The day finally came July 6 the tar balls showed up in the Rigolets pass. The crews working the area said there was not a lot of oil showing up but even some showing up is not a good thing. I now know the feeling the Venice and Grand Isle charter Captains are feeling that knot in the pit of your stomach. The Wildlife and fisheries closed most of our fishing area for caution. The area was only closed for about 10 days but that feeling for what BP has done will last for a long time around here. I still have not been in the boat to check out the area yet. I don’t want to go out and then have them close the area again the roller coaster ride my stomach cant take it. The only positive at this time is the well has been capped and it is holding so far and there isn’t any oil leaking keeping our fingers crossed and saying a few extra prayers. There are lots of agencies here checking water samples , air samples, fish samples and other seafood samples. Some of the agencies are DEQ, EPA, Department of Health and Hospitals, NOAA, Wildlife and fisheries biologist. Hopefully the black plague was diluted enough not to have an impact on the seafood we treasure here. hopefully once again Mother Nature can fix the mistakes of man. I have been adding to this report since the oil showed up July 6. Yesterday I took a boat ride just to check the area out I didn’t even bring a fly rod it appears the Pontchartrain estuary was sparred I didn’t find any signs of oil. The bait fish were plentiful in the ponds and the grass beds it was a very good feeling to watch the Redfish hunting in the grass beds and on the flats. I also saw schools of Speckle trout busting up bait and the gulls dive bombing the shrimp getting pushed up to the surface by the Trout. I mostly just sat in the boat today and watched the wildlife looking for any changes. Glad to say the birds, animals and fish were acting normal. The last step is for the well to be blocked off permanently they are supposed to do this in about a week only then will the knot in my stomach go away
Captain Phillip Rodriguez
