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Saltwater fishing success is improving each week and should be nearing its prime just in time for the big fishing rodeo that gets under way Friday, according to one of the many Teche Area fishermen ready for 55th annual Iberia Rod & Gun Club Saltwater Fishing Rodeo.

Ronald Dore Sr. and Don St. Germain, two Teche Area residents who plan to fish in the Inside Division, the latter with the youngest of his grandchildren to continue a tradition, both said as much last week as they talked about the fishing rodeo out of Cypremort Point. Dore said he should have no problem putting bull reds, bull drum and big flounders in the boat while St. Germain said he has heard speckled trout just started biting well at Dry Reef and Tee Butte, where water conditions are getting better and better.

That’s just what veteran fishing rodeo chairman Chad LeBlanc has been waiting to hear before the conservation organization’s fundraising event. LeBlanc and the rest of the fishing rodeo committee have been busy for months working to increase the appeal of the fishing rodeo.

Anglers in the Inside, Runabout and Offshore divisions will be fishing for cash prizes and trophies, he said, a combination that is sure to please area anglers. He proudly pointed to Page 19 of the fishing rodeo brochure, which lists the sponsors for the trophies in the Bass Division (Lipari’s Sporting Goods), Junior Division (Unique Manufacturing & Services), Inside Division (Cargill Deicing Tech.), Runabout Division (STS Specialty Rental Tools) and Offshore Division (Handyman Hardware).

He also was excited about the return of the Give Me Five (Page 47) promotion that gives anyone who weighs in a fish a chance to win one of four prizes by opening five envelopes. Top prize is a Fisher 240 Liberty sponsored by Travis Boating Center. Other prizes are a $2,500 gift card sponsored by Dago’s Mobil & Grocery, a $1,000 shopping spree at Cajun Guns & Tackle, and a rod-and-reel combo sponsored by the IR&GC.

Also, LeBlanc said, Suzuki’s Catch and Reward returns as Rodeo Lagniappe (Page 51). If the speckled trout winner in the Inside Division was fishing out of a Suzuki-powered boat, the lucky angler gets $1,000.

LeBlanc said a new rule requires all fish to be brought to the scales by boat (excluding the Junior Division).

Runabout Division rules have changed. No longer will points be accumulated daily.

Best All-Around Fisherman winners will take home money, trophy and Ambassadeur rod and reel combos donated by Cajun Guns & Tackle. Also, runner-up Best All-Around Fishermen will get a $50 gift certificate from Lipari’s Sporting Goods.

Dore and St. Germain are hopeful some of those major prizes wind up on their respective boats. Dore has planned a fishing rodeo trip with his son Ronnie Dore Jr. in the latter’s Priority One, a 22-foot aluminum boat. Colter Thibodeaux and Riley Muffoletta are expected to be aboard.

“We’re going to fish. We try to fish them all,” Dore said.

Two weekends ago Dore’s crew cashed in twice in the Tibby Faulk fishing rodeo out of Don’s Landing at Pecan Island. The elder Dore had a second-place redfish at 34.41 pounds worth $500 while his son had a second-place drum worth another $500.

Dore, a lead line mechanic for CLECO, has been putting his time on the water to good use and finding fish in a number of places.

“I tell you what, I’ve been so much lately it’s hard to keep track of the days. I caught a bunch of fish one afternoon” recently, he said. “I tell you what, we’ve been catching fish. We’re fired up and ready to go.”

At 78, St. Germain probably will be the dean of the fishing rodeo anglers on the water during the three-day event that begins at sunrise Friday and ends at 1 p.m. Sunday. He’ll be relying on his favorite fishin’ holes to give up fish due to a lack of time on the water.

St. Germain said he has been fishing only a couple of times this year, mainly because of subpar water conditions. His last trip was several weeks ago when he showed a friend some spots in Marsh Island.

“I just haven’t been fishing. The water was so fresh, you know?” he said.

“But we’re going to be going out July the Fourth. I’m going to have my little girl (granddaughter) with me, Taylor,” he said about Taylor Hebert, a perennial contender in the Junior Division. “All of my grandchildren, I fished it with them until they get to 16. Well, Taylor is my last one to do that.”

Also aboard the Lil’ Saint will be a grandson, Jordan Hebert, 18, he said.

Like so many fishing rodeo competitors, St. Germain’s extended clan makes it a family affair. His son Glenn St. Germain plans to fish, too. “Oh, yeah, you might know. Glenn’s going with his boys on No More Money, and some friends, too,” he said.

Like Dore, St. Germain believes fishing success will be fair to good over the course of the holiday weekend fishing rodeo.