OVERTIME OUTDOORS: A-B-Cs cover 2018 and touch on next year

Published 12:00 am Sunday, December 30, 2018

A is for ATCHAFALAYA Stump Jumpers, a bass club born at a rollickin’ Cajun boucherie in March. It was the highest Teche Area finisher at the Association of Louisiana Bass Club’s Best Six Team Championship on May 5-6 at Toledo Bend. The St. Martinville-based bass club was 11th, good enough for a payday, despite unbelievably bad luck on and off the water.

B is for BALD eagles that we see quite often in and around the Atchafalaya Basin. The state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries reported late this summer that bald eagle nests are flourishing in southeast Louisiana, from St. Mary Parish to New Orleans. Many of the nests are around Lake Verret and Lake Palourde, according to the latest survey. The future looks bright. We should be seeing the majestic birds for many years.

C is for CWD, chronic wasting disease that kills deer. It hasn’t been documented in the Sportsman’s Paradise but cases have been verified in Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi. The LDWF is taking every precaution to help in-state hunters safeguard the deer herds, including advising against using supplemental deer feeds. Another step regulates how deer taken out-of-state must be brought into Louisiana.

D is for DEDICATION, a somber one, held May 30 in honor of the late Byron Dore of Avery Island. Dore’s dream of becoming a state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division agent ended when he drowned on a deer hunting trip in the marsh of Iberia Parish on Feb. 9, 2008. He was on target to graduate with “Class 23” from the LDWF training academy at the time of his death. The Dore family, the McIlhenny Co. and the Louisiana Wildlife Agents Association donated money for a flagpole with a plaque bearing his name in front of the LDWF Law Enforcement Training and Emergency Response Complex in Baton Rouge.

E is for EDUCATION, such as the courses offered at Crappie University, which visited Acadiana on four days in January and February. A Loreauville native, Babs Dees, Sales and Programming Director, Department of Continuing Education at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, planned the event, which was well attended.

F is for FOND farewell to a friendly and fantastic fisherman, Leonard “T-Clyde” Norbert, who died suddenly at age 58 while on a bass fishing trip Aug. 11 in the Atchafalaya Basin. Leonard, who I knew more than 35 years, had a ready laugh and a knack for putting bass, bream, sac-a-lait, redfish and speckled trout in the boat. He was one of the best on the water.

G is for GHOST town, which describes Lake Fausse Pointe State Park, for the most part, since the flood of August 2016. The high water event was catastrophic and impacted buildings and campground utilities for water and electricity, shorting out the latter. Eight of the 18 rental cabins were reopened, finally, in October. The remaining rental cabins are scheduled to reopen in the spring of 2019.

H is for HISTORY, which was made many times over by Caleb Sumrall, the first New Iberian to compete in the Bassmaster Classic when he joined the other best bassers on the planet March 16 at Lake Hartwell in South Carolina. Sumrall also fished all the Bassmaster Elite Series tournaments and all the Bassmaster Central Opens in 2018, well enough to win $53,000. Family and friends followed every cast by the personal young outdoorsman.

I is for INCREDIBLE run by the Suit boys, Ben and Zach, in the inaugural Wednesday Night Hawg Fight Bass Tournament Series, which they concluded by wining Angler(s) of the Year honors in 2018. What made it more impressive was the fact Johnny Schexnayder and Brandon Sellers dominated the first half of the schedule and those young bass anglers had to rally from behind to win it all in the WN Hawg Fight BTS.

J is for JEANERETTE Ducks Unlimited Chapter, which seems to be in good hands under the leadership of 28-year-old chapter chairman Larry Gaspard Jr. of New Iberia, who credits his days in the Jeanerette Junior Hunter Education Club for instilling a respect for the outdoors and conservation in him starting at age 10. The Jeanerette DU chapter’s general membership banquet the first week of November raised more than $11,000.

K is for KAY-CEE Saltwater Fishing Rodeo, held each Labor Day Weekend by Knights of Columbus Council 3425. The Kay-Cees are trying hard to return the event to its glory days but, for the most part, the response has been underwhelming.

L is for LOUISIANA Attorney General Jeff Landry’s Alligator Hunt, an annual event, brought a Who’s Who in the Republican Party to his camp along the West Atchafalaya Basin Protection Levee between Catahoula and Coteau Holmes. Many Teche Area residents, most of them avid outdoorsmen, helped the St. Martinville native put on the fundraising event Sept. 5-8 that attracted, among others, Donald Trump Jr. and House Majority Whip Donald Scalise from Louisiana.

M is for MATS, as in the 24 “floating island marsh” mats that were prepared as part of an extensive project to combat coastal erosion along the eastern shore of Vermilion Bay. Coastal Conservation Association-Louisiana state and local officials and 140 fourth- and fifth-grade students from Catholic High School teamed with Martin Ecosystems of Baton Rouge on May 18 to plant grasses in the rectangular-shaped mats that were towed from headquarters at Cypremort Point State Park to behind the rip-rap jetties in The Cove.

