Last week, in a show of support of anglers everywhere, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal hopped aboard charter boat Reel Life for a fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico.
Along for the trip were Jeff Angers, president of the Center for Coastal Conservation ; Rob Kramer, president of the International Game Fish Association ; Mike Nussman, president of the American Sportfishing Association ; Doug Olander, editor-in-chief of Sport Fishing magazine; and, Ted Venker, editor of the Coastal Conservation Association’s Tide magazine.
Governor Jindal, who insisted that the group call him Bobby, went on the trip to emphasize the importance of boating and fishing as not only a strong family tradition, but as a significant part of Louisiana’s economy. In fact, Governor Jindal embarked on the outing with a request by his son to bring home fish for dinner, so the pressure was on!
Luckily, Governor Jindal managed to catch the first fish of the day, a mangrove snapper (called a “mango” by locals).
In addition to the mango, the group caught more than 19 different types of fish, including a number of cobia, red snapper, gray snapper, silk snapper, bull redfish, yellowmouth grouper, scamp grouper, king mackerel, blackfin tuna, almaco jacks and amberjacks – proving that the fish are really biting now that most of Louisiana’s state waters are reopened for recreational fishing following the Deepwater Horizon incident.
The impressive catch also proves that a group of recreational fishing leaders are also decent fishermen!
After a day of calm seas and steady fishing, Reel Life returned to shore, sending Governor Jindal home with an ice chest full of fish destined for the family dinner table.
Click here to view Sport Fishing Editor-in-Chief Doug Olander’s photo gallery from the day. http://www.outdoorlife.com/photos/gallery/fishing/2010/08/anglers-prove-fishing-gulf-isnt-dead
Click here to view Doug’s blog entry:
http://www.sportfishingmag.com/blog.jsp?ID=1
Click here to read the official press release about the fishing outing:
http://www.coastalconservation.us/images/db_newsfiles/23.pdf
Governor Jindal with his catch, along with Center for Coastal Conservation’s Jeff Angers. Not to be outdone, International Game Fish Association’s Rob Kramer casts for the next big one. Photo credit: Doug Olander/Sport Fishing