Louisiana

Veteran, youngster take Fish of Year honors

Published

1 year ago

October 12, 2024

Veteran, youngster take Fish of Year honors

This year’s Fish of the Year honorees is the “alpha” to the “omega” and the “yin” to the “yang” when it comes to catching fish in Louisiana.

Winners in the rod & reel and fly rod divisions range from the peach-fuzzed face of a broadly smiling youngster to the gray beard of a saltwater veteran.

The veteran is David O’Brien, a guy who thrives on tackling big fish off Louisiana’s coast.

The Baton Rouge angler took the challenge of battling red snapper over the Bongo Reef in the Gulf of Mexico and was up to the task when he boated a 14.21-pound red beauty.

After submitting his catch to the Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association, that group’s fish record committee honored O’Brien with the Fish of the Year plaque in the fly rod division. His fish stands second on the state top-10 fish records List.

The youngster is Lane Smalley, a soon-to-be-teenager from Bastrop.

Smalley was on a trip to Lake Providence where he caught a 22.3-pound black buffalo, a state record in that species, and a catch named Fish of the Year in the rod & reel division.

The judging year for these honors runs June to June, and the committee had nearly 40 submissions during that period.

LOWA has maintained the state’s fish records for more than 70 years.

For more information, go to LOWA’s website: louisianaoutdoorwriters.com or email fish records chairman Lyle Johnson: fishrecords@yahoo.com.

Continuing discussion

The long-running, head-butting confrontation between federal fisheries managers and organizations representing the recreational fishing sector continued last week with what the American Sportfishing Association called a “road map” for the next administration and both houses of Congress to follow to support recreational fishermen.

It’s more than red snapper for the five Gulf of Mexico and several South Atlantic states. It’s been about striped bass off the East Coast and salmon on the West Coast.

So, ASA and its 16 partners, issued “The Future of Sportfishing.” This consortium stopped short of calling it a “manifesto,” and labeled it a “collaborative effort aimed at guiding science-based conservation, growth in trade in commerce, increasing access and education, and advocating for the rights of the American angler.”

The treatise contained recommendations covering federal funding requests, marine policy proposals and freshwater policy proposals.

“Each year, one out of six Americans (57.7 million) go fishing — contributing $148 billion to the U.S. economy,” ASA vice president Mike Leonard said. “The next administration and Congress should clearly understand what issues our constituency cares about, and this report gives them a road map on how they can best support our community’s needs.”

Leonard pointed to fishing license sales, the federal excise tax on the sale of fishing equipment and other direct donations that contribute $1.8 billion toward aquatic resource conservation each year. It’s an economic structure this consortium said has to have a seat at the table when discussing data collection and distribution of available fishery resources.

The complete report can be found on the ASA website: asafishing.org.

Deer hunters

Pennsylvania wildlife biologist Kip Adams, working for the National Deer Association, has some interesting notes about comparing archery hunters and hunting with primitive and modern firearms hunting and hunters.

Archery hunters using both bows and crossbows account for 25% of the deer taken during an average season.

Modern firearms, shotguns and rifles, take a much larger percentage — 66% — while primitive firearms hunters take 9% of the deer taken during the 2022 season.

Adams said the percentages have changed noticeably since 2002 when the archery take was at 15%, then at 21% by 2012.

You only have to look at the states where the archery take represents a high number among the total number of deer taken in each state: New Jersey, 65%; Connecticut, 47%; Ohio, 47%; Massachusetts, 46%; Illinois, 43%; Rhode Island, 42%; and, Kansas, 40%. Ohio, Illinois and Kansas are the only Midwest states.

What to know the lowest states, percentage-wise, among archery hunters?

Yes, Louisiana and Texas are right up there at 9% with South Carolina, 8%; and, 6% each in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

Adams went further: New Jersey’s 65% archery take represents about 25,000 deer, while Pennsylvania tops the archery list with an estimated 148,000 deer by archery hunters.

Just so you know, after years of restricting the use of crossbow to certain hunters, Louisiana now allows all hunters to use crossbows. Adams data showed that all southeastern states allow the use of crossbows, but in every instance “vertical” bows “still dominate” the take.

He also noted “more hunters take advantage of bows, crossbows and muzzleloaders today,” and that “more options to go afield help even occasional hunters stay engaged, and it greatly enhances the opportunities to mentor youth and new hunters.”

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Related Topics:david o Featured fish of the year louisiana outdoor writers association outdoors Sports state top 10 fish records

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Louisiana

Louisiana Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for March 2, 2026

Published

9 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

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.

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Louisiana

National Guard deployment in New Orleans extended for six months

Published

21 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

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.

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Louisiana

Jury selection begins Monday in one of Louisiana’s largest auto insurance fraud cases

Published

1 day ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

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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