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No More Fishing This Delacroix Canal
A few weeks ago, before all this COVID craziness began, I went fishing to relax and take a look at what was out there.
It was easy to get excited about it, because I hadn't been on the water in a couple months!
It was a Tuesday morning, mostly overcast, a decent incoming tide and wind predicted to lay down in the morning then blow up to 15mph out of the south later in the afternoon.
So, I got to Sweetwater Marina for 7am or so, arriving to a non-existent line for the ramp.
Great! It's always nice to get straight into the water.
And that's what I did, running to Grand Lake and further on in search of bass and redfish.
Gotta Go To Know
As I did, the old adage of "you've got to go to know" came to mind, because the wind never picked up.
The water's surface was glass calm, like an infinite mirror where you cannot tell where the sky ends and the water begins, making great conditions for sight fishing a few redfish!
It was a good day of fishing, and I got to run everywhere, seeing where river water was and wasn't, which areas had bait and which areas were ghost towns.
Unfortunately, that's when a huge disappointment struck.
No More Fishing Here
I was running down Oak River when I found this sign that wasn't there last time I had been out.
Really? Are we doing this again?
My best redfish ponds were gated off in 2018 and now another canal is posted?
Terrific!
Where is this canal located?
The sign you see in the picture is located at:
N 29.639668
W 89.729620
You can see the canal reaches across a good stretch of Delacroix.
This make it virtually impossible to go from one side of the marsh to the other without illegally trespassing on what is otherwise open and navigable water.
I drove along the length of most of the canal, checking for additional signs, and found plenty of them.
Whoever put them up is dead serious that you, under no circumstance, are to enter or cross that canal.
You know what? I never saw shenanigans like this as a kid.
My father knew he could take us fishing without fear of being shut out or hassled.
Unfortunately, this trend is here and is spreading across Louisiana.
When will it stop? Will fishing ever be the same again? What future do our children have?
Help Put A Stop To This
Questions like those are why I'm a member of Louisiana Sportsmen's Coalition, the only organization fighting to have fishing freedom restored.
I stress this because many anglers wrongly assume CCA Louisiana is going to take care of this, and so far in the last four years they've offered nothing beyond kind gestures and polite lip service.
Louisiana Sportsmen's Coalition is doing quite the opposite: They are seeing that legislation favoring our pastime is crafted and brought to bear at the State Capitol.
This is why I am asking you to join our ranks and become a member of the Coalition today.
What will happen to the future of Louisiana fishing if posted waters continue to trend? Tell us what you think here in the comments.
Devin go and ask them to please give you a ticket. And also tell them to give you their lawyers phone number so you can get the process going as quickly as possible. I’ll kiss your butt if they proceed with the ticket! Also make sure you have a witness.
What’s your point?
Hi Devin, I am a 4 year member of the Sportsmen’s Coalition and have been trying to get in touch with the person who is in charge of memberships. Could you please provide a phone number for me to reach the correct person? Thank you
Hey Brett, we’ll get you taken care of. Please check your email. Thank you!
This BS has to stop! I wasn’t a member of the Sportsman Coalition but I am now.
Thank you for joining!
Great blog post, thank you for writing it. I’ve been a member since the beginning and will make a point of getting the business membership, too. This whole posting issue just pisses me off so much!!!!
Thank you for being a member!
By the way, you can join the business membership here: https://www.joinlasc.com/checkout-small-biz/
bullshit!!!…. where can i sign up to become a member?
You can go to http://www.joinlasc.com/join/
Thank you, Donnie.
4 year member here Devin….
Thanks, David!
Looks like the spider canal well they will have to watch it all the time because the sign won’t stop me from using it. Tidal water’s if they want it to be private then they should have to to dam it off from the tidal movement.
What are they going to do when they put a gate across it and you have to go around?
Good
I’m a comercial fishermen and none of this is right.. We need to get together and we can get more do. We want our nets back with laws we can have a sustainable fish crop …. And stop all the freshwater
I went out to the one place off the ICW I knew of that I would be able to fish reds with no problem and when I got there at the edge of Lake Bourne a new sign was up. I have seen fishing videos made by some of the predominant anglers of this area filmed in this pond. I fished there all last year. But now its off limits. Its discouraging. As soon as my job starts again after this virus thing, I will be joining this organization because what they are keeping us out of is our heritage, lifestyle, and customs we grew up with and were hoping to pass on. People tell me “how would you feel if someone was trespassing on your property? Or, what if somebody got hurt on your property and sued you?” I say “why wasnt this a problem for the last 200 years? Most people dont know thier history and think this will just pass. That it is just a phase, well its not. The people in South Louisiana have been fighting to live the life they want for centuries and lost every battle. Not this time. They dont have the right to take away who we are as a people. I believe this is the last stand for our culture.
Well said, Brandon.