Delahoussaye tops field in finale

Published 6:00 am Sunday, July 15, 2018

CYPREMORT POINT — Marsh Island’s Gulf of Mexico side was choppy and downright rough the day of the fourth and final regular-season Southcentral Fishing Association tournament of 2018.

That rough water drove SFA members looking for the perfect “slot” redfish (16 to 27 inches) into two areas, mostly.

“Everybody had to fish the bayshore (north side of Marsh Island) or in the island because of the wind. It was pretty rough,” Keith Delahoussaye of New Iberia said about that day, June 23, out of Quintana Canal Boat Landing.

The veteran outdoorsman, a retired Enforcement Division agent with the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, was among those who opted to target redfish inside Marsh Island. Fishing alone in his 22-foot Express, an aluminum boat, because his two fishing buddies had other commitments, Delahoussaye was comfortable with his decision that Saturday.

It paid off with a victory over the 18-boat field with 50 anglers as his two best “slot” redfish weighed 14.60 pounds. He also had the biggest redfish of the day, a 7.45-pounder.

“I knew where they had a few fish inside the island in a pond. I just went and sat on them,” he said. “I only caught eight fish but three of them were 7 pounds. I’d catch about one fish an every hour.

“I got lucky. That was pretty good. That’s why I sat it out, just stayed there and stuck it out.”

Delahoussaye said he caught the redfish on shrimp on the bottom.

The 14.60-pound total was enough to turn back the second-place team of Matt Landry, Bryant Landry and Brady Derise, whose two redfish weighed 13.80 pounds. Rounding out the top five were Jarrod Derouen and Shane Doucet, with 12.90 pounds; Milton Davis, Dusty Davis, Brittney Davis and Jonathan Rush, with 12.50 pound, and Chad Boutte and Nelson Trahan, with 12.05 pounds.

Delahoussaye said he believed his top two redfish were good enough to finish in the money but he had his doubts about winning the last tournament of the year.

“I figured I’d be in the Top 5, for sure. I knew the fishing had been tough because of all the wind. I was pretty happy and satisfied” with his catch, he said.

The New Iberian fished without his SFA fishing buddies Quentin Comeaux and Ryan Landry, both of Delcambre. Comeaux was on vacation and Landry’s son was playing baseball after winning a key game Friday, Delahoussaye said.

“I ended up going by myself,” he said.