# Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo?



## GinMan (Jan 29, 2005)

I noticed that Tarpon were actually brought to the docks for this tournament. I looked on the Louisiana State Sildlife and Fisheries Regs www.wlf.state.la.us
And I could not find what the regs were on keepeing tarpon in Louisiana.
I think a dude from Galveston got the biggest Tarpon , but I couldn't find the official results online.


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## Scott (May 24, 2004)

That's because there are no regs for keeping tarpon in La. They are the only state on the Gulf Coast that lets you keep any size tarpon and any number of tarpon a day that you want!! Pretty sad.

Granted, they don't kill that many. In all the tournaments, maybe there are 20 fish killed a year. That's probably as many as in Florida but that's too many for me.

Here are the stories:

*Teen takes top honors at Grand Isle Rodeo*

*Winning tarpon weighs in at 147 lbs., 6 oz.* 

Sunday, July 31, 2005 

*By Andrew Canulette*

*Staff writer* 

GRAND ISLE -- Joshua Rodriguez figured the tarpon he entered Saturday in the International Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo would make the leaderboard. 

He was right. 

But the 15-year-old native of Galveston, Texas, had to wait more than 40 minutes to find out which of the five spots his fish would occupy in the most heralded division of the 84th annual rodeo. 

Rodriguez, who fished with several family members aboard the Silver King Adventures 4, brought the tarpon to the Sand Dollar Marina scales just before 2 p.m. But when the fish was being hoisted for weighing, a piece of the scales' electrical cord was caught in the hoist, which sliced into the line and halted entries for the better part of half an hour. 

Weighmasters and state police quickly began repairing the scales. Meanwhile, the tarpon -- and Rodriguez's hopes -- were put on ice. 

The wait was worth it. 

When the scales were repaired, Rodriguez's tarpon weighed in at 147 pounds, 6 ounces, which gave him the heaviest tarpon entered at that point. Another tarpon was entered later in the day but didn't crack the top five spots, giving Rodriguez the victory. 

Rodriguez caught the tarpon in Grand Bayou on a **** Pop. This was the third time he entered the rodeo and he felt confident he would land a big fish. 

"The storms yesterday tore us up," Rodriguez said. "(The fishing) went down. But today we got it right. I was just hoping for the best." 

This marked consecutive years a Galveston resident won the tarpon division; Chris Mielsch won in 2004. 

Rodriguez's tarpon bumped Houston's Tom Preston into second place. Preston landed a 140-pound silver king Thursday during the first day of rodeo fishing. Mandeville's Pierre Villere finished third (134-0), Sammy Pizzolato of Houma was fourth (114-4), and Lance Wagner of New Orleans placed fifth (111-10.) 

As usual, many anglers waited until the final hours of the rodeo to enter their big game fish. Mark Rudolph of Houston arrived aboard the Done Deal 45 minutes before the scales closed and entered the biggest wahoo (56-10) and blackfin tuna (31-6). Rudolph was chosen best all-around male angler in his first Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo. He caught the fish about 70 miles offshore near Brutus. 

Phyllis Foster of Lake Charles landed a 34-4 dolphin and was selected best female angler. 

The boat Reel Crazy, which is captained by Tommy Hebert, was named best boat. Anglers on the craft earned 1,300 points by tagging and releasing two blue marlin, a white marlin and a yellowfin tuna. 

Anglers on the Mr. Todd,captained by Chris Schouest, tagged and released two tarpon to lead that division. 

Two rodeo records were set. Jerry Larpenter, a Houma resident and the sheriff of Terrebonne Parish, set a new standard in the redfish stringer division with a total weight of 37 pounds. Joseph Sutherland of Metairie caught a 12-10 mangrove snapper -- the largest fish in the two-year history of the category. 

Other top fish included a 7-6 speckled trout caught by Craig Hunt of Baton Rouge and a 53-0 cobia caught by Puddy Gautreau of Donaldsonville. 

. . . . . . . 

Andrew Canulette can be reached at [email protected] or (985) 645-2855. 

*N.O.'s Wagner hauls in 114-pound tarpon*

*Day's biggest silver king was caught in Lake Pontchartrain* 

Saturday, July 30, 2005 

*By Andrew Canulette*

*Staff writer* 

Normally, the trophy tarpon entered in the Grand Isle International Tarpon Rodeo are pulled from the Gulf of Mexico. 

But during the second day of the 84th annual rodeo, the biggest silver king came from, of all places, Lake Pontchartrain. 

