Teche Area men, women and children should have a good time when they fish an upcoming tournament next month on Lake Fausse Pointe out of Marsh Field Boat Landing.
It’s a tournament formatted with the family in mind, hence the name for the sixth annual Acadiana Y.H.E.C. “Take Your Family Fishing” Freshwater Tournament. The Acadiana Youth Hunter Education Club’s yearly fundraising event is scheduled for April 22.
Let’s hope the weather cooperates.
If you like fishing for bass, sac-a-lait, bream and catfish, you’ll love this event. There are individual awards for men and women in motorboats or kayaks/canoes, individual youth awards for any kind of watercraft, and boat awards for heaviest five-fish stringers of each species.
And you’ll enjoy getting out on the water with the people you love while supporting a fine organization. Acadiana Y.H.E.C., a nonprofit group, is part of the Louisiana Youth Hunter Education Association, which is affiliated with the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Volunteer instructors teach personal ethics, self control, firearms safety and marksmanship skills as well as survival techniques, wildlife identification and wildlife conservation.
Acadiana Y.H.E.C. members are from New Iberia, St. Martinville, Jeanerette, Franklin, Charenton, Centerville, Youngsville and Morgan City.
Tournament registration is from 6 a.m to 9 a.m. with weigh-in starting at 3 p.m. Early bird registration for an early bird drawing will be through April 8.
Entry fee is $25 for preregistration and $35 on the day of the tournament for anglers 16 and over (see the flyer for more details). Anglers 15 and under fish free as long as they are with a participating adult.
There is an optional fee of $5 for a 50/50 split cash contest. The categories are Bass Bounty (heaviest bass of all divisions) and Heaviest Uncategorized Fish (all species other than bass, sac-a-lait, bream or catfish). A Most Fish Caught (total count of the four species) per boat has an optional fee of $10.
Donations are welcome.
One of the rules that may appeal to some fishing families is positioned right at the top of the flyer for the event: “If you wanna eat ‘em, keep ’em! Catch and release is not enforced in this tournament.”
For more information call 256-2848. Registration forms and rules can be printed from www.acadianayhec.com.
n
Mark this date on your calendar: April 27.
That’s when local outdoorsmen will get together at another Ducks Unlimited New Iberia chapter fundraising event at the Isle of Iberia RV Resort, formerly the Cajun RVera, 713 NWBypass, Louisiana 3212.
The local DU chapter switched its general membership banquet to the spring a few years ago with great results. Another large crowd of men, women and children is expected for the fundraising event in April. Doors open at 6 p.m., the start of a cocktail hour, and the evening will draw to a conclusion at 9 p.m.
Hope to see you there to help raise Bucks for Ducks.
DON SHOOPMANis outdoors editor of The Daily Iberian.