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Stories, History, and Tributes Got a story to tell about your childhood, someone you admired, or some interesting history to share? This is the place!

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  #21  
Old 07-11-2010, 11:17 PM
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LPfishnTIM LPfishnTIM is offline
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I want a camp out of manchac pass, close to home and one of my favorite places to fish. I'm hope the oil doesn't ever get to it.
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  #22  
Old 07-12-2010, 08:51 AM
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There are a couple for sale there now! but not cheap..........my first cousin has one on the pass. An absolutely beautiful place to spend the evening.
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  #23  
Old 07-14-2010, 10:11 AM
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Awesome read. You are an excellent writer. Made me almost feel like i was there. Keep the stories coming!!!!
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  #24  
Old 07-15-2010, 11:04 AM
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Coach,
great article. Had a camp in Grand isle for 20 years and it was taken out by Katrina. It was an older trailer, but as you said about yours "it was Versailles and Tara." I felt the same about my place. Had many a great time and the memories are forever embedded in my brain. Many fish and beer were caught and consumed there. I dream of the place damn near every night. I haven't been down this summer either because of the spill, but maybe now I can get there before school starts and store some more memories.

Great story and imagery. I can definitely relate to it.
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  #25  
Old 07-15-2010, 05:53 PM
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My uncles camp was on Bayou cook as well. Between Bay Adams and Bastian Bay.
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  #26  
Old 07-15-2010, 09:40 PM
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Cody, you gotta help me nail down which one it was. Was it at the mouth coming in from Halfmoon Bay, where the Hi-Tide and Fort Ivy were? Or was it in either of the bends, like where the Checkerboard Square was? Gotta help me pinpoint it in my memory.
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  #27  
Old 07-15-2010, 10:03 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Garfish View Post
Coach,
great article. Had a camp in Grand isle for 20 years and it was taken out by Katrina. It was an older trailer, but as you said about yours "it was Versailles and Tara." I felt the same about my place. Had many a great time and the memories are forever embedded in my brain. Many fish and beer were caught and consumed there. I dream of the place damn near every night. I haven't been down this summer either because of the spill, but maybe now I can get there before school starts and store some more memories.

Great story and imagery. I can definitely relate to it.
I was a guest many times at casa garcia . I have to say that it made enough of an impression on me that in my will it states that when i pass on that i will be cremated and my ashes are to be scattered on the second sand bar off the beach in grand isle.
soup bone has agreed to do the honors and garfish , since you are one of the ones that helped make the memories i hope that you and your lil bro will do me the favor of being there also. Just put a picture up on the new wall of shame . where ever it happens to be.
lET ME KNOW IF YOU COME DOWN AS WE ARE READY TO HIT THE SURF
BOB
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  #28  
Old 07-16-2010, 08:19 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by coachlaw View Post
It was pretty emotional the day I took that old flag to my new camp and raised it for the first time in 10 years. It was the only thing from the old camp that survived.
Yep, I had the picture of me under that flag as my wallpaper for a while.
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  #29  
Old 07-16-2010, 08:53 PM
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Hey Coach, great read and I agree with the others you have a gift with words.

