Keo Khamphilavong, left, is all smiles after he weighed this beauty of a "slot" red on Day 1 of the 71st annual Iberia Rod & Gun Club Saltwater Fishing Rodeo. The 7.6-pounder easily took the lead in the "Slot" Redfish Category in the Inside Division. Khamphilavong fished with his nephew, Matt Khamphilavong, right, Randy Migues and Mitch Fortier.

CYPREMORT POINT – Some former Franklin residents celebrated Independence Day offshore in the Gulf of Mexico on the first day of the 71st annual Iberia Rod & Gun Club Saltwater Fishing Rodeo.

Kristopher Sinitiere and his son, Kiley Sinitiere, who now live in Youngsville, and Jason Comeaux of Broussard rode out in The Boat, a 32-foot long Edgewater, to South Marsh Island oil field structures and returned with red snapper, mangrove snapper and grouper, a few of which stuck on the Offshore Leaderboard at fishing rodeo HQ under the pavilion along Cypremort Point.

Other Acadiana saltwater fishermen targeted and caught fish in and around Marsh Island and elsewhere in the Vermilion Bay area for the Inside Division on Day 1 of the ever-popular holiday weekend event held at Cypremort Point.

Surprisingly, The Boat fished on mostly peaceful seas while many Inside Division boats got tossed around by high winds from coastal storms that popped up.

“It was calm. No wind, pretty water and a bunch of fish. We had a good time,” Kris Sinitiere said about their trip that resulted in a first-place mangrove snapper at 6.4 pounds and first- and second-place red snapper weighing 15.0 and 12.8 pounds, respectively. Also, Comeaux had a first-place grouper at 16.8 pounds.

Kiley Sinitiere’s The Boat was the second Offshore Division boat of the day to check in Thursday. Hardwood, skippered by Chris Bishop, showed about an hour earlier after he fished with Scott Beyt, Brandon Wamsley and Mason Tibbs to account for five places so far on the leaderboard.

The elder Sinitiere said they plan to fish today and the final day on Saturday. Scales are open 3-6 p.m. today and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday.

Contrast The Boat’s offshore experience with that of several boats in the fishing rodeo fishing inshore waters, including Brooks Amy’s Fish Karma, a 24-foot long Blue Wave that got tossed around in Vermilion.

“It (inclement weather) liked to have flipped the boat on the way back. It got kind of choppy,” Amy said after his crew of Scott Perry, his father, Hayden Amy, his son, and a fishing buddy, Jacob Fisher, fished on the east end of Vermilion Bay.

Otherwise, Amy said, “It was nice. The weather wasn’t too hot. The water wasn’t too bad. We caught a lot of fish. We caught fish all day.”

Fish Karma stuck two fish on the leaderboard opening day in the Inside Division.

Storms like that in coastal waters affected other fishing rodeo-goers, such as skippers John Baudry and Matt Migues, both of New Iberia.

“It wasn’t bad this morning but the weather rolled through and it got rough. The storm on the way in was a little rough,” Baudry said.

Migues, a veteran of many trips in and around Vermilion Bay, fished in his 17-foot long Sea Hunt. He crossed the bay around 3 p.m. and ran into storm-whipped waves.

“I wanted to get to the scales. I had enough of fishing,” he said with a chuckle. “The peaks of waves were capping. I was spooked, man. I was scared to stop my boat,” he said after weighing in drum and a few redfish.

The most productive boat belonged to Drew Romero of Lydia. Romero’s Smokin’ Reels, a 24-foot long Blue Wave, surged ahead to pace the pack for the Inside Division’s Boat Captain’s Award while he took the lead for the coveted Inside Division Best All-Around Fisherman title.

Romero, whose crew included his two daughters, Alexis Romero and Aubrey Romero, his father, Brian Romero, and Sofia Romero had a first-day lead in white trout (0.56 pounds) and flounder (3.24 pounds) as well as a second-place slot redfish at 6.74 pounds and third-place speckled trout (1.87 pounds).

