EUGENE, Oregon — A former Lafayette outdoorsman might have a faraway look in his eyes at times today.

Ryan Dearman’s thoughts are approximately 2,635 miles away the day before he starts another work week as a manufacturing engineer at Bowtech Archery in Eugene. He’s more than ready to get away and join his Lafayette-area crew for the three-day 68th annual Iberia Rod & Gun Club Saltwater Fishing Rodeo that gets underway Friday out of Cypremort Point.

Crossing his fingers on weather

“Oh, yeah, I’ve been keeping my fingers crossed. I’ve been waiting for this since last July,” Dearman said Wednesday night. “Oh, I love it.”

As the fishing rodeo’s two-time defending Offshore Division Boat Captain, the 33-year-old skipper is anxious to get out and earn a three-peat in his Aorta B Fishin, a 36-foot Contender moored most of the year in the family’s boathouse at the Point. Dearman and his crew may be denied the chance based on recent weather forecasts for later this week in the northwest Gulf of Mexico.

Dearman, 33, forwarded a tropical weather forecast Wednesday that showed a system’s cone barreling into southeast Texas, which would put Acadiana on the “dirty side,” over the Fourth of July Weekend. But that model was at least 10 days out.

A NOAA.com forecast Friday called for winds ranging from 16 to 23 mph July 3 for this part of the Gulf.

Dearman said he’ll wait until Tuesday or Wednesday before deciding on a cross-country flight to Lafayette.

“It’s just got to be calling for non-miserable fishing conditions. I’m not looking to fly across the country and fish in conditions that will compress my back by 2 inches. If I’m not there, I don’t think it’s fishable. If it’s fishable I’m going to be there,” the veteran skipper said. “Ask the readers to say a prayer and keep their fingers crossed for good weather.”

Anglers Supper is Tuesday

The IR&GC Saltwater Fishing Rodeo starts Friday and ends Sunday at Cypremort Point. Scales will be open from 3-6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday.

The event’s traditional Anglers Supper is scheduled to get underway at 6:30 p.m. at the Lydia American Legion Hall. A free supper, a pastalaya that will be cooked by Brandon Moss, a raffle and door prizes are in store for all who attend.

Also, fishing rodeo tickets can be purchased at the meeting and it’s the only time Calcutta tickets are available for the Inside Division and Offshore Division.

Dearman has fished all but one of the Teche Area’s premier saltwater fishing rodeo’s Offshore Division since 2008. He moved to Colorado to work as a medical device technician in 2015.

He seized an opportunity for his dream job within the last year and moved to Eugene, where he works as for Bowtech Archery.

An avid outdoorsman who also has targeted deer the past nine years, Dearman said, “It’s kind of a dream come true to build these things.”

Then, considering his moves from Louisiana to Colorado to Oregon, he said tongue-in-cheek the next time he fields a call about the three-day holiday weekend event near his old hometown he might be even farther north and west in the continental U.S.

“It seems like in a few years I’ll be up in Alaska,” he said with a hearty chuckle.

After all, the self-described “Army brat” who was born in California and lived in San Antonio, then Tacoma, Washington, before moving with his family to Lafayette at age 5 has been around.

“I’m not Cajun by blood but I’m Cajun by nature,” the St. Thomas More High School graduate said, proudly.

Dearman, crew ready to go

His crew remains the same as last year and the year before when Aorta B Fishing ended the legendary Sea Mistress’ eight-year run to the Boat Captain Award in the Offshore Division. The six-man crew is led by Michael Duhon of Lafayette, who was the Offshore Division’s Best All-Around Fisherman in 2020, and his cousin, Jordan Duhon, also of Lafayette, who was the division’s Best All-Around Fisherman in 2019.

Other crew members are Kevin Carter, Carter Kauffman and Jonathon Foreman, all of Lafayette, and Chris Landry of Ville Platte. They keep their fingers on the pulse of current offshore fishing hotspots and also keeps him up-to-date on that critical weather forecast.

“I’ve still got my recon team living and breathing offshore life. I know they’ve been out at least once on a (red) snapper and grouper trip and they whacked ‘em,” he said. “It’s going to be the same crew if I fish it. You can’t go changing a two-time (defending champion) crew.”

Dearman has a verbal lease agreement that allows his fishing buddies to take the boat out.

There was a lean turnout for last year’s early summer fishing rodeo, particularly in the Offshore Division, partly because of coronavirus pandemic concerns but, more importantly, rotten weather conditions. It was, everyone agreed, bad luck at a time when dedicated fishing rodeo officials didn’t need it.

Half of the categories went unfilled in the Offshore Division. No yellowfin tuna, blackfin tuna, wahoo, tripletail, grouper and king mackeral were entered in the 67th annual IR&GC Saltwater Fishing Rodeo.

“Last year, there was a pretty light turnout. I’m looking forward to a good competitive event this year. I hope to get a few more boats involved. In order to be the best you’ve got to beat the best. I hope to have some good competition,” Dearman said.

Free entertainment and food on tap

If Aorta B Fishing is out on the water, the hard-fishing skipper and his crew will miss some of the free good and free entertainment available under the pavilion along Quintana Canal.

The Brittany Pool and the RugaRoux band will play from 6:30-10:30 p.m. Saturday and Gerard Oliver will cook a red beans, rice and sausage supper courtesy of Gotta Have Faith Charters on Saturday.

Sunday’s lineup includes former fishing rodeo chairman Brock Pellerin preparing a sausage jambalaya and, after the weigh-in concludes once and for all at 1 p.m., the Bad Boys will take the stage.