Battered but not beaten, Grand Isle battles back and the fish are biting
Sitting astride the entrance to Barataria Bay, Grand Isle holds the frontline of defense against hurricanes. At about eight miles long by 1.5 miles wide, the low island on the Gulf of Mexico always takes the first punch from any storms approaching southeastern Louisiana from the south.
For eons, hurricanes have clobbered the small island that is legendary as a gateway to fantastic saltwater fishing opportunities. Grand Isle only covers about eight square miles and is located about 50 miles south of New Orleans. Since 1877, the first year to keep records on hurricanes, monster storms affected the island about every three years and made direct hits on it about every eight years. These barrier islands absorb the blow from hurricanes, helping defend Jefferson, Lafourche and St. Charles parishes, plus of course, the largest metropolitan area in the state at greater New Orleans.
“I was born and raised on Grand Isle,” said David Camardelle who served as mayor of the town since 1997 and as a councilman from 1989 to 1997. “My mother and father came here in the 1950s. I’ve been through many hurricanes on this island. I saw my mother and father lose their restaurant and home to Hurricane Betsy in September, 1965. After the storm, I remember my father saying that he didn’t lose his kids or his wife, so we’ll rebuild. I never forgot that.”
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina pulverized the only occupied barrier island in Louisiana for two days, leaving wholesale devastation in its wake.
Worth saving
Most recently Hurricane Ida obliterated the island with 150 mile per hour winds on August 29, 2021, the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Still, like Mayor Camardelle’s father promised in 1965, he and the residents and annual visitors collectively proclaimed “Grand Isle is worth saving,” and vowed to rebuild once again.
“I got back to Grand Isle two days after Ida passed,” Camardelle said. “Everything looked like a bomb went off. The western side of the island was completely wiped out. We’ve gone through all these disasters over the years, but this island is paradise. It’s worth saving.”
The state and federal governments stepped in to help rebuild the island. Some residents didn’t want to wait for government assistance and began their own fundraising to help people rebuild their homes, businesses and lives. Companies and volunteers, some from states hundreds of miles away, came in to help, bringing food, water, fuel, building materials, equipment and other necessities.
“The governor has been good to us with help after the storm, but the problem with the federal government is everything takes so long to get done,” Camardelle said. “It’s frustrating, but progress is being made. Businesses are open, but not as many as we had before. Things are getting better and more people are coming back every day.”
Before Ida, about 1,500 people called the island home. Today, about half as many remain. The Grand Isle economy depends heavily upon tourism and fishing. With most of the homes and facilities destroyed or damaged, fishing boats sunk or out of commission, scarce fuel and other supplies, residents needed to take other jobs after the storm.
In the immediate aftermath of the storm, the only jobs came from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other recovery efforts. Daryl Carpenter with Reel Screamers Guide Service (225-937-6288, www.reelscreamers.com) took a job operating heavy equipment for FEMA until he could get his charter fishing business back running.
“Immediately after the storm, we were just in survival mode,” Carpenter remembered. “A disproportionate number of mom-and-pop facilities were wiped out. It took months before we had water or electricity back.”
Entergy Louisiana paid $26 million for a new power substation, the mayor said. In the wake of Ida, the company also upgraded old transformers, replacing about 99 percent of them with new ones.
Fishing is back!
“Our utilities are coming back,” Camardelle said. “We have power all over the island now, but some things are still not right. Restaurants, marinas and grocery stores are open. The marinas are open and sportfishing is great. We’re having big fishing tournaments again. The charter boat captains are catching fish.”
With so many buildings destroyed by Ida, lodging remains a problem for visitors. Hurricane Hole Restaurant and Marina (hurricanehole.net) as well as Bridge Side Marina (bridgesidegrandisle.com) and Grand Isle Marina provide services for fishermen and boaters. They also offer some lodging, food and other amenities. Some camp owners rent their properties to visitors when not planning to use the facilities themselves.
“What lodging is here is very expensive, above what many of our clients can or want to pay,” Carpenter said. “In addition, many businesses also face a lack of staff to work.”
Before the storm, many people used to bring recreational vehicles to Grand Isle State Park at the eastern tip of the island. While staying at the park, many hired charter captains to take them fishing. After Ida, FEMA closed the park and placed trailers on the park grounds to give people temporary homes.
Family fishing fun
Battered, but not beaten, Grand Isle remains “Louisiana’s Vacationland,” a tradition older than the state itself. As early as the mid-1700s people headed to the beach or fished the bountiful waters surrounding the island. Grand Isle offers one of the few Louisiana beaches east of the Atchafalaya River accessible by automobile.
“For anyone wanting a family vacation destination or fishing opportunities on the Louisiana coast, there’s no other place like Grand Isle,” Carpenter said. “Grand Isle offers something for the entire family. Fishing in this area is very versatile. We have easy access to the Gulf and the bays. In the summer, beach fishing turns hot.”
During a typical year, the population swells to more than 20,000 on summer weekends. Many fishing tournaments stage out of the island. A major event like the Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo (www.tarponrodeo.org) or other large tournaments bring in thousands of visitors. Held since 1928, the GITR runs from July 27-29, 2023.
