The Fish in My Own Backyard: What’s Swimming in Catahoula Lake?

The first In Your Own Backyard workshop of the Fall is happening on September 30th. Jude Theriot—photographer, writer, and native son of Catahoula—hosts this edition of our free series.
Using Catahoula Lake as a window into the greater Atchafalaya Basin, this presentation explores the native fishes that have sustained generations of Louisianans: alligator gar, choupique, gaspergou, buffalo, catfish, sac-à-lait. We’ll discuss the ways they have shaped the culture, cuisine, and history of that region.
What better way to know the Atchafalaya than through its native fishes? More remarkable still, fish remains recovered from archaeological sites in the Basin closely mirror what a fisherman could pull from Catahoula Lake today. To eat these fish is to taste the Atchafalaya much as it has been tasted for thousands of years.
Featuring interviews with local fishermen, with detours into history, archaeology and folklore, the presentation includes demonstrations of traditional fishing techniques and discussion of heritage recipes prepared from these native species.