GMFTR News

Golden Meadow-Fourchon Tarpon Rodeo appoints businessman, outdoorsman as admiral in event return

Tue, 06 Apr 2021 12:28:52 GMT

The Golden Meadow-Fourchon Tarpon Rodeo is back after a one-year hiatus due to the COVID pandemic.

Rodeo organizers announced that the 2021 event will be held from July 1-3 in Fourchon behind Moran's Marina.

Rodeo President Eddie Callais said he and his team are ready to host the event, and he assures everyone that the event will be hosted responsibly and safely.

“We are excited to move forward with the 72nd Annual Golden Meadow-Fourchon Tarpon Rodeo while ensuring that it is done in accordance with all safety guidelines!" Callais said. "Both local residents and participants throughout the Gulf Coast are ready for this event as the pandemic restrictions have been eased over the last couple of months."

The Admiral for this year's event is Mike Melancon.

Mike is a resident of Cut Off, the son of the late "Johnny" Melancon, Sr., and Audrey Melancon.

He is married to Annie Melancon and is the father of Vanessa, Lauren, Michelle, Johnette and Cameron, and the grandfather of 7 grandchildren.

Mike is an avid outdoorsman – a man born and raised in Lafourche.

He is also a successful businessman. He and his family built Offshore Liftboats, which has served our community for decades.

The rodeo is deeply entrenched in the Melancon family's history.

Mike's father was the rodeo's 51st admiral in 1997, and his brother, John Jr., served as admiral in 2012.

The family partnered with the rodeo a few years ago with the Offshore Liftboats Blue Collar Scholarship, which is awarded by rodeo officials and the Melancon family to a South Lafourche High School graduating senior that is not pursuing a university education.

The recipient may use the scholarship to buy tools and supplies to begin a new career immediately after high school or to assist with vocational school expenses.

In addition to the Blue Collar Scholarship, Mike and Annie also created the Johnny Melancon Memorial Scholarship, which is awarded to a local graduating senior attending a university. That scholarship goes to the recipient's university account and can be used for tuition, books or other university expenses.

The 2021 admiral is an outdoorsman, who fishes the rodeo each year. He holds a rodeo record in swordfish.

Mike said he and his family are honored to work so closely with the rodeo board and are looking forward to making the event a success.

The rodeo will run July 1-3. Fishing will begin at safelight on July 1.

Tent and scales open Friday and Saturday at 1 p.m.

The mission of the Golden Meadow-Fourchon Tarpon Rodeo is to maintain the unique family-oriented sportsmen culture and heritage of Lafourche and Grand Isle through a community fishing rodeo, with proceeds dedicated to scholarships and educational opportunities for future generations.

Lafourche Chamber Foundation announces 4 scholarships to local students, future Nicholls Colonels

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 13:16:51 GMT

The Lafourche Chamber Foundation is recognizing its 2020 scholarship recipients - all of whom will be attending Nicholls State University in the fall.

The Chamber Foundation would like to give special thanks to the support of its membership, our community and also the Golden-Meadow Fourchon Tarpon Rodeo.

Because of their support, the following students were able to earn a $4,000 scholarship.

-Megan Chiasson, South Lafourche High School

-Sarah Hodson, Central Lafourche High School

-Mason Pierce, South Lafourche High School

-Catherine Molaison, E.D. White Catholic High School

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Great kids, great choices! Thanks to the Chamber and to our community on a job well done in making a difference!

Golden Meadow Fourchon Tarpon Rodeo Postponed to 2021

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 12:05:53 GMT

One of the biggest fishing rodeos in the Gulf South will not fish in 2020.

The Golden Meadow-Fourchon Tarpon Rodeo announced today that it is postponing its annual fishing rodeo until July 2021 because of concerns from the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects that the pandemic is having on the local economy.

The rodeo announced that it will still be offering scholarships to 2020 high school graduates.

Going forward, the rodeo will be collaborating on other fundraising opportunities to go forward.

"The mission of the Golden Meadow-Fourchon Tarpon Rodeo is to maintain the unique family-oriented sportsmen culture and heritage of Lafourche and Grand Isle through a community fishing rodeo, with proceeds dedicated to scholarships and educational opportunities for future generations," the statement reads.

Anglers fill board at 71st annual Golden Meadow/Fourchon Tarpon Rodeo

Tue, 09 Jul 2019 12:53:50 GMT

PORT FOURCHON -- Good weather, great fishing and four tarpons were the big stories at the 71st annual Golden Meadow/Fourchon Tarpon Rodeo, which concluded Saturday at Moran’s Marina.

Simone Robichaux of Larose brought in the biggest tarpon at 149 pounds, 3 ounces and three others were brought to the scales.

A number of anglers praised the weather, saying the lack of squalls led to flat seas and an abundance of fish.

