Mike O’Brien, left, the weighmaster, and Mike Sinitiere, director, count votes deciding the site for the WN Hawg Fights BTS Classic on Sept. 8.

BY DON SHOOPMAN

THE DAILY IBERIAN

 

Wednesday Night Hawg Fights Bass Tournament Series Classic qualifiers voted Wednesday night to take their talents to Franklin for the Classic scheduled to be held Sept. 8.

Forty-two anglers in 22 boats signed up to fish the Classic, which features a total purse of approximately $4,500. Most of them attended the meeting held at Billeaud’s Too to vote on the site for the Classic, with the three choices per the rules being Fairfax Foster Bailey Memorial Boat Launch in Franklin, Marsh Field Boat Landing at Lake Fausse Pointe and Henderson Lake.

“It was about what I figured,” WN Hawg Fights BTS director Mike Sinitiere of New Iberia said later about the vote: 15 for Franklin, seven for Lake Fausse Pointe, none for Henderson Lake.

For sure, Sinitiere said, “I’m looking forward to the Classic.”

The regular-season ended Aug. 21 with the 11th tournament at Henderson Lake. Nine of the previous 10 tournaments were held at Lake Fausse Pointe and the other was held out of Fairfax Foster Bailey Memorial Boat Launch because the Atchafalaya Basin remained unfishably high through mid-August.

Sinitiere, who noted rules changes are planned to ensure the nation’s last great overflow swamp won’t be excluded from Classic consideration in 2020, said he believes it’ll take at least 17 pounds to win the Classic.

“They had almost a 16-pound stringer (a week ago today in the Beat Da Heat tournament out of Myette Point), so it can only get better,” he said, “and we’re going to have people fish the lake, people fish the Basin and people fish the marsh, so it’s wide open.”

The 2019 Angler(s) of the Year team of New Iberia brothers Ben Suit and Zach Suit will be among the Classic contestants. The Suits successfully defended their AOY title from a year ago.

“Ben and Zach deserve it because they do their homework and they had a good teacher, their dad, and they’re very competitive,” Sinitiere said, referring to the brothers’ father, Kevin Suit of New Iberia, who fished many of the WN Hawg Fights BTS tournaments this year with Ronnie Dressel of Loreauville.

He said it was a trying year because no tournaments were held in the Atchafalaya Basin.

“The season went pretty good except for the situation for fishing the lake so many times because they Basin was so high. We did have a chance to fish it the last tournament but we were unsure. Overall, it went well,” he said.

“We had a great board,” he said about Mike O’Brien, Zach Suit and Jacob Shoopman, all of New Iberia, and Gregory Bourque of St. Martinville. O’Brien was the weighmaster the entire season.

“And we had more people that helped,” he said, singling out Chris Vedrines of New Iberia. “He did the computer stuff, all the Facebook stuff, the point standings. That takes a lot off my plate.”

Entry fee for the Classic is $100 per boat. If Classic qualifiers weren’t able to pay at this past week’s meeting, the entry fee must be submitted before 4 p.m. Friday at Cajun Guns & Tackle.

The Classic field will take off at safe daylight from Fairfax Foster Bailey Memorial Boat Launch. Weigh-in is at 4 p.m.