2023 Louisiana SLAM Tournament Results

Louisiana SLAM Tournament Sets New SLAM Record!

Written by: Julie Hebert, Co-chair of Louisiana Slam 2023

Louisiana Slam 2023 Chairwomen: Rebel Caplinger, Julie Hebert, & Suzie Villere

Once again, the I.W.F.A. anglers were guided by Louisiana’s best professional fishing guides operating out of the Venice Marina. They used many different tactics such as targeting inland marsh coves for reclusive redfish, open bays for bull reds, taking a ride to the west in search of flocking birds for speckled trout, and bouncing the drop-offs for flounder to hit the most Louisiana Slams. Regardless of their plan, our Venice Pros put nearly 1600 fish in the boat on 10# class PowerPro Braid. There was definitely a shift in the winds with dodging storms and a massive flounder and trout bite, as this year was not won on the illusive Bull Red, but rather on the skill of catching over a thousand Speckled Trout and over 50 of the shy flat fish; “Flounder” as we know them!

The individual awards are as follows:

Connie O’Day, a Pearland, Texas angler who fishes world-wide in most any tournament or funament, captured the First Place Over-all Angler trophy with 4080 points! Closely following was a newcomer to the tournament, Anna Bush from Bradenton, Florida, with 3890 points to capture Second Place and the Newcomer’s Award! History was made when Third Place was shared by Aledia Tush, residing in Sarasota, FL and Krissy Hewes-Wiborg, from Miami, FL with 3740 points each! Jenny Goodell started the tournament with a bang earning High Point Angler Day One, Connie O’Day was High Point Angler Day Two, and Anna Bush turned on the heat to earn High Point Angler Day Three. The “First Fish Caught” award went to Mary Weingart; the “Last Fish Caught” award was earned by Lisa Bellar, competing to the very end! Julie Hebert received the just-for- fun “Most Spots” award for her redfish with 28 spots. Jenny Goodell captured the coveted “Louisiana Slam” trophy by capturing 6 Louisiana Slams by catching all 3 qualifying fish of Redfish, Speckled Trout and Flounder in a single day; The most Louisiana Slams in the history of the event with a total of 41 Slams entered over the 3 day tournament!

The following ladies took home impressive Team Awards:

First Place Team: Summer Brasher, Jing Torn, Aledia Tush and Rosemary White

Second Place Team: Julie Hebert, Pam Marmin, Connie O’Day, and Rebel Caplinger

Third Place Team: Lisa Bellar, Anna Bush, Beth Fisackerly, and Krissy Hewes-Wiborg

Without a doubt, the rest of the fabulous ladies just had a lot of fun!

Special thanks go out to our hard-working Louisiana guides who excelled to capture 1st, 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Congrats to Brent Ballay for being “Top Captain”, Jack Marino and Brandon Ballay for their professionalism and dedication to the success of our tournament!

As one can imagine with almost 1600 fish caught, Venice is definitely hot, hot, hot! Put us on your bucket list of tournaments, as we welcome back the ladies of the IWFA to the beautiful and fruitful waters of Venice, Louisiana! Until next year…tight lines!

Grand Champion & High Point Angler Day 2 - Connie O’Day from Pearland, TX