While fish were weighed from 3-6 p.m., avid cornhole players competed in tournaments outside and they got a break from the weather. The 3rd annual Acadian Cornhole tournament, the day’s main event held by Mark Ford, owner, and Brandon Mouton, co-owner, was held under the pavilion.

“I’m here for the cornhole tournament,” Joe Kaiser of Abbeville said around 4:15 p.m.

Kaiser didn’t want to be confused with the anglers walking to the weigh-in stage and back to their boats parked along the bulkhead at the fishing rodeo site along Quintana Canal. Kaiser was there with his wife, Kaydee Kaiser, who also played, and their 16-month-old daughter, Coco Claire Kaiser.

Was he a pro cornhole player?

“Semipro. Professional dad,” Kaiser said with a chuckle while his wife tossed their team’s beanbags all the way to the finals outside before the main event.

Following are the results Thursday, July 3, after the first day of the 71st annual Iberia Rod & Gun Club Saltwater Fishing Rodeo at Cypremort Point:

INSIDE DIVISION

Slot redfish

1, Keo Khamphilavong, 7.16. 2, Drew Romero, 6.74. 3, Jack Romero, 6.36.

Speckled Trout

1, Brennon Bishop, 3.94. 2, Brennan Bishop, 2.39. 3, Drew Romero, 1.87.

Flounder

1, Drew Romero, 3.24. 2, Brian Romero, 1.68. 3, Jacob Fsher, .67.

White Trout

1, Drew Romero, 0.56.

Sheepshead

1, Brooks Amy, 3.88.

Drum

1, Everett Higgins, 18.4. 2, Randy Boudreau, 18.0. 3, Matt Migues, 5.6.

Croaker

1, Randy Boudreau, .71. 2, Chad LeBlanc, .67. 3, John Baudry, .63.

Garfish

1, Jason McLean, 20.0. 2, Jack Romero, 19.2.

INSIDE DIVISION BEST ALL-AROUND FISHERMAN LEADERS:

Drew Romero, 341. Brennon Bishop, 179. Randy Boudreau, 170.

INSIDE DIVISION BOAT CAPTAIN’S AWARD LEADERS: Smokin’ Reels, 421. 2, Blue Bullet, 234. 3, Team Karma, 160.

JUNIOR DIVISION

Slot Redfish

1, Bowen Davis, 6.54. 2, Alexis Romero, 5.44. 3, Sofia Romero, 4.93.

Speckled trout

1, Oliver Bishop, 1.95. 2, Kiptyn St. Germain, 1.86.

Flounder

1, Alexis Romero, 1.14. 2, Bowen Davis, 1.01.

White trout

None entered.

Sheepshead

None entered.

Drum

1, Mayz Jackson, 14.6. 2, Michael Lipari, 12.0. 3, Sophia Vining, 6.8.

Croaker

1, Hayden Jarrell, .79. 2, Riley Louviere, .64. 3, Asher Hodge, .63.

Garfish

1, Rhett Thibodeaux, 36.0. 2, Max Baudry, 35.4. 3, Trace Bouton, 23.6.

JUNIOR DIVISION BEST ALL-AROUND FISHERMAN LEADERS:

Bowen Davis, 179. Alexis Romero, 179. 3, Oliver Bishop, 164.

OFFSHORE DIVISION

Yellowfin tuna

1, Chris Bishop, 63.2. 2, Scott Beyt, 57.0.

Blackfin tuna

1, Scott Beyt, 26.4. 2, Scott Beyt, 21.0.

Wahoo

None entered.

Bonita

None entered.

Tripletail

None entered.

Barracuda

1, Chris Bishop, 24.8.

Mangrove snapper

1, Kristopher Sinitiere, 6.4. 2, Scott Rainey, 6.0.

Lemonfish

None entered.

Dolphin

None entered.

Grouper

1, Jason Comeaux, 16.8.

King mackerel

None entered.

Red snapper

1, Kiley Sinitiere, 15.0. 2, Scott Rainey, 13.2. 3, Kiley Sinitiere, 12.8.