Venice Set to Host 2012 LASS Redfish Championship this Weekend in Louisiana

Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries 10.03.12

Going into the final tournament of the season, 46 teams are still alive in the 2012 Louisiana Saltwater Series Redfish Series championship race. The championship is a two-day tournament, with a two-fish total weight per day to determine the 2012 champion.

The event will be based at Venice Marina on Friday, October 5 through Saturday, October 6.

The 100 percent payout tournament has dished out nearly $60,000 in its third year. Since the tournament’s inception in 2010, 1,915 fish have been tagged as part of the department’s Louisiana Cooperative Marine Sport Fish Tagging Program, and 102 have been recaptured.

“With the best payouts and even better anglers, the competition intensifies and top anglers are rewarded for their talent, hard work, and bit of luck,” said LDWF Assistant Secretary Randy Pausina.

While anglers are fishing the area’s bountiful waters, friends, family and fishing fans are urged to come out and enjoy music and delicious food provided by Drago’s Seafood Restaurant and Venice Marina while cheering on the competitors to see who takes home bragging rights for next year. The scales open each day at 1 p.m.

For more information and a schedule of weekend events, visit www.lasaltwaterseries.com.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is charged with managing and protecting Louisiana’s abundant natural resources. For more information, visit us at Facebook at www.facebook.com/ldwffb or follow us on Twitter @LDWF.

Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries – Enforcement Division(LDWF) is the fish & game regulatory agency of Louisiana. It has jurisdictionanywhere in the state, and in state territorial waters. The agency enforces both state and federal laws dealing with hunting, fishing, and boating safety. The agency also enforces criminal laws in rural areas including DWI enforcement both on highways and waterways. Most of the Department’s Wildlife Agents also carry Federal law enforcement commissions issued from the United States Department of the Interior - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and United States Department of Commerce - U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). These federal commissions allow these state officers to enforce federal migratory waterfowl laws and federal marine fisheries laws in state and federal waters off the coast of Louisiana. Besides their traditional role as a “game warden”, Louisiana Wildlife Enforcement Agents also have a number of other responsibilities, including conducting board of health inspections on some portions of the state’s commercial fishing industry. Agents are trained in and conduct numerous search and rescue operations, both in remote land areas and on the state’s waterways. Agents ensure that hunters, anglers, boaters, dealers, breeders, farmers, and transporters are in compliance with regulations governing equipment, quotas, licenses, and registrations. Agents also assist other State departments and law enforcement agencies in the coordination of educational and professional endeavors, as well as national and state emergency alerts by the Federal Office of Emergency Preparedness. In addition, agents perform search and rescue missions alone or in conjunction with other local, state, and federal agencies.