Mississippi Canyon access
South of Grand Isle, the depth of Gulf waters drop off very quickly. Anglers can catch big red snapper and other sport fish relatively close to shore. The Mississippi Canyon, one of the premier places in the nation to land big-game fish like blue marlin, wahoo, tuna and swordfish, sits about 35 to 40 miles by boat from Grand Isle.
“We should have a good red snapper season this summer,” said Jamie Gaspard with Pure Adrenalin Fishing Charters (225) 572-5788, www.pureadrenalinfishingcharters.com) “The fish are big and thick out there. The fishing seems to be getting better every year. Most of our snapper range from 10 to 20 pounds, but we’ve caught them up to 37 pounds.”
North of the island, Barataria Bay and the surrounding marshes provide great opportunities to catch speckled trout and redfish. More known for producing great numbers than giant trout, the area does hold bigger fish closer to the Gulf. Anglers might also catch flounder, white trout, black drum, sheepshead and various other species.
“Speckled trout fishing has not changed that much since the storm,” Carpenter said. “The lower coast had already suffered so much from erosion and subsidence before the storm that not much remained for Ida to tear up. We still catch specks in the lower bays over reefs when we have good weather and the water clears up. Since the storm, the size seems to be well above average. It’s not uncommon to catch a bunch of 16- to 18-inch trout.”
The marshes surrounding Barataria Bay and associated waters typically offer some of the best redfish action in the nation. Juvenile “slot reds,” those between 16 and 27 inches long, cruise the weedy shorelines looking for crabs, shrimp and other prey. At times, huge schools of “bull” redfish terrorize baitfish in the lower bays.
“Immediately after the storm, our redfish catches fell off significantly,” Carpenter said. “The interior marshes between Grand Isle and Lafitte changed after the storm. What was thousands of acres of marsh is now nothing but open water. Parts of the floating marsh moved. Places where we could travel before, we can’t now. Some canals are now clogged and drying. We must relearn how to navigate through the area and where to find fish because it’s so different.”
Redfish are rebounding
Storms commonly kill large numbers of fish, but the population rebounds quickly. Carpenter termed the fall of 2022 “a very subpar redfish year.” However, as new generations of fish grow to catchable size, numbers increase. In addition, silt carried by Ida filled in many deep holes where fish go in the winter to escape the cold, but tides scoured new holes elsewhere.
“I believe as a result of Ida, we have a depleted redfish population here,” Carpenter said. “It will probably take another year or two to correct itself. We lost so much marsh edges from the storm, but Ida busted up a lot of marsh that created thousands of new little islands with more marshy edges. We had a really good spring of 2023.”
Loved by many, Grand Isle took a severe pummeling, but will rise stronger. It’s worth a trip for sure. For area information, see townofgrandisle.com. Also, a list of open businesses, plans for the State Park and available guide services are also included in this edition of the Louisiana Sportsman.
Help restore Grand Isle
From staff reports
There are dozens of groups and hundreds of individuals working to rebuild Grand Isle every day. There’s also a volunteer group that’s leading the charge on the island.
Restore Grand Isle is helping to rebuild and restore the Grand Isle community, Louisiana’s only inhabited barrier island, by investing in residents and the environment to create a vibrant and sustainable coastal community for generations to come. They are also planting trees and native plants including planting live oaks and native Louisiana irises. They are now in the process of planning a dune restoration project. Restore Grand Isle also works to keep the beaches clean and open to the public and has partnered with others to make sure signage and safety rings are accessible to the public.
The Grand Isle Garden Club and the Friends of Grand Isle (FOGI) have also joined efforts to raise funds to help the recovery and rebuilding of Grand Isle following Hurricane Ida. They have donated a combined $30,000 to the town for numerous projects.
You can help them, too. Restore Grand Isle and Louisiana artist Caroline Hill are helping to raise money with a special series devoted to Grand Isle and its rebirth. You can find out more about how to help at https://restoregrandisle.com/, restoregrandisle@gmail.com or 985.226.3766 or Friends of Grand Isle at friendsofgrandisle@gmail.com.
It’s back!
Popular Grand Isle State Park is now open to visitors as work continues
From staff reports
On June 1, the words so many people have been wanting to hear appeared on the Grand Isle State Park Facebook page: “Grand Isle State Park is now open to visitors. RV, beach tent campsites and the beach are all open.”
The list of questions about Grand Isle since the destruction of Hurricane Ida is long and lingering. But no one thing has generated more questions than the Grand Isle State Park. Now, the main answer has been given. It’s open.
There is still work to be done and RV spots are limited, but the gates are open.
To make reservations, contact www.Reservelastateparks.com or for questions, email the park at grandisle@crt.la.gov or call 225-342-8111.
