Louisiana
Father’s Day, new redfish regulations coming soon
So, you have a few days between now and Father’s Day — it’s next Sunday — to think of that can’t-miss gift.
If Dad is a fisherman, make that a coastal fisherman, then you might consider a Golden Rule.
Not the “Do unto others…” Golden Rule, but a golden measuring stick. He’s going to need it with the second of the new regulations coming a few days after Father’s Day.
Yep, come June 20, the new regulations will be in force for redfish.
Like these:
• A new minimum size of 18 inches with a maximum size limit of 27 inches total length;
• A daily creel limit of four redfish;
• A prohibition of keeping redfish measuring longer than 27 inches;
• And, charter skippers and their crew(s) will not be able to keep a redfish while on a paid trip.
The new limits reduces the daily per-person limit by one redfish, and eliminates the possibility of keeping one redfish longer than 27 inches.
It’s also advisable to check out how to measure a fish in the state Wildlife and Fisheries 2024 Fishing Regulations pamphlet. This regulation has been around for years and mandates the angler must make the fish “a long as possible,” meaning you can’t “fan the tail” to make any fish fall under the maximum length limit.
If you want to jazz up this new measuring stick, then take a red permanent marker and draw a line at 18 inches and at 27 inches.
While you’re at it, take a black permanent marker and draw a line at 13 inches and another at 20 inches to account for the new length limits on speckled trout.
There are so many other choices, but it’s always good to know exactly what Dad wants for tackle or other fishing options. Same’s true for hunters.
Gift cards work well, too.
At Grand Isle
If there was one extraordinary truth coming from last weekend’s Catholic High Alumni Rodeo, it’s that keeper-size speckled trout around Grand Isle and The Fourchon want live croakers. That’s what all the bigger trout ate.
Live shrimp worked, too, but took a lot of smaller trout and the ever-present hardhead catfish.
We fished with artificial bait for two mornings both under a cork and tight-lined and caught small trout.
Another oddity was all the flounder entered in the rodeo. Fisheries biologists know cold winters produce more flounder, and maybe that was the case, but constant 12-15 knot winds kept a lot of rodeo anglers inside and fishing around rock piles and jetties, places where flounder like to live.
No wake zone
Heavy rains in the Verret Basin forced the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office to declare a no-wake zone in the Stephensville-Belle River area “until further notice.”
The area includes portions of Grassy Lake and Lake Palourde in St. Martin Parish.
Project Appleseed
A national movement to make youngsters better aware of firearms and become better shooters produced the name Project Appleseed, and it’s coming to Palo Alto Rifle and Pistol Club located just northwest of Donaldsonville the weekend of June 29-30.
The Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association is sponsoring the event for youngsters 17 and younger.
LSA spokesman Tony Geeck described PA as “…excellent program, you will be a better rifleman after attending.”
You can call Geeck at (985) 707-3443 to check out the availability of rifles, the limited quantity of ammunition and to answer any other questions.
A new chief
Wildlife and Fisheries secretary Madison Sheahan selected Stephen Clark to be the next head of the agency’s Enforcement Division with the title of “superintendent.”
Clark began his law enforcement career with the department in 1994 before moving to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service where he became an assistant special agent and a resident agent in charge, and special agent.
He has served as advisor since Sheahan was named to head the agency five months ago.
Red snapper
Through May 19, some 35 days after opening the season, Wildlife and Fisheries’ managers and biologists estimated the red snapper catch at 241,406 pounds. That’s 25.8% of our state’s annual allotment of 934,587 pounds.
The near real-time data is a product of the agency’s highly regarded LA Creel program.
And, through the first weeks, the agency continues to advise offshore anglers of the need to have a no-fee Recreational Offshore Landing Permit, which is available only from the agency’s website: wlf.louisiana.gov.
Offshore reef fishermen are required to have the ROLP to take a number of reef species, including snappers, cobia and groupers, and bluewater species, including tuna, wahoo, dolphinfish and billfish.
Louisiana
Louisiana Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for March 2, 2026
The Louisiana Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at March 2, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing
02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 2 drawing
3-9-9
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from March 2 drawing
4-1-1-0
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 5 numbers from March 2 drawing
0-5-2-9-5
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All Louisiana Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at Louisiana Lottery offices. Prizes of over $5,000 must be claimed at Lottery office.
By mail, follow these instructions:
- Sign and complete the information on the back of your winning ticket, ensuring all barcodes are clearly visible (remove all scratch-off material from scratch-off tickets).
- Photocopy the front and back of the ticket (except for Powerball and Mega Millions tickets, as photocopies are not accepted for these games).
- Complete the Louisiana Lottery Prize Claim Form, including your telephone number and mailing address for prize check processing.
- Photocopy your valid driver’s license or current picture identification.
