The 2014 Blue Jay Fishing Rodeo Reels ‘Em In
![Eight is enough! These Blue Jays completed their pre-freshmen year and have only four more years to reach senior status as members of the Class of 2018. From left are John McMahon, Andrew Kuebel, larson McAlpine, Albert Bienvenu, Ben Brodnax, Jay Kuebel, Jake Theriot, and William Brown.](https://cdn.jesuitnola.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Fishing-Rodeo-2014_Weigh_in-Festivities_06282014_333-506x336.jpg)
Eight is enough! These Blue Jays completed their pre-freshmen year and have only four more years to reach senior status as members of the Class of 2018. From left are John McMahon, Andrew Kuebel, Larson McAlpine, Albert Bienvenu, Ben Brodnax, Jay Kuebel, Jake Theriot, and William Brown.
The 2014 Blue Jay Fishing Rodeo, held on June 28, featured a post-Katrina record number of fishing fans (almost 300), a “king”-sized cooking demonstration, and a trophy trout. For the third consecutive year, the weigh-in was held in the Wally Pontiff, Jr. Pavilion at John Ryan Stadium.
View the 2014 Blue Jay Fishing Rodeo Photo Gallery
In addition to the usual rodeo festivities, chairman Mike McMahon ’85 and co-chair Bro. William Dardis, S.J. ’58 boosted student participation by organizing a trip to the St. Tammany Fishing Pier. Each Jesuit student that participated in the rodeo received a rod and reel, courtesy of the Coastal Conservation Association of Louisiana. In addition, more than 50 door prizes were distributed to participants and three lucky participants won chartered fishing trips as prizes for their impressive and record-breaking hauls.
Fishing with Blue Jay parent Todd Dulcich, Lee Pierce entered a Venice-caught whopper of a speckled trout that tipped weighmaster Larry Canada’s scale at 8.1 pounds.
Aaron Burgau ’92, executive chef at Patois, who took top prize at the 7th Annual Louisiana Seafood Cook-off in May, shared his recipe for black drum at a top-notch cooking demonstration held during the weigh-in.
The 2015 Blue Jay Fishing Rodeo is scheduled for Saturday, June 27.
2014 Blue Jay Fishing Rodeo Results
Division I: All Participants |
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Flounder |
Black Drum |
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Roland Vandenweghe, Jr. ’90 | 1.68 lbs | Ricky Trahant ’85 | 9.58 lbs |
Grant Gonzalez ’13 | 6.98 | ||
Johnny Franck ’65 | 2.53 | ||
Sheepshead |
Speckled Trout |
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Rick Kuebel ’82 | 4.81 lbs | Lee Pierce | 8.14 lbs |
Chris Nalty ’80 | 4.78 | Todd Dulcich | 5.39 |
Joey Disler | 4.11 | Ryan Gootee ’91 | 3.18 |
Redfish |
Red Snapper |
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Joey Disler | 9.81 lbs | Frank Charneco | 15.99 lbs |
Doug Miller | 7.83 | Frank Charneco | 13.92 |
Danny Housey ’09 | 7.41 | Blake Cookmeyer ’12 | 13.80 |
Division II: Ages 18 Years & Younger |
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Flounder |
Black Drum |
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Cole Landrieu ’18 | 2.35 lbs | William Brown ’18 | 3.60 lbs |
Lauren Miller | 1.32 | William Brown ’18 | 2.29 |
William Brown ’18 | 1.05 | William Brown ’18 | 2.22 |
Sheepshead |
Speckled Trout |
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Robert McMahon ’19 | 6.30 lbs | Chris Zelenka ’17 | 4.62 lbs |
William Simon ’18 | 5.46 | Blake Dulcich ’17 | 3.68 |
Connor Housey ’17 | 3.89 | Chris McMahon ’19 | 2.59 |
Redfish |
Red Snapper |
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Blake Dulcich ’17 | 6.26 lbs | Zack Charneco ’19 | 15.09 lbs |
Blake Dulcich ’17 | 5.82 | Zack Charneco ’19 |
11.99 |
Lauren Miller | 5.23 | Mackenzie Charneco ’19 | 10.50 |
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Galleries
Blue Jay Fishing Rodeo, June 28, 2014
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The 2014 Jesuit Fishing Rodeo brought together almost 275 Blue Jays of all species. This was the second year the rodeo was held under the Wally Pontiff, Jr. Pavilion at John Ryan Stadium. This year's rodeo was Jesuit's 22nd - don't forget the rodeo was canceled in 2010 because of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
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Cameron DiMaggio '18 hops off the bus that transported Blue Jays without boats to the St. Tammany Parish fishing pier in Slidell, where rodeo participants caught plenty of Lake Pontchartrain catfish, along with a sunburn if they didn't lather themselves in suncreen.
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Jesuit's 2014 rodeo chairman Michael McMahon '85 pauses for a moment with Letty Clark, chairman emeritus Jimmy Commagere, who tagged behind his grandson Robert Commagere '06.
