Saltwater anglers hope to be battling for trophies such as those from the 2009 Kay-Cee Saltwater Fishing Rodeo, but no decision will be made until Thursday as rodeo officials wait to see what effects linger from Hurricane Isaac before saying yea or nay for this weekend’s event. The 2011 rodeo was canceled because of Tropical Storm Lee. - Don Shoopman / The Daily Iberian

With Hurricane Isaac lurking near the Gulf Coast southeast of New Orleans, Kay-Cee Saltwater Fishing Rodeo officials met Monday night to discuss the fate of this weekend’s 53rd annual event at Cypremort Point.

They decided to make a final decision Thursday night, Ronnie Boudreaux said early Tuesday morning. Isaac was expected to make landfall overnight Tuesday and pummel the region with wind and rain Wednesday, according to a forecast from the National Weather Service.

Boudreaux, veteran fishing rodeo weighmaster and former chairman who has been associated with every one of them, said, “We discussed all the aspects of it. We decided the way the storm was going it’d be over with by that time. We are hoping it’d be cleared out and we’d just go with it. It’s way too early in the week to make a decision.”

Boudreaux and about 34 other Knights of Columbus Council 10902 members met at the Kay-Cee Hall on Theriot Road. Besides addressing concerns about the storm, they welcomed new associate pastor the Rev. Bill Gearheard from Milton to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church.

After skipping a beat last year, the Kay-Cee Saltwater Fishing Rodeo was scheduled to get back on track this Labor Day Weekend. It’s been two full years since the group held the event because it was canceled last year by an approaching Tropical Storm Lee.

Will Isaac force the fishing rodeo officials to do the same? It depends on what happens.

“This doesn’t look like we’re going to be on the bad side. We’ll get together again Thursday. We’ve got all the stuff loaded and everything’s ready,” Boudreaux said.

“I think it’s going to be a go. I don’t think it’s going to be that bad of a storm. I hope it isn’t that bad.”

This year’s event is scheduled to get under way at sunrise Saturday and end at 1 p.m. Labor Day Monday. Scales are scheduled to be open from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and from 8 a.m. to Labor Day Monday. 

Last year would have been the fishing rodeo’s first under the new pavilion alongside Quintana Canal. Boudreaux and other fishing rodeo officials have been champing at the bit and very excited to set up and hold a three-day fishing rodeo at that nice structure, one that keeps the sun and the rain off fishing rodeo officials, anglers and visitors alike. 

He’s hopeful they get the chance this year.