“It’s going great,” rodeo president Eddie Callais said. “You couldn’t ask for better weather than we had. The turnout has been great, and we’ve had lots of fish coming in. On day one, we had four tarpons come in. Nice tarpons. It’s always exciting to have tarpons come in.”

“The fishing has been great this year,” Henry Noto of Baton Rouge said. “We were off Timbalier (Island), and we caught some red snapper and some big old mangrove snapper.”

Spearfishing was also very strong.

“We were out of Cocodrie,” Danny Jackson of the spearfishing club the Rigulators said. “We caught our limit of red snappers, some barracuda and a few lemon fish. The fishing was great.”

The Rigulators won the Outstanding Spearfishing Club, and Rigulater James Halk won King Spearfisherman.

Other category winners included Pete Landgrave of Lafayette, who won the award in the Big Game category, and Simone Robichaux of Larose, who took top honors in the Shoreline Division.

Ryan Bagala of Larose took the Inside Division, and Kaylon Johnson of Thibodaux took the prize in the Kayak Division.

In the Children’s Division, Kooper Worley of Cut Off was the outstanding boy fisherman and Bailey Ledet of Larose led the girls.

The 2019 Rodeo Admiral Dr. Lee “Bo” Grafton was busy as well, placing in several categories and praised local fishing.

“South Louisiana has the best fishing in the world,” Grafton said. “I took a fishing trip to Cabo recently. We paid $3000, and we caught exactly two fish. You can’t beat down here for fishing.”

Longtime weighmaster Marty Bourgeois said the rodeo was a success.

“We had a great turnout, and some good competition in a lot of species,” Bourgeois said. “Bull reds and redfish stringers were very competitive. We had lots of bonitos and Jack Cravells. We filled the board up, except for big game tag and release, which was kind of surprising. But it was a good rodeo. We were non-stop the first day, and the second day we had a lot of runs. Spearfishing was really good.”

Here are the final results:

BIG GAME DIVISION

Dolphin: 1, Chad Breckenridge, Sabine, Tx, 43-0; 2, Hayden Callais, Galliano, 32-0; 3, Savanah Fremin, Thibodaux, 28-0.

Black fin tuna: 1, Garrett Urey, Austin Tx, 24-4; 2, Tate Somes, Austin, 23-1; 3, Tate Somes, 22-8.

Swordfish: 1, Joseph Ockmond, Vacherie, 85-5; 2, Mike Melancon, Cut Off, 65-5; 3, Mike Melancon, 53-10.

Yellowfin tuna: 1, Jonathan Yu, Alabama, 56-5; 2, Maui Trevino, Austin, Tx, 48-10; 3, Will Ivey, Alabama, 45-1.

Wahoo: 1, Pete Landgrave, Lafayette, 67-2; 2, Pete Landgrave, 34-0; 3, Hunter Andras, Choupic, 20-2.

Tag and release: No entries.

Outstanding Big Game Fisherman: Pete Landgrave, 5 points.

SHORELINE DIVISION

Tarpon: 1, Simone Robichaux, Larose, 149-3; 2, Roman Robichaux, Larose, 130-13; 3, John Cheramie, Grand Isle, 73-0.

Bonito: 1, Christina Robinson, Central, 17-1; 2, Koby Bruce, Galliano, 14-14; 3, Bo Grafton, Thibodaux, 14-13.

Cobia: 1, Ren Cheramie, Cut Off, 81-5; 2, Joseph Ockmond, Vacherie 51-5; 3, Mike Melancon, Cut Off, 24-0.

Grouper: 1, Ren Cheramie, Cut Off, 81-5; 2, Joseph Ockmond, Vacherie, 51-5; 3, Mike Melancon, Cut Off, 24-0.

Jack Cravelle: 1, Ava Plaisance, Cut Off, 31-3; 2, Beau Blanchard, Luling, 29-14; 3, Brock Danos, Cut Off, 28-10.

King Mackerel: 1, Stephanie Chenier, Baton Rouge, 49-0; 2, Spookie Chenier, Baton Rouge, 26-5.

Spanish Mackerel: 1, Ginger Curole, Cut Off, 6-0; 2, Bo Grafton, Thibodaux, 3-7; 3, Kevin Terrebonne Sr., Cut Off, 3-1.

Mangrove snapper: 1, Britton Comeaux, Larose, 11-5; 2, Brett Orgeron, Cut Off, 10-13; 3, Erik Valenciano, Baton Rouge, 10-2.

Red Snapper: 1, Monica Gisclair, Cut Off, 19-7; 2, Hunter Andras, Choupic, 17-13; 2, Joseph Ockmond, Vacherie, 16-14.

Outstanding Shoreline Division Fisherman: Simone Robichaux, 3 points (tie breaker by total weight).

INSIDE DIVISION

Drum: 1, Benji Toups, Cut Off, 34-0; 2, Lloyd Pickering, Baton Rouge, 33-12; 3, Ritchie Toups, Raceland, 32-8.

