade shack right next to the water.

 

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It’s always encouraging to see people practice what they preach. Such was the case Wednesday night when Brooke Morrison of Youngsville,  co-owner of Billeaud’s II in New Iberia, was in a hurry to get his 6.09-pound bass back into the water after weigh-in of the Lipari Outdoor Adventures Hawg Fight in the Atchafalaya Basin. Morrison was genuinely concerned about the well-being of the big fish, just as he was last week when he also caught the mini-tournament’s biggest bass, a 3.47-pounder. That bass, he realized, was struggling in the livewell. He asked for a cut in line to weigh his catch quickly and was obliged by Ronnie Dressel of Loreauville. Morrison was able to release the bass alive.

 

DON SHOOPMAN is outdoors editor of The Daily Iberian.