Leeville, a wide spot on Louisiana Highway 1 between Golden Meadow and Grand Isle, offers saltwater anglers a lot of action.
At least that’s the contention of Bobby Gros, who with his wife owns Bobby Lynn’s Marina. Gros, who chuckles when someone calls him Bobby — “Nobody knows me as Bobby. Everybody calls me Bobby Lynn” — is certainly the tiny (population, less than 60) town’s biggest booster.
“What makes Leeville unique,” he said, “is that it is located in the heart of the Barataria-Terrebonne estuary.”
The Terrebonne system is located on the west side of the road; the Barataria system is on the east side of the busy little highway.
“It has proximity to the Gulf (of Mexico) while still being located inside,” Gros said. “Within 30 minutes, a fisherman can fish Grand Isle, West Timbalier and both the east and west sides of the marshes of Golden Meadow.
“From here, you can fish when it is calm or when it is windy. If it is calm, you can run to the islands of Timbalier and Caminada Bay. If it is windy, you can fish in the marsh.
“In the spring and fall, you fish in duck ponds; in the winter you fish in deeper pipeline canals, the East-West Canal and Bayou Blue; in the summer you fish the barrier islands and the bay’s and larger lake’s oyster reefs.
“Leeville is also in striking distance of the Gulf. Within 30 minutes you are out of Belle Pass. I fish mangrove snappers from here all the time — within three miles of the pass. April to June are best.”
Gros didn’t stop with the fishing, noting that Leeville has everything a fisherman could want besides fishing, including three restaurants, two hotels, four bait shops, two bars, six RV campgrounds, 10 guides, a pro shop, boat storage, and boat and kayak rentals.
He paused for a moment, as if he forgot something, and then perked up.
“Oh yeah, we also have seven seafood sheds that buy fresh seafood right off the boat: shrimp, blue crabs, stone crabs and a variety of offshore fish in season,” Gros said.
Never at a loss for positive words, he fielded with aplomb a question about the new elevated bridge making Leeville irrelevant.
“That new toll bridge: It makes roadside fishing better,” he said. “We now have nine miles of old road with great fishing and no traffic.”
Grox really ought to run for mayor — if only Leeville had a mayor.
