The St. Tammany Fishing Pier Grand Opening will take place Saturday June 2nd!
The St. Tammany Fishing Pier, on E. Howze Beach Road in Slidell, will celebrate a free Grand Opening on Saturday, June 2nd with a family Fishing Rodeo, Kids’ Arts and Crafts tent, and booths with representatives from Wildlife and Fisheries, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, the Commission on Cultural Affairs and other organizations. Also at the Grand Opening Celebration will be four St. Tammany Parish artists, commissioned to produce works live on site. Don Dubuc from WWL radio will be broadcasting live from the pier from 5AM to 9AM.
In a joint effort to promote the St. Tammany Fishing Pier and bring fishing to all families of St. Tammany, Donna O’Daniels, CEO and President of the St. Tammany Parish Tourist & Convention Commission, worked with St. Tammany Parish President Pat Brister to secure a grant award to help promote and fund the First Annual St. Tammany Fishing Pier Rodeo. St. Tammany received the grant from the Louisiana Tourism Coastal Coalition, which has partnered with St. Tammany in this endeavor to bring fishing in Lake Pontchartrain to all families in Southeast Louisiana.
The ribbon cutting for the Fishing Pier will take place on May 18th, and it will be open to the public for fishing after this date. The June 2nd Fishing Rodeo will begin at 5 AM, for families and individuals competing for prizes in ten categories. The weigh station will close at 2 PM. Fishing will be done off the pier structure for this rodeo. The rodeo will have an entry fee of $10 for adults and $5 for children, with a max of $25 per family.
To print a Rodeo registration Form, please go to the homepage of this website and look under Topics of Interest -- Fishing Rodeo Registration Form.
“We are extremely excited for this Grand Opening,” said Parish President Pat Brister. “It has been a long process, but we are very pleased to get the first phase of the pier open to the public, and to host the fishing rodeo. This pier will be important for both quality of life in St. Tammany and for bringing in tourists and sportsmen. Come out and enjoy this free day of fun.”
The St. Tammany Parish Fishing Pier will be open to the public from 6AM to 8PM during the summer, and 7AM to 5PM during the winter. The cost will be $3 to fish, and $1 to sightsee without fishing. Children under 12 are free. There is no cost to attend either the ribbon cutting on May 18th or the Grand Opening on June 2nd. When the pier is opened, Phase 1 will be complete and open to the public. The work on the pier is being done in phases, so the public will have access to at least part of the structure while construction is ongoing elsewhere. As phases are completed, they will be opened. Phase 1 consists of the first 700 feet of wooden pier walkway from the end of the jetty.
With the opening of Phase 1, the pier will have an entrance area and gate, rest rooms, and a concession area with vending machines. It will be staffed with St. Tammany Parish Pier Patrol during operating hours. For more information, call the St. Tammany Fishing Pier at (985) 649-3037.
The St. Tammany Fishing Pier was built from sections of the original I-10 Twin Span Bridges which opened December 21, 1965. Tens of thousands of cars used these bridges to cross Lake Pontchartrain between Slidell and New Orleans until the morning of August 29, 2005 when Hurricane Katrina made its final landfall.
A storm surge in excess of 16 feet, combined with that water’s return to the Gulf of Mexico destroyed the twin bridges. This destruction became one of the storm’s most iconic images.
St. Tammany Parish Government, partnering with LA DOTD and the LA Dept. of Wildlife & Fisheries, chose to create a fishing pier as a new public use for the remnants of the bridges and as a testament to the strength and resiliency of the citizens who call southeastern Louisiana their home.
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