Chatagnier’s PB bass anchors big limit but godfather wins at Chicot

Published 8:45 am Sunday, May 2, 2021

VILLE PLATTE — The biggest bass Jacob Chatagnier’s ever caught didn’t waste time eating a black/blue Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper swim bait after midday April 17.

“I skipped the swim bait all the way up against a cypress tree on the bank. I twitched it two times. She smoked it,” the Lafayette angler said about fishing that day in a Coteau Bass Hustlers tournament at Chicot Lake.

“I actually thought it was a choupique at first. When I set the hook, she didn’t move. Then her head turned and she came out of the water and shook her head. I knew I had a big one.”

The “hawg,” the day’s biggest bass at 7.22 pounds, ran to the boat while Chatagnier’s guest, Lee Potier of Duson, scrambled for the net.

“It came to the boat pretty easy. It dove under the boat. I fought it a little bit and it came back around and he scooped it up with the net,” Chatagnier said.

They celebrated, of course.

“Oh, yeah. We whooped and hollered, jumped up and down. We were pretty excited,” he said.

His previous personal best was a 6 ½-pounder a few years ago at Toledo Bend. He was pleased to catch his new PB during a tournament.

Chatagnier said they caught a few fish after that big’un but only one, a 3 ½-pounder he boated, helped improve their weight. Their five-bass limit weighed 16.36 pounds, good enough second place.

He thought they might win.

“I figured we had a shot. I wasn’t super certain. There’s always somebody else that catches them,” Chatagnier said.

That “somebody” was his godfather, Keith Altazin of Lafayette, who fished with guest Kirt Romero of New Iberia. They won the tournament with five bass weighing 17.75 pounds.

“He (Altazin) used to fish Chicot a lot. I figured if anyone was going to catch them, it’d be him. The man can fish. First place caught them, caught them real good,” Chatagnier said.

Altazin and Romero solved the puzzle of catching quality bass in a lake that rose fast and muddied after heavy rains. Altazin caught on spinnerbaits and his guest on soft plastic creature baits.

They caught so many keepers after a while it was hard to cull.

“Kirt said at 10 a.m., ‘Dude, we just might win this thing. We’ve got some weight!’ ” Altazin said. “He said, ‘Dude, I just love looking in a livewell and seeing the backs 4 to 5 inches wide.’ ”

COTEAU BASS HUSTLERS

APRIL 17 AT CHICOT LAKE

1, Keith Altazin-Guest (5), 17.75. 2, (*) Jacob Chatagnier-Lee Potier (5), 16.36. 3, Blaine Miller-Paul Trahan (5), 10.2. 4, Doyle Louviere-Marlin Hebert (5), 9.01. 5, Brandon Sellers-Robbie Mayer (5), 6.32. 6, Steve Doumit (2), 3.06. 7, Tim Sturm (1), 1.91. 8, Joey Trahan-Guest (1), 0.90.

(*) Tournament’s lunker bass, 7.22.

COTEAU BASS HUSTLERS

2021 POINT STANDINGS

1, Blaine Miller, 355. 2, Joey Trahan, 347. 3, Marlin Hebert, 345. 4, Doyle Louviere, 335. 5, Robbie Mayer, 325. 6, Brandon Sellers, 302. 7, (tie) Tim Sturm and Steve Doumit, 296. 9, Jason Jones, 270. 10, Keith Altazin, 205. 11, Gerald Frederick, 170. 12, Jacob Chatagnier, 165. 13, Paul Trahan, 95. 14, Spence Falgout, 90. 15, Glen Richard, 73. 16, B.J. Maturin, 68. 17, (tie) Charles Jefferson and Ramon Ladner, 10. 19, Bryce Louviere, 5.