Mail all of the above in a single envelope to:
Louisiana Lottery Headquarters
555 Laurel Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70801
To submit in person, visit Louisiana Lottery headquarters:
555 Laurel Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801, (225) 297-2000.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.
Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Louisiana Lottery.
When are the Louisiana Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 5: Daily at 9:59 p.m. CT.
- Easy 5: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.
- Lotto: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Louisiana editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Louisiana
National Guard deployment in New Orleans extended for six months
NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana National Guard announced Monday that 120 troops will remain deployed in New Orleans through August.
The six-month extension comes after 350 Guard members deployed to New Orleans in late December, in the run-up to New Year’s and other high-profile events like the Sugar Bowl. The troops, which had mainly clustered in the city’s historic French Quarter, had been scheduled to depart in the aftermath of Mardi Gras.
New Orleans is one of several Democrat-run cities, such as Washington and Memphis, Tennessee, where the federal government deployed armed troops under the administration of President Donald Trump. Hundreds of federal agents also converged on Louisiana in December as part of a separate immigration crackdown in and around New Orleans.
During his State of the Union address last week, Trump touted the deployment in New Orleans as a “big success.” In January, Trump credited the troops with reducing the city’s violent crime within a week of their deployment. City police data shows violent crime rates have significantly declined over the past three years in parallel with national trends.
According to a press statement from the Louisiana National Guard, the remaining guard members will serve as a “visible presence to deter criminal activity in New Orleans.”
New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno, a Democrat who initially opposed the deployment, said that the troops would benefit the city in the coming weeks. She pointed out that National Guard troops had assisted the city during last year’s Mardi Gras in the aftermath of a vehicle-ramming attack in the French Quarter that killed 14 people on New Year’s Day.
“I continue to support the partnership with the LA National Guard to assist in our major events and there are several coming up in the next few weeks,” Moreno said in a statement.
While Moreno did not address which events she referred to, visitors flock to New Orleans in the spring for events like the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican and staunch Trump ally, requested the deployment of the National Guard last September, citing rising violent crime rates in New Orleans despite the data showing crime was down.
“This continued deployment will help us combat violence in New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana,” Landry wrote on the social platform X on Monday, noting Louisiana had also sent National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., last year.
Kate Kelly, a spokesperson for Landry, said the federal government would cover the cost of the extended deployment. She did not respond to a question about whether Guard members would be deployed outside New Orleans.
Maj. Gen. Thomas Friloux, adjutant general of the Louisiana National Guard, said in a statement the troops had already worked closely with other city, state and federal agencies to improve public safety during a stretch of high-profile events in the city, including the flood of visitors over Mardi Gras and the city’s carnival season.
“We remain committed to those partnerships as we continue supporting efforts to keep the City of New Orleans safe for residents and visitors,” Friloux said.
Louisiana
Jury selection begins Monday in one of Louisiana’s largest auto insurance fraud cases
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Jury selection begins Monday in what prosecutors describe as one of the largest auto insurance fraud cases in Louisiana history, with two local attorneys set to stand trial on charges that include fraud and obstruction of justice.
Attorneys Vanessa Motta and Jason Giles are accused in an alleged scheme in which drivers — referred to as “slammers” — were paid to intentionally crash into 18-wheelers, file injury lawsuits and allow attorneys to collect the settlements. Both have pleaded not guilty.
63 people have been charged in the case. Many have already pleaded guilty. Motta and Giles are being tried together.
Criminal defense attorney Craig Mordock, who is not directly involved in the case but has been following it closely, said the scope of the litigation is significant.
“You have 10 years of personal injury cases and almost… almost a billion dollars in recovery. That’s all at issue,” Mordock said. “So yeah, this could go two to three weeks.”
Motta’s defense team has advanced a narrative that she was manipulated by a co-defendant.
“There is a compelling narrative that’s been advanced by Vanessa Motta’s lawyer in terms of her being manipulated by one of the co-defendants… about being manipulated by him and him having a prior federal conviction for fraud,” Mordock said.
Motta’s team originally claimed she did not know the crashes were staged. In 2024, her team told FOX 8 she is the victim.
Mordock said Giles faces a more difficult defense.
“I don’t see a favorable juror for one of the other lawyer defendants, Jason Giles. There’s not a clear theory of innocence. This is basically a standard white-collar prosecution where knowledge and intent are going to be the issue,” Mordock said.
The case carries what Mordock described as a shadow. In September 2020, key witness Cornelious Garrison was killed in New Orleans four days after his name appeared in an indictment. Garrison’s admitted killer, Ryan Harris, is expected to testify.
The judge in the case is also allowing the slain witness’s recorded descriptions of the alleged scheme to be admitted at trial.
Mordock said Louisiana drivers have a direct stake in the outcome.
“As your average Louisianan, the idea would be you would save… because the people committing this fraud have been wrapped up. The insurance companies are going to know how to look for this,” Mordock said.
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