With Memorial Day Weekend at hand, it certainly isn’t too early to talk about the 71st annual Iberia Rod & Gun Club Saltwater Fishing Rodeo.

IR&GC officials, who have held at least four pre-fishing rodeo meetings since March, scheduled this year’s three-day holiday weekend event for July 4-6, a Thursday through Saturday, at Cypremort Point.

Barring inclement weather and/or high winds, IR&GC fishing rodeos typically are the highlight of the summer for those who love saltwater fishing and being around like-minded friends and family at the Point. Each fishing rodeo is competitive as heck, no matter how good, fair or bad fishing success is, with bragging rights claimed for at least another year.

Fishermen and fisherwomen, young and old, compete in the Junior Division, Inside Division and Offshore. Their eyes are on the big prize, the handsome Best All-Around Fisherman trophies for the accumulated points leaders in Junior, Inside and Offshore.

It’s just a little more than one month away, which gives boat captains plenty of time to round up a crew and start looking around for redfish, speckled trout, sheepshead, white trout, flounder, drum, croaker and garfish, which are eligible in the Junior and Inside divisions, and Offshore Division fish such as tuna, wahoo, bonita, tripletail, barracuda, mangrove snapper, lemonfish, dolphin, grouper, king mackerel and red snapper.

The annual Anglers Supper, which includes a free meal, raffles and door prizes, is scheduled to be held 6:30-9 p.m. July 2 at the Lydia American Legion Hall. IR&GC officials emphasize this is the only time Calcutta tickets will be sold, plus it’s an excellent opportunity to buy fishing rodeo tickets for each angler on the boat.

Fishing begins at 12:01 a.m. on the Fourth of July. Scales will be open Friday, the second day, from 3-6 p.m. and from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday. Awards are scheduled to be presented at 3 p.m.

A full slate of fishing rodeo-related activities has been scheduled under and around the pavilion along Quintana Canal. After the digital scales close there on the first day at 6 p.m., the ever-popular Cornhole Tournament gets underway while music is spun over the speakers by a DJ. On Friday, a DJ plays tunes from 6-7 p.m., followed by live music from Seasoned Soul, an Avery Island-based variety rock band with a huge following, from 7-10 p.m. The entertainment lineup for the third and last day features Erath’s Cliff Bernard, a solo acoustic artist and singer who plays across the South, from 1-3 p.m.; Swampland Revival, a five-piece Cajun and Swamp pop band out of Youngsville, from 4:30-6:30 p.m., and our own The Bad Boys from 7-10:30 p.m.

The 71st annual nonprofit event’s organizers, whose ranks have grown this spring with the addition of several enthusiastic newcomers, have been seeking sponsors and donations since late February. The sponsorship deadline ended May 10, according to a Facebook post May 13, but donations for door prizes and raffle items still are being accepted.

For more information on the 71st annual IR&GC Saltwater Fishing Rodeo, contact iberiargc@gmail.com or go to www.iberiarodandgunclub.com/.

Between now and the time that last fish touches the scale, let’s cross our fingers and hope for favorable weather and water conditions for the Fourth of July Weekend.

DON SHOOPMAN is outdoors editor of The Daily Iberian.