Boats are tied up alongside the banks of Quintana Canal at fishing rodeo headquarters Saturday for the Iberia Rod & Gun Club’s 61st Annual Saltwater Fishing Rodeo. Fish were weighed in for the final day of the rodeo Saturday.

CYPREMORT POINT — One of the anglers who emerged as the best among peers in this holiday weekend fishing rodeo was petite with a seemingly perpetual and infectious smile.

She’s Ainsley Doré of New Iberia, who for years has been in the shadows of the other Junior Division juggernauts, such as her 15-year-old cousin, Alyssa Broussard.

Doré, a 10-year-old student at Delcambre Elementary School, forged her own mark on the Iberia Rod & Gun Club Saltwater Fishing Rodeo starting opening day Thursday, when she took an early lead in the race for Junior Division Best All-Around Fisher(wo)man. Doré led wire to wire while fishing with her grandparents each day.

Now she has her first overall championship. Doré walked away with the big trophy Saturday at the close of the 61st annual IR&GC Saltwater Fishing Rodeo.

Other big winners Saturday were in the Inside Division, where Elvis Jeanminette of Grand Marais captured the Best All-Around Best Fisherman title and Charles Oubre of New Iberia, skipper of Liquid Therapy, a 22-foot long Blazer Bay, won a third straight Boat Captain’s Award.

Doré, who was the proud guest aboard the Priority One, a 21-foot Sea Swirl skippered by her grandfather Ronald Doré Sr., said she started fishing the fishing rodeo about six years ago.

“Let’s see, I started getting my trophies about two years. I started before than and didn’t get anything for four or five years,” the girl said.

Doré watched as Broussard shined in the Junior Division. However, her cousin decided to forego her final year of Junior Division eligibility this year to fish the Inside Division with her parents Ronald Doré Jr. and Natalie Doré.

Ainsley Doré stepped up and accumulated 708 points to claim the title over dozens of boys and girls, including Tyler Templeton, who had 537 points.

The best thing about fishing the weekend was going with her grandparents, she said.

“It’s fun to be out there with them, fun to be out there, fun to be out on the open water,” she said.

“I worked hard and put my best effort into it. I really didn’t think my fish (put on the leaderboard the first day) would stay up there. For sure, I thought they’d get knocked off. I was shocked.”

Doré finished with two first-place fish, a 2.37-pound flounder and a 1.03-pound sheepshead. She said she fished around rocks and grass beds, as well as Dry Reef.

Jeanminette, 56, was wondering what might have been if he had known earlier his crewmate could fish the fishing rodeo. 

“We didn’t decide to fish until the last minute Thursday morning,” the Lydia postmaster said.

If he had known, he would have entered the boat captain’s race and Calcutta in the Inside Division, he said.

Jeanminette won the Best All-Around Fisherman trophy after fishing 2 ½ days with Leonard “Tee Clyde” Norbert, who he called his “best fishing buddy.” The Grand Marais angler finished with first- and second-place white trout (.63 and .60 pounds), a second-place croaker (.73 pounds) and a third-place sheepshead (3.79 pounds) for 802 points. His nearest challenger was Troy Olander, who had 561 points.

The 4-pound class sheepshead was a key fish, Jeanminette said after winning the overall title for the second time. He caught it on shrimp from Dago’s Mobil & Grocery while fishing for speckled trout at Tee Butte.

“I haven’t ever caught a sheepshead at Tee Butte,” he said.

Jeanminette and Norbert swept the white trout category. They got on a small school several times, including the telltale time while fishing in front of the camps right around the Point, Jeanminette said.

“It was fun. I love the competition, the fellowship. Last night I hardly wanted to go home,” he said, because of the live music and food – deer sausage and white beans and rice. So he stayed and enjoyed it all.

“It’s beautiful to have a rodeo like this so close to home,” he said.

Oubre’s boat was charmed as it eked out a Boat Captain’s Award. He fished with Johnathan Rush and Brodie Eskind, both of New Iberia, and Dav Thibodeaux of Jeanerette, aboard his Liquid Therapy.

“It’s the same team, just a different name,” Oubre said after winning a third consecutive Boat Captain’s Award.

“It feels good. I wish we could have caught more fish the last two days. It was hard,” he said.

Liquid Therapy finished with Eskind’s first-place speckled trout (4.08 pounds) and Oubre’s runner-up garfish (43.6 pounds).

Oubre blamed a cold front that moved in Friday for the slow fishing and north/northeast winds that roughed up Vermilion Bay.

“Yesterday morning when we left we had 5-foot seas. Yeah, it was rough when we got around the east end there,” he said.

About the victory, he said, “It was a quiet one. If some of those other boats would’ve bought boat captain tickets, we wouldn’t have won it.

“We had a real good turnout for this rodeo. I think things are going in the right direction.”