Will take some time to share a brief walk down history lane.....and anyone feel free to add to it.
This site was the master mind of "W", Salty, Jeff Shaddix and a few other guys. They had been kicked off another Louisiana site and decided to start their own site.
It was a slow start but a great place to cut up and share reports while keeping an understanding that we still try to hold true today, and that is to not allow any bashing on fishing or hunting reports and to try to promote the outdoors in a positive way, especially with our kids.
As time moved on the site made a steady increase in members which in turn brought on a few more moderators and the "Gill Net" and "Sports Bar"......which were basically a free for all and there were many thin skinnned members that fell victim to some of the more popular sports guru's at the time, which were "W", Salty and ASR....These three guys still continue to share a love affair in the premium sections with the addition of several more members currently.
Then a year or so into this endeavor, "W" purchased the site from Jeff and things turned into the "wild, wild, west"!!! It was dang near a free for all in every forum for a while but "W" managed to get things under control and helped a lot of people on this site by sharing a wealth of fishing knowledge and reports which helped a lot of people learn more about saltwater fishing.
I do not remember the date but I know ASR does, we had an attack from the Texans, this was wilder than the Cowboys and Indians as hundreds of Texans attacked the site at one time and it was completely out of control, it was comparable to a hostile takeover but Jeff stepped in to help "W" get things under control and a things rocked along for the next few months keeping the Texans at bay...... And the takeover from the Texas was caused from "W" blasting and bashing on the Texas websites. I know this is hard to believe but some of the greatest pics ever posted in the Gill Net came from this era.
When Casey (ckinchen), aka Chicken took over this site was right at 2000 members but Casey brought a new vision and desire to the site to promote it to the #1 Louisiana outdoor website. It was a rocky road at first as a few changes to moderators were made and Casey wanted the language cleaned up and was ruling with an "iron fist" and barking a lot of orders in the moderators room..... I will admit that myself and Sulphite had some serious considerations of jumping ship but as time rocked on we realized that Casey really has a heart of gold and his true vision was to turn this place into a true family website that any young kid that loved the outdoors as we all did when we were young, could come and learn more about the outdoors, meet new friends in the outdoor way of life, which is exactly what this place has turned into.
We were able to add a two more moderators, Paul Myers and Jchief to help us control the place as the membership started to explode. Our biggest obstacle was trying to get everyone's language under control, which caused us to issue ALOT of infractions for a while and upset a lot of members but I know a word or two slips by occasionally but for the most part we consider this a family website.
In the almost 5 years, through the help of Casey, we have added occasional raffles where tickets can be purchased using "Salty Cajun" cash and the last 3 years of annual "Salty Cajun Tournaments", that not only provided great prizes and raffle items but has made a tremendous impact on several charities as I would conservatively say that $20,000 has been raised for several charities.
So today, we have reached a major milestone of 10,000 members and Casey and the moderators, Bluechip, Sulphite, PaulMyers and Jchief are proud to see and feel like we have all helped to make this place a great website, helped to support people in need, helped to unite outdoors and provided a way for outdoorsman to make new friends with people of the same interest.
So a big "Thank you" to the fore fathers that started this place and a ton of gratitude to Casey for having the vision to push this site forward and make an impact in the hunting and fishing community.
In closing, I would like to also give thanks to our "Premium" members. As we appreciate all of our members, it takes money to run this place as nothing is for free and the members that step up to the plate and purchase a "Premium" membership help keep this place going, so y'all should be recognized.
So here is to Casey, the mods and the members of Salty Cajun......