N is for NOMINATIONS, please, for the most disappointing development in the Teche Area: The subpar speckled trout seasons (October-November-December) the past two years OR the subpar waterfowl hunting this season, especially around Gueydan, once hailed as the Duck Capitol of the World. It’s probably a tossup. The overall lack of fish and the lack of ducks has made this a trying fall and winter.

O is for OFFSHORE boats. Wouldn’t it be great to see even more of them come in during the Iberia Rod & Gun Club Saltwater Fishing Rodeo? The appearances by the big boats serve as one of the traditional highlights.

P is for PEYTON, the first name of two of the younger winners in this year’s Big Bass Classic at Lake Dauterive-Fausse Pointe. Peyton Grizzaffi, 15, of Morgan City cashed in twice with a first-place 2.68-pounder the third hour and a second-place 2.08-pounder the second hour, then Peyton Wilson of Lafayette cashed in with a second-place 2.96-pounder in the seventh hour on Feb. 25. Both are on fishing teams at their respective high schools, Grizzaffi at Morgan City High and Wilson at St. Thomas More.

Q is for QUITE the shakeup in the pro bass fishing world in September when 80 anglers, the majority of them former Bassmaster Elites, crossed over to the Major League Fishing’s Bass Pro Tour for 2019. Former Bassmaster Classic champions, FLW Forrest Wood Cup winners, Anglers of the Year and others joined BPT. B.A.S.S., meanwhile, easily filled out a 75-angler field for next year’s Bassmaster Elite Series, one that includes New Iberian Caleb Sumrall. It ought to be interesting (awkward?) when those ex-Bassmaster Elites now in BPT fish the Bassmaster Classic from March 15-17 on the Tennessee River.

R is for RED beans and rice, the time-honored dish that’s a culinary winner whether at the family dinner table or at the hunting camp in the marsh or woods. I’ll take a bowl of red beans, sausages and rice any time. It’s one of the signature dishes of Cajun Country.

S is for SAINTS. We all hope they go marching through the postseason and make a second appearance in the Super Bowl, which would be fitting as it will be played in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the arch-rival Atlanta Falcons. It’s been a magical season that’s kept us on the edge of our seats, particularly down the stretch.

T is for TRESPASSING concerns on the water in the Sportsman’s Paradise. HB 391 this year brought the public water access issue to the forefront for boaters who are getting blocked from more and more waterways. Alas, it was defeated 59-37 in the House on April 22. Backers promise to propose similar legislation in 2019. Hopefully, a renewed push carries it all the way to the governor’s desk.

U is for UNSEASONABLY early rise in the Atchafalaya River in early October. With the river stage well above 12.0 feet at Butte La Rose most of the fall and early winter, anglers have been discouraged from fishing one of the best times of the year for the Atchafalaya Basin. It’s been a bummer for bass anglers, including me.

V is for VASYLENKO, Yana, of Arkansas, a visitor to the heart of Cajun Country for the Iberia Rod & Gun Club Saltwater Fishing Rodeo. Vasylenko has lived in Texas and Arkansas since moving to the United States from her native Ukraine. The 22-year-old braved the sweltering heat and caught enough bull reds on Lydia outdoorsman Milton Davis’ boat to leave her sore for the return trip to Arkansas.

W is for WILD KINGDOM in the Teche Area, which was the kicker headline for two local outdoors stories in July. The shocker was the shark caught July 20 on a catfishing “noodle” in the G.A. Cut near Myette Point by Eric and Ali Provost of New Iberia. The 4-foot long shark was pulled into their 16-foot aluminum boat by the surprised anglers, photographed and released alive. A few weeks earlier, Steve Miguez of Loreauville, father of state Rep. Blake Miguez, R-Erath, was driving to Cypremort Point when he and his passenger, John Bacon of Breaux Bridge, saw an adult Louisiana black bear and two cubs. After Miguez turned around and stopped the pickup truck, Bacon snapped a photo.

X is for X marks the date Jan. 10, the day I retire from The Daily Iberian. I don’t know what the future will bring but the past is full of great memories here and outdoors.

Y is for YOUTH Hunter Education Clubs. Two are active in the Teche Area — the Jeanerette Junior Hunter Education Club and the Acadiana Junior Hunter Education Club. They compete in the state tournament each spring and always send one or more qualifiers to the National Youth Hunter Education Challenge held each summer in either New Mexico or Pennsylvania.

Z is for ZACHARY Brazda of Arnaudville, who caught the biggest bass this year in Teche Area waters, a 9.4-pounder that bit on a Senko during a Carencro Bass Club tournament out of Lake Fausse Pointe State Park. He was using a spinning rod and reel combo with 10-pound test line. The “hawg” was released at the state park’s boat landing.

DON SHOOPMAN is outdoors editor of The Daily Iberian.