Lance Wagner of New Orleans entered a 114-pound, 4-ounce tarpon he caught early Friday afternoon in one of several deep holes near The Trestles that span the lake. The tarpon, which he caught on a live poagie, put Wagner in fourth place in the rodeo's most heralded division. 

Catching tarpon in Lake Pontchartrain is rare, but not unheard of. Wagner has targeted tarpon along the south shore for nearly 25 summers and is always sure to register for the rodeo. He hadn't landed a tarpon in the lake this year, but said this catch couldn't have happened at a better time. 

"Every year they're in there," Wagner said. "I hooked one about three weeks ago, but it got off. This year there seems to be more in there than previous years. It seems like they're getting better in there." 

The top three spots in the tarpon division remain unchanged from Thursday. Tom Preston of Houston, who landed a 140-pound tarpon, is in first place, followed by Pierre Villere of Mandeville (134-0) and Sammy Pizzalato of Houma (114-4). 

Nick Zeringue of Thibodeaux entered the day's only other tarpon. That fish weighed 106-3. 

Steve Hollars landed the biggest fish of the rodeo Thursday, but angling fans waiting at the Sand Dollar Marina had to wait until Friday to get a glimpse. 

Hollars, who lives in LaPlace, caught a 498-pound, 3-ounce blue marlin Thursday afternoon in the Ewing Banks area. He and several family members continued fishing on the Desire 2 until returning to shore at 2:45 p.m. Friday. 

It took four men nearly 15 minutes to unload the billfish from the rear deck of the family's boat. When they dragged the marlin across the wharf, it was carted by a small tractor to the scales. The nearly 10-foot-long fish was hoisted while friends, family and strangers snapped photographs and offered congratulations. 

Hollars fought the fish for more than two hours. He said at first he thought it was a yellowfin tuna, but realized differently when the marlin broke the surface about 300 yards from the boat. 

"We saw the bill, we saw the fin," Hollars said. "Then we knew it was a marlin. Everybody on the boat went crazy. It was unbelievable." 

Capt. Alvin Melancon, Hollars' brother-in-law, said the fish took a toll on Hollars. 

"The fish was putting a whooping on him," Melancon said. "But he hung in there and did a great job with it." 

A team aboard the boat "Mega Bites" tagged and released two other blue marlins Friday in the Mississippi Canyon area. Jay Ougel and Jacob Pitre reeled the fish to the boat and helped earn the team 1,000 points in the big-game division. 

A greater number of big game fish came to the scales Friday than on the opening day of the rodeo. Among them were a 34-pound 4-ounce dolphin landed by Phyllis Foster of Lake Charles, a 39-pound barracuda entered by Philadelphia's Bob Lopez and a 139-pound, 3-ounce yellowfin tuna caught by Mark Richard. 

Todd Terrell of Baton Rouge entered a 44-pound wahoo, which outweighed the second-place wahoo by more than 30 pounds. 

. . . . . . . 

Andrew Canulette can be reached at [email protected] or (985) 645-2855.


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## GinMan (Jan 29, 2005)

No Regs? Amazing.
Anyway this is the picture I ran across that sparked my interest in the tournament. Don't see many Tarpon on Ice these days........


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## Tarponchaser (May 25, 2005)

I will start contacting CCA members in Louisana... suggest that all Texas & Florida CCA members do the same. I beleive that they would support at lease some regulation. They have some of the best fishing in the world and should want to preserve it. 

You can get state officers addresses off the website.
TC


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## Louisiana Tarpon (Jun 24, 2004)

Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo 5 kill places Terrebonne Sportsman League 3 kill places (this year only 2 killed) Empire South Pass Tarpon Rodeo 3 kill places Coonpop/Louisiana Tarpon Club Rodeo 3 kill places for a total of 14 kill places---The entire fleet measure the fish and call the weights over the radio as not to kill a fish unecessarily(sp) I would dare say that not even 20 fish are killed per year--As you mention texas boats fish the Grand Isle and kill fish for the rodeo--I don't think less than 20 fish per year will put a dent into the populations--We do practice catch and a good release on all other fish---I don't think that cca cares enough about tarpon to fight that battle especially against the powerhouse umbrella of the Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo---and i have to admit i'm glad that it will probably stay that way--Just my 2 cents


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## Louisiana Tarpon (Jun 24, 2004)

I have seen pictures of a few people bringing tarpon on the beach in Texas for pictures--what is the survival rate of those fish i wonder There is no tarpon fishing from the beaches in La.


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