Atchafalaya Catfish

About the Book

Take a boat ride in the Atchafalaya Swamp to check Frank's trot line for catfish. Watch out for the cypress stumps and alligators! Keep your fish hooks baited and your appetite ready for some of Loretta's delicious fried catfish. Enjoy the beautiful photographs of one of Louisiana's pristine wilderness areas. Learn how a Cajun father from Henderson, Louisiana worked in the Atchafalaya Basin to raise enough money to take care of his family.

About the Author

Sheila LeBlanc was born and raised in Louisiana. As the only daughter of Helen and Sean McGlynn, and not wishing to let her seven brothers out of her sight, Sheila learned to love the great outdoors. She graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in 1982 and studied at LSU where she earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in cultural geography. She has studied and lived in Bonn and Heidelberg, Germany; Innsbruck, Austria; and Dungloe, Ireland. She lived in Florida for ten years and now resides in Lafayette, Louisiana with her husband, Jeff, and daughter, Ryan Nicole. In 2005, back when people still put film in cameras, Sheila met Jody Meche at a meeting of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources Atchafalaya Basin Program. Jody introduced Sheila to his parents, Frank and Loretta Meche, who agreed to take her out fishing for the day if she promised to give them some photographs. Sheila currently works for John Chance Land Surveys, Inc. (a Fugro Company) where she handles routine regulatory work for clients in the oil and gas industry. Yes, Loretta's fried catfish was delicious!