![Choupiques Dominate]()
Kids event features variety of species, smiles galore
By Steve Wright, OutdoorChannel.com
MERMENTAU, La. -- It's not often that catching a choupique will earn first place in a fishing tournament. But it happened at the first annual Fishing For Kids Tournament at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church. Twice.
For those who live outside Cajun country, a choupique (pronounced "shoe-pick") is better known elsewhere as a bowfin, grinnel or mudfish. It has a long list of other nicknames, like swamp muskie, swamp bass, beaverfish, and cypress trout.
A choupique is considered a "rough fish" rather than a "game fish," and features a sharp set of kid-unfriendly teeth. But 7-year-old Ross Miller never hesitated in putting his hands around the 3.60-pound...