Flounder: 1, Kevin Terrebonne Jr., 2-4; 2, Eddie Callais, Cut Galliano, 2-2; 3, Ryan Bagala, Cut Off, 1-12.

Gafftopsail catfish: 1, Ali Plaisance, Cut Off, 7-4; 2, Eddie Callais, Galliano, 6-12; 3, Lauren Plaisance, Cut Off, 6-6.

Bull redfish: 1, Marty Plaisance, Cut Off, 37-14; 2, Kevin Terrebonne Jr., Golden Meadow, 37-8; 3, Coleen Carmadelle, Paradis, 35-7.

Rat redfish: 1, Ryan Bagala, Cut Off, 8-6; 2, Ryan Bagala, Cut Off, 36-0; 3, Barry Bourgeois, Cut Off, 35-10.

Redfish stringer: 1, Gary Bruce, Cut Off, 36-6; 2, Ryan Bagala, Cut Off, 36-0; 3, Barry Bourgeois, Cut Off, 35-10.

Sheepshead: 1, Chad Hebert, Raceland, 5-13; 2, Matt DuBois, Larose, 5-10; 3, Daryl Corass, Metairie, 5-6.

Speckled trout: 1, Pat Barker, Lockport, 3-13; 2, Pat Barker, 3-4; 3, Steve Wanko, Raceland, 3-1.

Outstanding Inside Division Fisherman: Ryan Bagala, 7 points.

SPEARFISHING DIVISION

Barracuda: 1, Trey Patterson, Rigulators, 36-10; 2, James Halk, Rigulators, 31-11; 3, Danny Jackson, Rigulators, 29-5.

Cobia: 1, Stephen Sherman, Rigulators, 46-4; 2, Kaleb McCollough, Hell Divers, 40-12; 3, Kaleb McCollough, Hell Divers, 39-13.

Grouper: 1, Danny Jackson, Rigulators, 21-14; 2, Stephen Sherman, Rigulators, 19-15; 3, Chase Donaldson, Git ’em, 17-1.

Jack Cravelle: 1, James Halk, Rigulators, 27-6; 2, Chase Donaldson, Git ’em, 26-3; 3, Travis Woodward, Git ’em, 24-14.

Sheepshead: 1, Abbie Woodward, Git ’em, 5-6; 2, Chase Donaldson, Git ’em, 5-6; 3, Troy Donaldson, Git ’em, 5-4.

Mangrove snapper: 1, Abbie Woodward, Git ’em, 9-12; 2, James Halk, Rigulators, 9-7; 3, Danny Jackson, Rigulators, 9-0.

Red Snapper: 1, Troy Patterson, Rigulators, 19-12; 2, Brandon McGehee, Rigulators, 19-12; 3, Troy Donaldson, Git’ em, 19-11.

King Spearfisherman: Kevin Halk, Rigulators, 7 points.

Outstanding Spearfishing Club: Rigulators, 24 points.

KAYAK DIVISION

Cajun Slam: 1, Jacob Shrell, Shreveport, 6-3; 2, Trey Wanko, Raceland, 5-1.

Rat Redfish: 1, Kalon Johnson, Thibodaux, 7-2; 2, Johnson, 7-0; 3, Johnson, 6-7.

Speckled trout: 1, Trey Wanko, Raceland, 2-11; 2, Wanko, 2-1; 3, Davie Breaux, Cut Off, 1-13.

Leopard redfish: 1, Kalon Johnson, Thibodaux, 2 spots.

Outstanding Kayak Division Fisherman: Kalon Johnson, Thibodaux, 9 points.

CHILDREN’S DIVISION

Sheepshead: 1, Coreysen Hebert, Raceland, 4-6; 2, Jake Bourgeois, Raceland, 4-6; 3, Coreyson Hebert, 4-4.

Speckled Trout: 1, Kooper Wortley, Cut Off, 3-0; 2, Blakely Cheramie, Larose, 3-0; 2, Bailey Ledet, 2-15.

Drum: 1, Bailey Ledet, Larose, 23-14; 2, Blakeley Cheramie, Larose, 23-5; 3, Jack Griffin, Cut Off, 23-4.

Gaffstopsail catfish: 1, Sophia Lefort, Cut Off, 6-4; 2, Briana Perez, Cut Off, 6-2; 3, Ava Plaisance, Cut Off, 6-1.

Rat redfish: 1, Kooper Worley, Cut Off, 8-0; 2, Micha Kieffer, Thibodaux, 7-11; 3, Madix Latiolais, Golden Meadow, 6-14.

Leopard redfish: 1, Jay Punch, Lockport, 3 spots; 2, Bailey Ledet, Larose, 2 spots.

Top boy angler: Kooper Worley, 6 points.

Top boy angler: Bailey Ledet, 5 points.

Anglers fill board at 71st annual Golden Meadow/Fourchon Tarpon Rodeo

Tue, 09 Jul 2019 12:30:46 GMT