Family Fish Fest draws more than 600 to Abbeville's Lafitte Drive-in Park

Organizers expected a good turnout for Saturday’s Family Fish Fest in Abbeville.
Consider those expectations exceeded.
More than 600 people attended Saturday’s fishing event, which took place at Lafitte Drive-in Park.
“It went extremely well,” said Abbeville Councilman Francis Plaisance, who helped organize the event. “The final count was 619.
“That’s very good.”
That can also describe the time had by those in attendance.
“People really had a good time,” Plaisance said. “A lot of fish were caught.
“We had no problems, whatsoever.”
Along with the main attraction, the event included various activities. Plaisance thanked everyone who helped make it possible, including representatives of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), people who made donations and Lance Broussard, who provided and cooked food.
“All the food was eaten,” Plaisance said with a laugh.
Plaisance said he was still receiving compliments from people on Monday morning.
“The reception was tremendous,” Plaisance said. “I just received a call from someone, raving about it.”
Mayor Mark Piazza said he is happy with the results.
“I was pleasantly surprised by the turn out and seeing all the smiles on the children’s faces when they caught a fish made it all worthwhile,” Piazza said.
While it definitely serves as something to build on, Plaisance said details of how fishing will open up at the pond on a more regular basis are yet to be determined.
“In my opinion,” Plaisance said, “I would like to see it open at least one day a week, especially during the summer. That is something I will bring up so that we can work on figuring it out.”
For some, this event opened a new world.
“I heard from some who said it was their kids’ first fishing experience,” Plaisance said. “I actually had a couple of adults who told me this was their first time fishing.”
Plaisance said he was happy to see so many families.
“With some of the (negatives) we have going on,” Plaisance said, “it was a refreshing thing to see families enjoying the day together.”
With its success, Plaisance said he is hoping to have more days like this, when families can come together to fish.
“I hope we can make it an annual thing,” Plaisance said. “We haven’t discussed it any further with Wildlife and Fisheries. I think something similar to this would be really good.
“We’ll see where that goes.”
Again, things are off to a good start.
“It was great all the way around,” Plaisance said.