I thought I would tell you all about a local "lore" I came across many years ago when I first became a commercial fisherman.
In Louisiana not to far from Venice, there is a salt dome located about 20 miles from the end of the Southwest pass that is called the "midnight lump". The pass rises to within 200 feet of the surface and is surrounded by water that is in 400 to 600 feet in range. According to the lore, the salt dome got its name during World War II when military forts were placed along the bank of the Mississippi in order to stop German submarines that may attempt to come up river.
Since the Mississippi is one of the busiest ports in America, the Germans stationed vast amounts of submarines in the Gulf of Mexico in an attempt to destroy this vital water gateway.
The legend tells that the solders stationed in the forts along the Mississippi during the war got tired of the military rations and befriended local fisherman in an effort to obtain fresh fish to satisfy their hardy appetites.
Now, during the 40’s, GPS and many of today’s hi-tech navigational devices have yet to be invented. So the fisherman would leave the mouth of Southwest pass under the cloak of darkness in an attempt to avoid the detection of the German U-boats and run with nothing more than a compass, wrist watch, and lead line. They would use speed time and distance formulas to arrive at The Midnight lump and then use the lead line to measure the water depth to confirm their destination. Once the fisherman arrived, they would fish for the many Snapper, Grouper, and Amber Jack that are still there to this day. The local commercial Louisiana fisherman would scurry back to port before the sun came up to provide their American troops with fresh fish to satisfy their appetites and keep them at post un-hungered. Thus the name "midnight lump".
The midnight lump is still a very big part of fishing in Venice Louisiana today.
While it is rumored that a commercial bottom fisherman is responsible for the discovery of the fact that these very salt domes attract large numbers of LARGE Yellow fin tuna during the months of January, February, and March. You can experience this phenomenon with Poco Loco Charters during one of our winter charters. It would be our honor to bring you to this very location and have more talk about this heroic tale.
Sincerely,
Captain Jerry
Poco Loco Charters