There was an unbeatable combination on the water around here for two of the four Southcentral Fishing Association redfish tournaments out of Cypremort Point in 2011.

Three co-workers who are avid saltwater fishermen and long-time fishing buddies won half of the tournaments, including the regular-season finale a week ago Saturday, on their way to winning the co-Fishermen of the Year title in the SFA, which enjoyed its second year of existence.

Skipper Gerald Huval and Leo Frederick, both of Loreauville, and Mark Comeaux, who lives in rural Iberia Parish near Avery Island, racked racked up 574 points to finish ahead of 112 members in the SFA. They all are Cleco employees.

Overcoming the absence of the 15-year-old girl who paced them to victory in the second tournament of the year April 17, Huval, 43, Frederick, 43, and Comeaux, 57, ended the season on a high note by topping a 21-boat, 63-angler field for the last tournament out of Quintana Canal Boat Landing. After catching redfish all day, the two biggest they put on the scale weighed 15.24 pounds to collect the first-place prize of $735. They also won the $300 Calcutta for the biggest redfish of the day, a 7.68-pounder caught by Huval, an apparatus specialist for Cleco.

Each Fisherman of the Year talked about the amazing ride to the top Friday while fishing for speckled trout and redfish in Cocodrie. They were trading good-natured banter and jabs, as anglers are wont to do on the water.

Frederick laughed when he said Huval “finally” started contributing to the cause in the final contest of the year. Apparently, the owner and captain of the 24-foot homemade aluminum boat they fish in struggled in the three previous tournaments.

But no one struggled in the finale.

“We had our limit, 15. Everything went right for us. We caught fish all day. It was just an awesome day. We were just on fish all day from when we started that morning until we left at 2 o’clock,” Huval said.

Their fish were caught on shrimp under a popping cork on the western end of Marsh Island, he said. They used two livewells for the bigger redfish they caught. 

“We kept culling out to get the biggest we could possibly get, so we could win the tournament. Every time we’d catch a bigger one we’d take a smaller one out of the livewell,” Huval said.

Comeaux, project coordinator for Cleco, said, “It’s good luck. We fish hard, though. We fish almost every weekend. We don’t go out (prefishing) before. We just fish what we normally fish. We have fun, though. We have a good time.”

Frederick agreed and said, “You’ve got to have fun. It’s a little work but it takes luck. Every tournament is different. The last tournament we fished last month, we wouldn’t have come close to winning it with 15.2. Until you get back to the scales, you don’t know.”

The Cleco assistant protection specialist was proud of their accomplishment in SFA. So were his fishing buddies.

“We’re competing against very good fishermen in the club. We’re not intimidated … or try not to be intimidated, anyway,” Frederick said.

Huval said, “That was pretty impressive. I think  they’ve got like 112 guys in the club. A lot of those guys fish a lot. This means a lot  to me. A lot of guys in that club can win any tournament. Just a little luck, that’s what it’s all about in fishing.”

“We just had good luck. There’s a whole bunch of good fishermen out there,” Comeaux said.

The 2011 co-champions and 23 other SFA members qualified for the SFA Classic scheduled for July 23. One of the qualifiers is Alyx Frederick, Frederick’s daughter and a Loreauville High School student/athlete who pitches for the Lady Tigers. She missed the final tournament because she went on a trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

“It was a tough decision for her. She went to Disney with her sister,” Frederick said, noting the fourth crew member still finished 12th in the final standings for 2011. 

His daughter does plan to be on board their boat again for the Classic, he said.

“Yes, she will. She checked her schedule already. She’s ready to go. She does well,” he said, noting she had the biggest redfish — a 6.82-pounder — in their victory April 17.