The Fishing Camp opens… and more!

Congratulations to James Reneau and the Fishing Camp Tackle & RV Park on Hwy. 165 North in Monroe for a successful Grand Opening Thursday afternoon! The Fishing Camp team celebrated with a big crowd welcomed by the Reneau family Thursday afternoon and the Grand Opening continues through this weekend. Check them out!

“Our goal is to be here for the fishing community when they are going fishing and having all the things they need,” said store owner James Reneau . We’ve got crickets, shiners, ice, worms, all kinds of tackle, rods, reels, ice chests —everything that fishermen need. And we will be here when fishermen need it. We are going to be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week and we will even expand that to 4 a.m. during tournament season.”

The store is dotted with fishing decor that helps put you in the mood to go fishing before you even get to the water! Much of it came from the old Holder Estate on Lake D’Arbonne.

Reneau said when they looked at the location, it didn’t take long to figure out there were eight boat ramps within two miles of the store, so the geographic location made sense. They also have an RV park adjacent to the store. James is a fisherman, too, and he wants to make sure the store meets the needs of fishermen and other outdoorsmen. They also plan to lease out the adjoining restaurant space as well, probably within the next 30 days. The Fishing Camp is also our newest sponsor on lakedarbonnelife.com helping to bring you outdoor news and information all year long!

More outdoor news from today:

It was a big week for the outdoors in Lake D’Arbonne Country. The new opening came with good timing. Had it been a day earlier, the weather would have been pretty bad. In fact, a tornado north of Lake D’Arbonne destroyed a lot of trees and did significant damage to part of the Lake D’Arbonne State Park. It’s a big weekend at the park and crews worked hard to get power back on. The camping area is still open, but if you plan to make a trip this weekend, check with them before you go to make sure everything is okay.

And . . .

There’s more. Legendary fisherman Jimmy Houston of Oklahoma visited our area this week and spent Wednesday afternoon dodging storms and fishing for crappie. He also spent Thursday chasing lunker bass on Caney Lake.

Fishing was tough because of the weather, but Houston doesn’t have to catch a fish to have fun. He’s kind of the Yogi Berra of fishing. The famous TV host and tournament fishermen is famous for saying like:

• “I knew it was going to be a bad day when first thing this morning, I got a backlash in the toilet paper”

• “Fishing is so bad, even the liars aren’t catching fish!”

• “The fish bite twice a day; Just before we get here and just after we leave!”

• You can catch on some of the quick results of Jimmy’s trips on his YouTube channel.