Dennis Narcisse of St. Martinville, who enjoys catching big bass and big sac-a-lait, like the one at left, at Toledo Bend, is all in for the next Top Rod Big Bass Classic. His wife, Tangie, is sponsoring his boat and also plans to serve hot dogs at the weigh-in site Feb. 25.

That St. Martinville bass angler Dennis Narcisse is fishing the Top Rod Big Bass Classic is a welcome development for Neil Carret of Carencro, interim director, and it might be welcomed even more by anglers and visitors who enjoy eating hot dogs.

Narcisse’s wife, Tangie Narcisse, a Woodman Life insurance agent, is sponsoring his boat for the tournament scheduled to be held Feb. 25 at Lake Fausse Pointe out of Marsh Field Boat Landing. She asked Carret if she could set up the insurance company’s trailer on site and provide the crowd with free hot dogs, soft drinks, water and chips.

That’s a go, Carret said a few weeks ago as he continued preparations for the bass tournament unique to this region. Top Rod Big Bass Classic participants and visitors can munch on the hot dogs and chips and/or a free gumbo that will be served by the Iberia Rod & Gun Club.

As for Dennis Narcisse, 40, he will be fishing another Top Rod Big Bass Classic after missing the event in 2017. Narcisse said he plans to fish with Brandon Mire in hopes of cashing in during one or more of the eight hours that pay out $400 per hour ($250 for the biggest bass, $150 for the second-biggest bass and $100 for the third-biggest bass) starting with the first weigh-in at ending at 8 a.m.

BBC competitors can leave the Marsh Field Boat Landing any time but can’t make the first cast until 7 a.m. The final weigh-in ends at 3 p.m.

Entry fee is $100 per boat (two men per boat). (A parent or guardian can bring two anglers 15-and-under with him or her providing they helm the boat.)

The fundraising event founded by the late Elvis “Top Rod” Jeanminette appeals to Narcisse, a 40-year-old warehouse manager for RelaDyne, an oilfield-related company in St. Martinville. The upcoming event benefits the Lydia Cancer Association, as it has since its inception, and, new this year, the Hookin’ Slabs Youth Fishing Club.

“I’ve been fishing these pretty much since Day 1 when Elvis started it,” Narcisse said Friday, noting for the first several years the fundraisers were known as the Mardi Gras Mambo Big Bass Classic.

He has cashed in only once, he said, but fishes the event because of the cause.

“I like to fish tournaments that give back, benefit tournaments. It’s not all about the winning the tournament. It’s all for a good cause,” he said. “It’s awesome. I look forward to it. I think Neal is doing a heckuva job. I think Elvis would be real proud. My hat’s off to him because it takes a lot of work.”

As for the scope, professionalism and popularity of the Top Rod Big Bass Classic, Narcisse said, “This has the same feel as the McDonald’s (Bob Sealy Big Bass Splash) at Toledo Bend.”

Narcisse, who fishes out of a 19-foot Blazer powered by a 150-h.p. Mercury, said he regularly fishes those big bass tournaments at Toledo Bend, one of his favorite places to wet a line for bass and sac-a-lait outside the Teche Area.

He got into bass tournament fishing in the late 2000s thanks to Darrell Mitchell of St. Martinville, he said.

“That’s my buddy,” he said.

He said with a chuckle that the pupil has been teaching the teacher lately.

“Nine out of the last 11 trips, I whipped him. Either he’s getting old or I’m getting better. I keep him on his toes,” he said.

He likes the fact his wife is bringing the company’s insurance trailer to the Top Rod Big Bass Classic. He pointed out the recent fatal boating accident in an FLW tournament on Lake Okeechobee in Florida.

“One of the big things, I’ve been on the water a lot, and what happened to that guy in Lake Okeechobee kind of opened my eyes,” he said, adding that’s why he believes life insurance is so vital, a topic that area bass anglers might want to discuss.

Tangie Narcisse, 38, said she plans to prepare 150 hot dogs and enough chili to put on them that Sunday. 

“We’re trying to get into the community to make more people aware of life insurance and financial services,” she said.

The trailer also will have trinkets for fishermen, children and families, she said.