Ayden's Foundation Tournament
Ayden’s Foundation of Hope will be holding its 9th Annual Fishing Tournament at the East Pearl River on March 7. Among the prizes awarded will be $2,500 to the winner with the heaviest 5-fish stringer. A 2-man Ron Chapman Cottonmouth Pirogue to the big fish of the day, and $800 worth of gift cards raffled out to contestants.
But local bass angler Lee Hillman of Slidell says this tournament isn’t about the prizes and competition. “The competition and the $2,500 pot is great but this is a charity tournament and all of the entry fee’s go to towards helping the next family that might lose a child,” Hillman says.Hillman has been helping out with the fishing tournament since its inception in 2012. Ayden’s Foundation of Hope is a family ministry that was organized in June of 2011 after Darryl and Erin Phillips lives were changed forever. While visiting family in Slidell, 3-year-old Ayden Phillips, fell into a swimming pool. His Mom Erin was the first one in the pool after him and his father, Darryl, followed. Darryl exited the pool and called 911 immediately then started to perform CPR on his son. Darryl applied CPR until the Slidell Fire Department arrived and took over. Ayden was then rushed to Slidell Memorial Hospital where the doctors finally were able to regain his heartbeat. However, despite everything that the parents, the firefighters, police officers, paramedics, nurses, and doctors did to save him, Ayden’s brain went without oxygen for too long and he was pronounced brain dead on June 17th, 2011 at Northshore Ochsner Hospital. The Phillips family was deeply affected by the loss of their child but with the help of family members and Ayden’s late Grandfather and Pastor at Slidell Community Baptist Church in Slidell, Michael Harrigan, they started Ayden’s Foundation of Hope. “When this ministry first began, we didn’t expect it to become what is has turned into. We just wanted to be a light and share our hope with a few local families as we came across them. But the Lord has blessed our efforts in more ways that we can imagine,” says Erin.
Since then, the ministry has reached hundreds of families across the US and around the world with with thousands of dollars being raised. Ayden’s Foundation’s mission is to minister and share the love of Christ with families who have lost a child and help and pay for the funeral and medical expenses. To promote organ donor awareness and to help pay for children’s swim lessons. Hillman encourages the local community to support the tournament by either fishing in the event of participating in the weigh-in which will be held at the Blind Tiger in Slidell. “We hope everyone comes out and supports the tournament. We’re going to have boiled crawfish and a pig roast for everyone that comes out,” Hillman says. For more information about the Ayden’s Foundation of Hope Fishing Tournament please contact Lee Hillman at 985-774-3121 or visit AydensHope.org. Please visit NFR's Facebook Page to donate. 100% of donations go to Ayden's Foundation of Hope. https://www.facebook.com/NorthshoreFishingReportcom-139034982893083/ Speckled Trout Assessment
The most recent stock assessment indicated that speckled trout are overfished and undergoing overfishing, and changes are necessary in order to recover the stock. The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission indicated it would like to hear public input before considering management changes. No action is being taken at this time; however, input is being gathered prior to any potential rule changes. LDWF’s biological opinion is that a 20% reduction in harvest is needed in order to recover the stock by 2025 or sooner, but there are a range of options that can achieve that goal. Management change options recently presented to the LWFC in early January 2020 included creel limit only changes, minimum size limit changes only, combined creel and minimum size limit changes, slot limit only changes, and combined slot limit and creel changes. LDWF is holding a public on Thursday, February 20, 2020 at 5 PM – 7 PM at the Slidell Municipal Auditorium, 2056 2nd St. Tournament Results Bass Assassins held their Classic on East Pearl. The conditions were tough but at the end of the day Paul Paille managed 4 fish that totaled 8 lbs. 12.oz. for the win. In second place was Jay Breland who brought in a 5-fish bag that weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. Eric Ciko came in third place with 7 lbs. 15 oz. The big fish of the day was caught by Bruce Vallelungo who weighed in with a 4 lb. 12 oz. largemouth bass. Upcoming Tournaments Bass Assassins will kick off its 2020 season on February 16th at Bayou Lacombe. For more information please contact Chris Basey at 985-707-7857. |
I created NFR.com in the spring of 2012. Since then it has helped link Northshore fishermen to valuable information and has filled the void of absent information on the web about fishing on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Northshore Fishing Report has morphed into a brand name and can be found not only on the web, but on radio and newspaper. As NFR grows I will continue to work hard at keeping NFR local focusing on local anglers, reports, seminars, and fishing tournaments in St. Tammany and Tangipahoa Parish. I hope you enjoy the website and If you have any questions please email me at: Keith@NorthshoreFishingReport.com
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