Offshore Fishing in Venice, Louisiana - Faux Pas Invitational Rodeo
The 10th annual Faux Pas Invitational Rodeo was held Thursday-Saturday July 26, 27 and 28th at Venice Marina.
We had two boats of customers participating in the Offshore Division, which targets yellowfin tuna, wahoo and dolphin.
Rob Nieto and his Texas crew chartered Capt. Hunter's 32-foot Twin Vee "Tail Whipped" while Chris Crowe and Douglas Coleman of Meridian, MS and I were on the "Team Frenzy" Twin Vee with Capt. Bill at the helm.
Thursday's weather was the best of the three days, and even then we had to run from waterspouts and thunderstorms. We boated 5 yellowfin tuna, but none over the 150-pound mark that we were looking for.
Friday was rough, and I wisely decided to stay at the dock since I have a broken ankle and am sporting a cast to my right knee. Chris, Douglas and Capt. Bill ventured out in the afternoon and braved some really rough conditions - including hail - in search of big wahoo. Douglas managed to land a nice one - 54.1 pounds just before a huge thunderstorm engulfed their boat. As soon as Bill stuck the gaff, they threw the fish in the bottom of the Twin Vee, tucked tail and headed in full throttle.
Saturday we headed out again at 4:00 a.m. to try and beat the thunderstorms and boat a few more wahoo. We managed four more, but none larger than the one we had on ice. By 9:30 a.m., the storms were once again bearing down on us so we called it and headed to the dock.
That evening at the awards ceremony, Capt. Bill and I picked up the beautiful 1st place wahoo trophy along with a nice calcutta payout for the team. Chris and Douglas had headed home early due to a family emergency.
Rob and his crew who fished with Capt. Hunter managed to get in two days plus a night of swordfishing and went home with their coolers full, despite the inclement weather.
The Faux Pas always offers plenty of fun and food and this year was no exception. Thanks to Kleo, Johnny and Kleo Sr. for another great event. Everyone is looking forward to next year and hopefully better weather.
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