Unfortunately, early answers were hard to come by and announced plans haven’t always panned out. It’s a complicated situation with many moving parts. Louisiana State Parks Brandon Burris summed it up like this:
“Trust me, there is absolutely nothing better that I would like to say than the Grand Isle State Park is completely open and ready for the public,” he said. “It’s open now, but there is still work to do. I do want to say this. We appreciate people understanding what’s been going on here as we try to restore this very valuable resource to the public.”
After the disaster, the park became a center of recovery efforts and a place for people to temporarily live.
“Unfortunately for them, there have been quite a few residents that have not been able to get their homes repaired and they are having to stay in trailers at the park,” Burris said. Additionally, there are workers helping with the restoration and law enforcement staying there as well.”
The campsite situation is also complicated.
“As we continue to get campsites back this summer and have a couple of weeks to get them operational for other guests, we will reopen them all,” Burris said. “Hopefully that will come by early summer.
“We are making some fantastic improvements to the fishing pier, but it is not open yet. One thing we are doing is extending it almost out to the rock jetties and making the construction where it will withstand hurricanes. Between work on funding, coordinating with other agencies and construction, it’s just taken longer than we had hoped.”
The best advice he could offer is to follow the State Parks website and the Facebook page of the Grand Isle State Park. As soon as news happens, they’ll share it.
Back in business
From staff reports
Grand Isle is coming back strong and making progress in our recovery from Hurricane Ida. The Town of Grand Isle supplied this list of open businesses, You can check their website for updated lists.
Marinas
Bridgeside Marina & Cabins: 985-787-2419
Grand Isle Marina & Motel: 985-787-2500
Wakeside Marina: 985-787-2949
Hurricane Hole Marina: 985-787-3012
Camardelle’s Seafood & Bait: 985-787-3222
Restaurants, Stores, Seafood
Tommy’s Restaurant and Bar: 985-787-3165
Dean Blanchard Seafood: 985-787-3464
Sureway Grocery and Lumber: 985-787-3141
Grand Isle Supermarket: 985-787-7600
Landry’s Quick Stop: 985-787-2555
Jo-Bob’s Restaurant & Gas: 985-787-3707
Starfish Restaurant: 985-787-2711
Hurricane Hole Restaurant: 985-787-3663
Megan’s Snowballs
Accommodations
Blue Dolphin Cabins: 985-787-3697
Blue Dolphin Inn & Suites: 985-787-3697
Hurricane Hole Motel: 985-503-1706
Landry House Bed & Breakfast: 985-787-2207
Sun & Sand Cabins: 985-787-2456
RV Parks
Island House: 985-360-6451
Island Palms: 713-351-9860
Easy E.Z. Mobile Repair: 985-278-8137
Fin Addicts RV Park: 225-413-8088
Island View RV Park: 985-787-7600
Anytime RV Park: 225-721-5694
Blue Moon Over Grand Isle: 985-787-4703
Camp Laid Back: 504-461-5570
Fish Commander: 225-445-1005
Vacajun Rentals: 504-628-1491
Coastal Realty Group: 985-787-3200
Grand Isle Properties: 504-915-5432
Island Realty: 985-787-2747
Karl Thayer & Assoc.: 504-628-0101
Charter Fishing
Laid Back Charters, Capt. Frank Dreher: 225-202-2584
Louisiana Inshore Fishing Charters, Capt. Matt Fuertes: 512-426-4126
Pair-A-Dice Charters, Capt. Keith Bergeron: 985-860-7855
Pure Pleasure Offshore Charter Fishing, Capt.Charles Toney: 601-218-6267
Reel Screamers Guide Service, Capt. Daryl Carpenter: 225-937-6288
Riptide Charter Fishing Services: 985-665-0336
Southern Angler Fishing Charters, Capt. Kevin Falgout: 504-458-7328
Spots and Specks, Capt. Eddie Berthelot, Jr.: 985-637-3177
Sea Macs Charters: 337-563-8972
Follow Me Charters, Capt. Edward Cerise: 504-610-9639
Full Draw Bowfishing, Capt. Craig Pizani: 985-665-7400
Good Times Charters, Capt. Jake Scardino: 504-464-7909
Gotta Go Fishing Charters, Capt. Ricky Watts: 225-921-3642
Hawk Eye Fishing Charters Inc, Capt. John Aucoin: 985-637-1103
H & M Charters, Capt. Jules Bellanger: 985 258 3632
Hard Times Charters, Capt. Mark Scardino: 985-787-3529
Hook’em Fishing, Capt. Jay Auseve: 985-787-3247
Hot Rods Guide Service, Capt. Craig Bielkiewicz: 225-278-9107
A Day in Paradise, Capt. Pete Besson: 504-382-0174
Bay Coast Charters, Capt. Zutie Auenson: 985-637-3177
Capt. John’s Fintastic Charters: 985-665-4586
Cast & Catch, Capt. Darren Anselmi: 985-665-0745
Dream Catcher Guide Service, Capt. “D”: 225-572-8927
Fintastic Charters, Capt. John Chauvin: 985-665-4586
Fish Commander, Captain Lance Walker: 225-445-1005
Fish-N-Tell, Capt. Barry Schexnaydre: 225-938-2419