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Merry Christmas: good luck with right gift

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Merry Christmas: good luck with right gift


Ho, Ho, Ho oh no, it’s time to get that last-minute gift for your favorite hunter and fisher.

It’s a challenge, if only because most of these folks are particular about the things they use to pursue game and fish — “persnickety” was the way old folks described this trait decades ago.

What it means is unless you know — and really know — your outdoors recipient then don’t presume the guy or gal at the local or big-box store will know anything more about them than you do.

What it means is don’t buy fishing line, or lures, or shotgun shells, or bullets, or rods, or reels, or firearms cases, or those silly T-shirts with a stunned-looking bass and “Fish Fear Me” written underneath.

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That T-shirt thing only makes your favorite angler the target for his sharp-tongued fishing buddies, who will tell him the thing he feared most was being afraid to tell his gift-giver that the T-shirt was going to be a target for barbed comments. Oh, he’d wear it for you, but not around his buddies.

So, what’s left?

Size matters, and it’s important when trying to make a gift of the just-right hunting jacket, warm boots, cooling fishing shirts and shorts, warm gloves and hats.

And don’t buy that tackle box because it “looks big,” unless you were with your fishing-frenzied, Christmas-present target and he or she admired it with piscatorial lust in their eye.

That leaves us with gift cards. Sure you can go shopping and make a reasonably good guess about hunting things and fishing things, and here’s where you find prices and buy a gift card for that amount.

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It’ll send them to a store where they can get the just-right fit, the just-right style, the just-right camo pattern, the perfect handle, weight and length for a fishing rod, and things like the fishing line, lures and boxes they want.

What’s best is you’ll send them to a Christmas-night rest with all kinds of sugared thoughts that will turn into dreams of that hopefully marked-down shopping spree.

Merry Christmas!

Under the tree

An important bill awaits President Biden’s signature to take hold for our country’s anglers, and another is moving forward after passing a committee vote.

ACE — America’s Conservation Enhancement Reauthorization Act — passed a U.S. Senate vote last week and sits on the president’s desk.

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This act continues the National Fish Habitat Partnership, a voluntary, non-regulatory, and locally driven program that has funded more than 1,300 on-the-ground aquatic habitat improvement projects throughout the country.

“The $230 billion sportfishing industry and America’s 57.7 million recreational anglers applaud Congress’ efforts to advance fish habitat restoration and conservation,” American Sportfishing Association spokesman Mike Leonard said.

Included in its many pages is reauthorization of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act and a provision that traditional tackle will not be banned by the Environmental Protection Agency for five years.

The second bill, EXPLORE — Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences — had the backing of more than a dozen hunting and recreational organizations. This new bill is designed to expand recreation opportunities, improving infrastructure and removing barriers to allow more access to federal lands for hiking, camping, fishing and hunting.

Striped bass

Yes, Louisiana waters, mostly from the Mississippi River east into the Pontchartrain Basin and to the Pearl River, has an annual fall-winter run of sea-run striped bass.

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Now, Wildlife and Fisheries wants fishermen taking to those waters to help collect striped bass samples.

More than 20 years ago, a mid-fall trip to the Mississippi River produced three striped bass among the largemouth, spotted and white bass and redfish caught near Fort Jackson.

This project is one of four main items currently listed on the agency’s website.

To get details, description of this species and instructions, go to the LDWF website: wlf.louisiana.gov

Expertise needed

The Committee on National Statistics has a call-out for nominations for “experts” to review the standards and evaluate the survey and data standards of the Marine Recreational Information Program, the long-debated federal fisheries data collections and reporting plan.

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The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine has formed the committee and has a Dec. 31 deadline for nominations. Google this organization for details.



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Louisiana

Louisiana passes law allowing state park rangers to enforce littering laws anywhere in state

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Louisiana passes law allowing state park rangers to enforce littering laws anywhere in state


BATON ROUGE – Louisiana passed a state law allowing state park rangers to enforce state litter laws anywhere in Louisiana.

The increased enforcement comes alongside revamped reinforcement efforts with a hotline. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will field hotline calls and pass information to state park rangers, who if given proper information, can issue a citation.

