This week for Atchafalaya National Heritage Area month, Terrebonne Parish celebrates recreational fishing and all other seafood prosperities the Atchafalaya Area brings Terrebonne parishioners. One third of the state’s public freshwater boat launches can be found in the heritage area. Among the freshwater fish which populate lakes and bayous are black, white, yellow, and striped bass, bowfin, bream, buffalo, drum, crappie, paddlefish, shad, sturgeon, and several species of catfish, including channel, blue, and flathead catfish. The Atchafalaya Basin, Lake Verret-Palourde, Lake Fausse Point-Dauterive, False River, and Spanish Lake are favorite fishing destinations. Recreational crawfishing using set nets and recreational wire traps is also a popular seasonal pastime.

The several marinas located in the coastal parishes of the heritage area are frequently used for seasonal saltwater fishing. Common coastal species include black and red drum, southern flounder, striped mullet, sea trout, cobia, king and Spanish mackerel. Marlin, sailfish, swordfish, tuna, shark, snapper, mutton, triggerfish, amberjack, hogfish, redfish, and sea bass are popular offshore finfish species. Other forms of seasonal, recreational saltwater fishing include cast-netting and trawling for shrimp and crabs and harvesting oysters.

The Atchafalaya National Heritage Area locational highlight this week is Avery Island Tabasco and Jungle Gardens. Tabasco brand products are made by the McIlhenny Company, founded by Edmund McIlhenny in 1868 on Avery Island, Louisiana. To this day, the company is still family-owned and operated on the same island. Tour the McIlhenny Co. Tabasco Brand factory to see how Tabasco hot sauce is made from seed to sauce. To learn more on the history of the McIlhenny Company, visit tabasco.com.

Located minutes away from the Tabasco factory are the Jungle Gardens. The Jungle Gardens are 170-acres of semitropical gardens that stretches along Bayou Petite Anse on Avery Island. Naturalists, bird watchers, and visitors from around the world will enjoy the gently rolling landscape, botanical treasures, and abundant wildlife. Attractions range from beautiful flowers to birds to a magnificent centuries-old Buddha statue. In season, visitors can see azaleas, camellias, and colorful bamboo, as well as alligators, deer, and the thousands of snowy egrets that nest in Bird City. To learn more on the history of the Jungle Gardens, visit junglegardens.org.

For more information on recreational fishing, visit the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area website.