Like you, my fondest childhood memories hail from Empire taking refuge in a camp located on the east side of Bay Adams. Not really “refuge” as the location of the camp allowed for electricity and a big water tank out back that held rain water called a sin strum (sp) for bathing.
Although I fished those waters well into the 80”s my fondest memories are from the early 70’s probably due to the many first fisihing experiences in my life.
The camp was owned by a successful Gretna business man and a member of our church. We enjoyed week long summer vacations and many weekend fishing excursions any chance my dad could get a “fill in” as he was the minister of our church. Dad taught me how to ski in Bay Adams when I was seven yrs old and as I remember I wasn't a fast learner but dad mustered enough patients to get the job done.
Dad restored an old Aluminum V hull Starcraft powered by a 40 hp evinrude. “our invincible ship” called “Miss Tip”. Family joke was responsible for the name. We would even venture out the Grand Bayou pass into the G.O.M. to the nearest rig called the Green Monster a double plat formed producing well that held a variety of inshore fish. A "rig hook" an aluminum 1½” pipe shaped like a question mark would hang over the bow while the roped end was secured somehow to the transom. The aluminum question mark would be deployed around one of the rig’s cross bars and tied to our bow holding us while we fished. Dad, a Yankee from Mn armed with limited fishing gear, would remove the cork off our spinning combos and tether a snap on weight just above the double “shag rig” and send it down counting one Mississippi, two Mississippi till the bait hit the bottom. As I remember it took until 60 Mississippi to hit the bottom then start reeling slowly till the bite found our frozen shrimp. A lil math and my dad had the combination to how many Mississippi's to find the bite then had us all repeat after him. Usually didn’t take long to fill the box and by late morning we were heading back towards Grand Bayou pass.
In hind site, I would never repeat that venture in a 16 ft Star craft with 3 of my kids but dad was weather cautious and I never remembered the gulf being nothing but flat.
Once inside the pass we would hit a point on the west side of Bay Bastian. My dad would name this point "Tommy's point" after my brother but can't remember why. We would then head to Bayou Cook if our fish boxes needed topping as it was always a producer then found our way back across Bay Adams to “the camp.”
Someone mentioned empire launch where your boat was lowered in the water by straps. Back then, the launch operator was called “squeaky” by all his friends and customers due to his high pitched voice and seemed like he really enjoyed his job. I would never address him because I thought it would be rude coming from kid and never new his real name. Later in the 80’s the same business man built a new camp on Happy Jack canal so I never returned to the Empire camp nor launch.
Sometimes, I wonder what happened to squeaky, but maybe someone here can satisfy my curiosity.

Again, Thanks for the great story and a reminder from a time and place that will only exist in our memories.

Jimmy
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  #30  
Old 07-16-2010, 09:54 PM
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Jimmy, your story was great too! All parts of it had me nodding my head. You must have passed by our camp every time you went out of Grand Bayou Pass. We were the last camp on the left before you hit Bay Bastian. It was pink for a short time (the paint was free), and then green forever.

I have no recollection of Squeaky. Perhaps he worked at Battistella's Marina on the other canal, the one across the draw bridge.
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  #31  
Old 07-16-2010, 11:37 PM
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Coach,

From my recollection of the launch, we had to cross over a small shell levy with a boat yard just on the other side...First time my dad approached the levy, he parked our wood panel station wagon at the foot of the levy ...no joke! and walked up to the top of levy to ensure he wasn't about to splash our wagon on the other side as all you could see were the tops of the boats on approach...lol, then we proceeded through the boat yard which I thought was pretty cool to see fishermen making repairs to those old wooden hauls as we proceeded to the marina...

We would pass Diamond Island from Bay Adams and hit Meyers Canal and pop out into Grand Bayou and turn left towards the Pass...I remember the string of camps as we approached Bay Bastian on the left and pink does stick out but maybe power of suggestion is speaking...I remember a fellow with the last name Lutz also had a camp along that stretch...

Also, remember that big decrepid camp in the mouth Bay Bastian near the pass with no land around it? I use to imagine how nice it must have been when newly constructed every time we passed it....Great view of the Pass..I once heard a story that an oil company had constructed it back in 50's...

As for Squeaky, I hope all is well and I know he lived a good life down in Empire..

Jimmy
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  #32  
Old 07-17-2010, 01:14 AM
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If you hit Meyers Canal to Grand Bayou, you bypassed Bayou Cook. The camp at the mouth of Grand Bayou and Bay Bastian had been many things, most notably a DANCE HALL! My grandmother had stories of ROWING there to dance when she was a teenager.

When the structure of that place was gone, after some storm or another, we went out there and cut the pilings down. We floated them back to our place and jacked up the back of our camp with them. Those pilings are still there.

You definitely went into the Delta Marina. The only operator I can ever remember was Jimmy Martinez, though I'm sure Squeaky was his predecessor.
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  #33  
Old 07-17-2010, 01:49 AM
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Only if we could go back in time to the dance hall days....must've been something to see....I think when it's clear I'll have to trailer my boat over or hire a guide for a trip down memory lane. Has been way too long...What's the passage to the gulf from Grand Bayou/Bay Bastian these days?

Squeaky error was in the early / mid 70's....not sure about Matinez time...I believe you referenced 90's...so may it's the reverse of tenure...
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