Simple littering, such as trash flying out the back of a pickup truck, carries up to $175 in fines plus court costs. Intentional littering, such as deliberately throwing trash out of a window onto a roadway, brings up to a $250 fine. Gross littering, such as depositing large amounts of trash into a ditch or having an illegal dumpsite, carries $500 to $1,000 in fines.

Officials say crimes such as dumping violations have more in-depth processes; anyone interested can find more information at the Keep Louisiana Beautiful website.

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This Week in Southeastern Athletics – September 15-21, 2025 – Southeastern Louisiana University Athletics

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This Week in Southeastern Athletics – September 15-21, 2025 – Southeastern Louisiana University Athletics


This Week in Southeastern Athletics – September 15-21, 2025
Monday, September 15
Golf | at Grover Page Classic | Memphis, Tenn. | 8:15 a.m.
Football | Inside Southeastern Football with Frank Scelfo | Brady’s | 7 p.m. | Kajun 107.1 FM | The Highway 104.7 FM | The Boss 97.7 FM/WFPR 1400 AM
            – Community Spotlight Guest: Scott Henderson, The Salad Station/Tommy’s on                                 
             Thomas
 
Tuesday, September 16
Golf | at Grover Page Classic | Memphis, Tenn. | 8:15 a.m.
 
Thursday, September 18

Volleyball | at Texas A&M (Texas A&M Invitational) | College Station, Texas | 6 p.m.
 
Friday, September 19

Volleyball | vs. LMU (Texas A&M Invitational) | College Station, Texas | 3 p.m.
 
Saturday, September 20
Football | at LSU | Baton Rouge | SEC Network | SEC Network | Kajun 107.1 FM | The Highway 104.7 FM | The Boss 97.7 FM/WFPR 1400 AM

Volleyball | vs. New Hampshire (Texas A&M Invitational) | College Station, Texas | Noon
 
Sunday, September 21
Soccer | at UTRGV | Edinburg, Texas | 1 p.m. | ESPN+*

Southeastern home events in bold | All times Central | * – Southland Conference event

 

HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University football and two-time defending Southland Conference champion volleyball team hit the road for nonconference play, the SLU soccer team opens Southland Conference play, the Lion men’s golf team opens the fall portion of its 2025-26 schedule and Southeastern Athletics will compete in the university’s Giving Day during this week in Southeastern Athletics.

 

The SLU football team (2-1) will close out nonconference play at No. 3 LSU. Saturday’s game will kickoff at 6:45 p.m. in Tiger Stadium.

 

The Southeastern volleyball team (5-3) will close out an eight-match road swing this week, heading to College Station, Texas to compete in the Texas A&M Invitational. The Lady Lions will face host Texas A&M Thursday at 6 p.m., Loyola Marymount Friday at 3 p.m. and New Hampshire Saturday at noon during the tournament.

 

The SLU women’s soccer team (1-4-2) will open league play on the road this week. Southeastern will face new league member UTRGV Sunday at 1 p.m. in Edinburg, Texas.

 

The Lion golf team opens the 2025-26 season this week. Southeastern will head to Memphis, Tenn. to compete in the Grover Page Classic Monday and Tuesday.

 

Southeastern Giving Day is set for Wednesday and is an opportunity to give back to the university, including Southeastern Athletics. Visit www.southeasterngivingday.org for more information.

 

On the Air

This week’s football game will be televised on SEC Network, while Thursday’s volleyball match will air on SEC Network+. Sunday’s soccer match can be seen on ESPN+.

 

The 2025 season of Inside Southeastern Football with Frank Scelfo will continue Monday at 7 p.m. at Brady’s in downtown Hammond. Scelfo and host Allen Waddell will discuss all things Lion football on the hour-long show weekly during the season, which airs on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and The Boss 97.7 FM/WFPR 1400 AM).

 

Scott Henderson of The Salad Station and Tommy’s on Thomas will be Monday’s Community Spotlight Guest.

 

The same Southeastern Sports Radio Network stations will broadcast Saturday’s football game.

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

For more information on Southeastern Athletics, follow @LionUpAthletics on X and Instagram or like /LionUpAthletics on Facebook.

 

CLEAR BAG POLICY

Southeastern Athletics has instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.

