With so many redfish tournaments popping up throughout the month of July the past couple of years, many anglers were all fished out by the time it came for the Lydia Cancer Association’s annual August Angler’s Addiction tournament.

Interest has been high this year after the LCA decided to move the tournament up to July for the first time, according to Matt Landry, who organized the Angler’s Addiction Tournament as a fundraiser for the cancer association.

“There’s been a lot of interest,” Landry said. “Word is out that the tournament has been changed to July.”

The tournament averages about $10,000 a year raised for the Lydia Cancer Association, said Landry, 40. 

This year’s tournament will be July 19, this coming Saturday, out of Cypremort Point.

“We average about 50 to 60 boats a year,” he said.

A big portion of those people are drawn to the tournament by the cause. LCA was formed in 2003 as an offshoot of a Relay for Life team begun in 1998, as a way to help local cancer patients out, said Ronald Landry, 67, of Lydia. The elder Landry, Matt Landry’s father, said LCA got recognition from the IRS as a nonprofit organization in 2006 and celebrated its 12th anniversary in May.

The fishing tournament is the group’s second largest fundraiser after its annual Cajun Food Fest, which is scheduled for Sept. 12-13 at Weeks Park in Lydia. LCA helps provide financial assistance to cancer patients in Iberia Parish as well as parts of Vermilion, St. Mary and St. Martin parishes.

“We realized there was a need to help cancer patients in our area,” Ronald Landry said. “We started off small. (Now) we help about 65-76 clients a month.”

People can apply for aid by certifying they are cancer patients, he said. The group does what it can to help qualified clients, from paying electric bills to pharmacy costs to buying groceries.

“Whatever people need help with,” Landry said.

The bulk of patients the group helps are in Iberia Parish, he added, and the parish also provides the most aid to LCA. Sponsorships and direct donations are key to keeping the association afloat, he said.

Businesses and individuals can provide sponsorships for the tournament or make donations by calling the LCA office at 367-1192 or by calling Ronald Landry at 365-3005.

Because the tournament is a fundraiser for a worthy cause, it doesn’t pay as much in prize money as some tournaments can, Matt Landry said. Payouts will start at $500 for first place, $300 for second, $200 for third and a $50 gift certificate for fourth in specks and reds in slot categories, and $75 for first, $45 for second and $30 for third in largest drum and largest croaker divisions for kids ages 15 and younger.

All payouts will be confirmed before the event and those are the minimum payouts planned.

“We always bump that up (based on the number of entrants),” Landry said.

A calcutta ($5 per person per category) with 50 percent payout is planned with top red in slot and top speck categories.

Registration is $100 per boat. Check-in begins at 5 a.m. on Saturday at Quintana Canal with weigh-in from 1-4 p.m.

It’s all for a good cause, and area anglers know it.

“Hopefully we’ll do a little better since we’ve moved it up,” Matt Landry said.

For more information about the tournament or sponsorships/donations, contact Matt Landry at 519-3947 or Ronald Landry at 519-3131.