Catahoula native Herby Dauphinet of Many, formerly of Loreauville, holds a 10.79-pound bass he caught March 27 during the Dylan Kyle Poche Memorial Bass Tournament at Toledo Bend while fishing with his brother, Toby Dauphinet. The bass was his personal best as well as the biggest of the tournament, one worth $2,500.

MANY — Catahoula native and former Loreauville resident Herby Dauphinet waited nearly 64 years to get his hands on a 10-plus pound bass while fishing in and around the Atchafalaya Basin and the sprawling lake in front of his yard at Toledo Bend.

On March 27 during the Dylan Kyle Poche Memorial Bass Tournament out of Cypress Bend Boat Launch, Dauphinet’s third cast of the day triggered the bite of a lifetime from a 10.79-pound bass worth of a free taxidermy mount courtesy the Toledo Bend Lunker Program. Or, upon hindsight, perhaps the second bite of a lifetime within a week for the outdoorsman who retired as CNH Trucking Co. owner at age 59 and moved to Many.

Dauphinet, who celebrates his 64th birthday in June, fished the tournament with his son-in-law, David Thompson, also of Many. They were in Dauphinet’s boat, a 21-foot Nitro powered by a 250-h.p. Mercury Opti-Max.

“What it was, I took off (launched) from my house. I never started the big motor. I said that morning, ‘No, no, no, just push off,’ and we started fishing,” he said, noting his residence is along the shoreline of United Bay, the first bay on the south side after entering La Nana Creek.

Attached to his 7-foot-3 All-Star medium heavy fishing rod was his all-time No. 1 artificial lure, a 3/8-ounce chartreuse/blue/white Humdinger spinnerbait with a gold willow leaf in back and a silver Colorado blade in the back.

“It was my third cast that morning. I threw at two cypress trees together. I threw by the first one. I let it sit there for a second and when I moved it she exploded on it,” Dauphinet recalled.

“The fight was pretty good because at first I thought it was a ‘goo (gaspergoo, a freshwater drum) when she flipped over and showed her white belly. I said to David, ‘That’s a ‘goo.’ He threw down the net and went back to fish. Then it showed it’s white belly (and more green) again. I hollered, ‘No, man, that’s a bass.’ He ran back up to the front to get the net and he netted her.

“We really went nuts. I couldn’t believe a bass that size was in the boat. In fact, my wife (Cindy Louviere Dauphinet), said about the picture I took, ‘You looked scared.’ I was shocked.”

Dauphinet and Thompson, who is married to his daughter, Brittany, had to settle down.

“It took a good 15, 20 minutes to come to realize that we had it in the livewell. My main goal was to get it in the livewell as soon as possible,” he said. “I mean, I was happy. I was hapy since 6:35 that morning. All day long it was Cloud Nine for me.”

He savored the moments at the weigh-in.

“When I lifted her out of the bag, the crowd went crazy. I never had an experience like that,” he said.

A young boy who he didn’t know asked if he could hold the “hawg.” He said yes and that gesture made the youngster’s day.

That bass anchored their 15.98-pound five-bass limit and was worth $2,500. But it was worth more than that to Dauphinet.

“Man, that was my biggest fish ever. When I caught it, that was the ultimate moment because I got it with my son-in-law and we experienced it together,” he said, proudly, happily.

Funny thing about that catch, Dauphinet weighed it on his own scale.

“I said, ‘I really think this fish is over 10 pounds. I weighed it and it said 9.98. I said, ‘Gosh, darn, I don’t have my replica.’ They put it on the scale (at the weigh-in) and it was 10.79,” he said.

Taking that into consideration, believes he probably had a 10-pound bass the week before on his Humdinger while fishing out of Wright’s Landing far north of Pendleton Bridge. His scale, proven wrong a week later, read 9.94.

“I said, ‘Dang, it didn’t make it.’ I turned it loose. I truly believe I did have two 10-pounders in a week,” he said.

That’s OK. His fresh goal is to beat 10.79.