Coteau Holmes outdoorsman Tee Roy Savoy smiled a lot Thursday evening for good reason.

Savoy is back in the saddle as the director of the Big Bass Classic, which has an appealing tournament format unique to this region. It is patterned after the highly popular Bob Sealy Big Bass Splash contests at Lake Fork, Lake Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend.

He was smiling also because at the table was long-time volunteer and a driving force behind the local event for many years, Tommy Lipari of New Iberia, whose business, Lipari Specialities, was the site for the first organizational meeting for the Big Bass Classic. Also on hand were Savoy’s son, Ry, and the man who has been involved in Big Bass Classics since 2009, Don Naquin of New Iberia.

“It was good,” Savoy said Friday afternoon about the initial meeting. 

“It’s pretty easy now. We’re going to fish. The tournament’s going to go.”

The Big Bass Classic, formerly the Top Rod Big Bass Classic, which was named for the founder of the fundraising tournament, the late Elvis “Top Rod” Jeanminette, has been scheduled for Feb. 23, a Saturday, at Lake Fausse Pointe out of Marsh Field Boat Landing.

The tournament pays out $500 an hour for eight hours from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. to the first-, second- and third-biggest bass hourly. The breakdown is $250, $150 and $100.

Entry fee per boat is $100.

Savoy said at the meeting the task at hand between now and then is to spread the word about the fundraising event, which has had the Lydia Cancer Association as a primary beneficiary since its inception under Jeanminette, to the many competitive bass anglers in the Teche Area and to welcome as many sponsors as possible.

“It’s really just we’ve got to go out and hustle boats and sponsorships,” Savoy said, noting the more volunteers who can enlist their time, the more productive the Big Bass Classic.

Some of the long-time sponsors include Cajun Chef Products, Gator-Tail, Ideal Steel and Berard Transportation.

There are a handful of other volunteers who are on board for this year’s event, he said. They were unable to attend Thursday’s meeting because of conflicts, he said.

Naquin, who is easing out of the volunteer role, took over as interim director in February 2017. Last year, Neil Carret of Carencro, stepped in for Naquin and 47 boats entered the Big Bass Classic in February 2018.

Carret will provide the weigh-in trailer and run the weigh-in this year, Savoy said.

Coca-Cola United once again will have a trailer at the site, he said.

Many other steps already are in place, the volunteers were told Thursday. Paul Resweber and his brother, Shane Resweber, both of St. Martinville, plus a few others, will prepare and cook a pork and sausage jambalaya that will be served free to participating anglers and visitors to the event. Paul Resweber also said he’s cooking white beans and rice to go with the jambalaya.

The hot food should be a crowd favorite. Often, it’s chilly to bitterly cold on the day of the Big Bass Classic.

For more information on registration for the Big Bass Classic, or to donate or to become a sponsor for the BBC, call Savoy at 519-3107.