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Helping with the registration process are, from left, Carol Besselman, Sabrina Junius (sophomore at Mount Carmel Academy), Amy McMahon, Mary Billeaud, Olivia Hoffman (sophomore at Mount Carmel Academy), and Alli Perrilloux (sophomore at Archbishop Chapelle).
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Alumni chaplain Fr. Norman O'Neal,S.J. and Fr. Nick Schiro, S.J. '44 visited the rodeo festivities, along with Chef Aaron Burgau '92 of Patois Restaurant and alumni director Mat Grau '68.
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Fr. Anthony McGinn, S.J. '66, president of Jesuit High School, with John Dildy '85.
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Chef Aaron Burgau '92 of Patois Restaurant took center stage for a cooking demonstration during which he satuéed fresh speckled trout in butter and lemon. While it sounds simple, Chef Aaron added his own elements of ingenuity that made this dish outstanding.
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Aaron Burgau '92 shows off his signature dish of sautéed speckled trout with toasted almonds.
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Aaron Burgau '92 of Patois Restaurant with Bro. Dardis, who is about to enjoy the fruits of the chef's labors.
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Tony Celano '15 and Josh Orellano '15 are about to hit the buffet of fried shrimp and catfish.
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Seph Dupuy '66, Bubby Valentino '65, and Jay Thomas '66 enjoyed their inside marsh fishing trip.
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Brian Berrigan '80 and Chris Mills '80 relax in the fan-cooled shade of the Wally Pontiff, Jr. Pavilion.
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Chris Mills '80 with a croaker that tipped the scale in the wrong direction.
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Ryan Gootee '91 entered these redfish and trout caught at Shell Beach. His trout came in at 3.18 pounds, fetching Gootee a plaque for third place.
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Stephen Heier reaches in his ice chest and pulls out this redfish he and his fishing buddies caught offshore.
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Gerard Discon '99 and his sons Connor and John admire the winning fish iced down in a display box.
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Josh Pierre can't wait to try out the rod 'n reel he received, compliments of the Coastal Conservation Association of Louisiana.
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Michael Heier '05, Drew Necaise '05, and Stephen Heierdisplay their big reds.
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Eight is enough! These Blue Jays completed their pre-freshmen year and have only four more years to reach senior status as members of the Class of 2018. From left are John McMahon, Andrew Kuebel, Larson McAlpine, Albert Bienvenu, Ben Brodnax, Jay Kuebel, Jake Theriot, and William Brown.
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Bro. Dardis has a boatload of door prizes to give away before announcing the winners of the trophies and plaques.
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Lee Pierce and Todd Dulcich entered a string of five trout weighing 21.4 pounds, which was good enough for this first place trophy, which was presented by rodeo chairman Mike McMahon '85.
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In the under-18 category, these Blue Jays are 1st place winners, from left: Robert McMahon '19 (6.30-lb. Sheepshead); Blake Dulcich '17, who placed 1st and 2nd in the Redfish category (6.26 and 5.82 pounds; he also netted 2nd place for his 3.68-lb Speckled Trout); William Brown '18, who swept the Black Drum category with fish tipping the scales at 3.00, 2.29, and 2.22 pounds; Chris Zalenka '17 (4.62-lb. Speckled Trout); and Zack Charneco '19, who took 1st and 2nd place in the Red Snapper category with fish weighing 15.09 and 11.99 pounds.
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Jesuit offers a special thanks to Bro. Billy Dardis, S.J. ’58, who drove the bus from John Ryan Stadium to the St. Tammany Fishing Pier, a new addition to the rodeo for 2014.
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Randy Gros with Bro. Billy Dardis '58
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Randy Gros assists a couple of young ladies from Girls Hope.
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Jesuit parent Randy Gros enjoyed helping supervise pier operations.
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A flock (or should we say a school) of Blue Jays and friends, arrive at the St. Tammany Fishing Pier in Slidell.
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Fishing rodeo chairman Mike McMahon '85 shares a moment with friend and co-chairman Bro. William Dardis, S.J. '58.
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Rodeo chairman Mike McMahon '85 lends his fishing expertise to Cameron DiMaggio '18.
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Matthew McMahon '17, Rusty Gros '17, and Christopher McMahon '18
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Christopher '18 and Matthew McMahon '17
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Between casts, Trey Melito '18 flashes a "whopper" of a smile.
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The Blue Jay Fishing Rodeo is always a great opportunity to make new friends.
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Josh Orellano '15 and Tony Celano '15 prepare their poles and bait their hooks with dead shrimp supplied by fishing rodeo chairman Mike McMahon '85.
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Chuck Roth brought a van load of students from Boys Hope / Girls Hope to the St. Tammany Fishing Pier.
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For this youngster, fishing is everything it's "croaked" up to be.
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Trevor Spinosa and his son Tim, who will join Jesuit as a pre-freshman in the fall of 2014.
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Fishers used a combination of artificial bait and dead shrimp.
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The list of winners in the Division 1 categories reflects a great day on the water.
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The list of winners in the under-18 age categories is not exclusively male.