 

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Louisiana’s Win Streak Snapped After Hard-Fought Battle at Ole Miss

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Louisiana’s Win Streak Snapped After Hard-Fought Battle at Ole Miss


OXFORD, Miss. – The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Volleyball team had the momentum in its favor each of the first two sets before Ole Miss battled back and went on to post a 3-0 win (25-20, 25-22, 25-19) on Friday, September 12 at the Gillom Athletics Performance Center in Oxford, Mississippi.

The Rebels (4-3) leaned upon 16 kills each time to overcome the pressure from the Ragin’ Cajuns (6-2) and open a 2-0 match lead. Then in Set 3, Ole Miss hit .400 and sided out at 80 percent to end the contest early.

Louisiana put itself in position to be the ones ahead 2-0 in the match, tied 13-13 midway through Set 1 and laying hold to a 17-13 advantage late in Set 2. Ultimately the offensive edge for Ole Miss, which held a 45-29 edge in kills and .391 to .176 advantage in hitting percentage for the match, paid dividends.

Both sides had balanced scoring, the Ragin’ Cajuns led by nine kills from Cailin Demps and seven kills from Grace Sweeney. The Rebels, though, were able to have four players score more than five kills led by the trio of Shayla Meyer (10), Melia Johnson (9) and Gabi Placide (9) each reaching nine scores.

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The loss snapped Louisiana’s three-match win streak, the squad ending a five-match road swing with a 3-2 mark.

Ole Miss claimed victory in its 2025 season home opener and remained unbeaten in the 2000s against UL.

Jazmine Gaston scored a kill on each of her first two swings in Set 1 as the Cajuns remained ahead early 9-7 after taking the lead at 4-3 on a Kennedy Gustafson ace.

The teams were near even with five kills apiece and both hitting .300-plus through the 13-all tie. Meyer helped the Rebels make the decisive move, scoring the tiebreaking kill and serving up an ace to gain separation for good.

Sweeney asserted herself at the onset of Set 2, scoring two aces and a kill in a personal 3-0 run that pulled Louisiana ahead 4-1, then preserved the lead with yet another early kill to make it 9-7.

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Later on, Sweeney teamed up with Harley Krause on back-to-back winners as the Cajuns stretched the lead out to 17-13. The Rebels, though, reversed course as a kill, ace and block all in succession ignited a 12-5 set-ending run that prevented Louisiana from evening the match.

With a kill on each of its first three swings in Set 3 the Rebels quickly opened a 5-3 lead and led the rest of the way. Demps, who scored five kills in the frame, began to find her groove getting two kills over a span of five rallies keeping the Cajuns within striking distance at 15-11.

Ole Miss sided out after a UL service error then came up with another timely block to advance the lead to 17-11. The teams traded side outs through Demps’ final kill of the night which made it 21-16 before the Rebels scored three straight for the final separation.

LEADING THE RAGIN’ CAJUNS
Sweeney in Set 2 and Demps in Set 3 both turned in a five-kill set performance. The duo combined for 16 of the Ragin’ Cajuns’ 29 kills.

Demps’ output marked the eighth time in as many matches she’s scored at least nine kills.

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Freshman Lindsey Henry had a hand in both of the team’s blocks while Gustafson collected a team-leading eight digs.

Sweeney was a close second with six digs and setter Ryleigh Garis scooped five digs to go with her team-high tying 12 assists.

Chelsea Gilmore and Sweeney served up two aces apiece to pace the Ragin’ Cajuns to six aces.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin’ Cajuns return home to E.K. Long Gym for the Ragin’ Cajuns Classic scheduled for Friday-Saturday, September 19-20.

Louisiana hosts Southern and Nicholls in the round robin event, meeting the Jaguars on Friday (Sept. 19) at 6:00 p.m. and then matching up with the Colonels on Saturday (Sept. 20) at Noon.

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The Ragin’ Cajuns Classic marks the final non-conference matches of the 2025 season. Louisiana opens Sun Belt play the following weekend, September 26-27, on the road at Texas State.

FOLLOW THE RAGIN’ CAJUNS
Follow the Ragin’ Cajuns on Twitter (@RaginCajunsVB [twitter.com]), Facebook (/RaginCajunsVB [facebook.com]) or Instagram (@RaginCajunsVB [instagram.com]) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Volleyball.

Fans are also encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin’ Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here [apps.apple.com] for iOS/Apple platforms and here [play.google.com] for Android platforms.





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