The crowd took notice when the man with the guitar started singing country music on stage after noon July 4, the final day of the 68th annual IR&GC Saltwater Fishing Rodeo. People were impressed and started asking right away, “Who’s that?” According to fishing rodeo officials, it was Clifford Bernard, owner of Nanette Bernard’s Cj’s Snowballs stand set up adjacent to fishing rodeo HQ. 

CYPREMORT POINT — Following are quotable quotes from the 68th annual Iberia Rod & Gun Club Saltwater Fishing Rodeo:

DAY ONE

• “I caught it a little while ago, like around 2:30. My second cast at the dock. I caught another one but dad made me throw it back.” — Grae Smith, 11, talking about the first fish, a .27-pound croaker, weighed when the scales opened at 3 p.m. July 2. Trinity Smith, IR&GC board member and fishing rodeo official, and his daughter fished most of the day in his 14-foot aluminum jo-boat but hooked only a redfish, croaker and shark. After they returned to the fishing rodeo site, Grae fished from shore and caught the two croakers.

• “I didn’t know either but I was surprised when it came up.” — Everett Higgins, 15, referring to one of three speckled trout he weighed the first day. The biggest was 2.47 pounds and eventually got knocked off the board. He was fishing near the Trash Pile with Nick and Breck Boudreaux and their son, Nash Boudreaux, on the Boudreaux’s 17-foot Gator-Tail.

• “I have a bigger boat (26-foot long Pro Line) but this is all I fish in now. I wish I would’ve come in my bigger boat. It was kind of choppy this morning.” — Kirk Bourque, who fished in a 16-foot long Bass Tracker, after putting the biggest sheepshead of the fishing rodeo, a 6.36-pounder, on the leaderboard the first day.

• “We fished Boxcar (Boxcar Reef) all night. Starting at Boxcar, from 12:30 to daylight, only two bull reds. Both cut the line at the boat — 100-pound braid. It was miserable just putting up with the gafftops and sharks.” — Dusty Davis, who took family and friends out on his party barge, Stress Relief.

• “He brought in a big gar, my son, Easton. He tried to give up but he didn’t. He kept on. I said, ‘You’ve got to keep reeling.’ ” — Marty McLean, talking about her 8-year-old son’s 54.5-pound gar while fishing with her husband, Jason McLean, on their 22-foot long Epic, Reel Addicted. The gar finished second in the Junior Division. It was the family’s 10th year participating in the IR&GC event.

• “Brock (Brock Pellerin) was farther down. Josh (Josh St. Germain) was on the other side. I stand up and announce: ‘All right, I’m fixin’ to auction off this spot before we leave.’ We all clapped and laughed.” — Gerrit “T Blu” Landry, skipper of Gotta Have Faith, remembering the 3 ½-hour long flurry catching bull reds on the upper end of Boxcar Reef. Landry, Nick Sherville, and their respective daughters, Faith Landry and Evie Sherville, caught between 15-18 bull reds back-to-back-back …

• “I didn’t even put a boat in the water last year. I’m glad to get back on the water with my boys.” — Lynn “The Bear Hebert, skipper of Bon Temp, a 21-foot long Sea Hunt. Hebert said he had surgery on both feet so was sidelined in 2020. Bon Temp, which swept the drum category in the Inside Division, returned in a big way, finishing a close second in the Boat Captain’s Award race behind Smokin’ Reels.

DAY TWO

• “I got here at 11. I started cooking about 11:30. It’s all cooked. It’s been done since 2 o’clock.” — Gerard Olivier, talking about the red beans and rice he cooked that was furnished by his stepson, Gerrit “T Blu” Landry and Gotta Have Faith Charters. He used 22 pounds of red beans, 17 pounds of sausage, 25 pounds of rice, Tony Chachere’s seasoning, garlic powder and green onions.

• “Mine was 26 (26.5 pounds). Kiptyn’s was 23 (23.9 pounds). Mine was swimming with the hook, then started going back to the boat. Kiptyn’s was a bit easier but it broke my dad’s net.” — Karleigh St. Germain, whose bull red that day finished first in the redfish category to go along with a 25-pound redfish that was second in the Junior Division on her way to winning Best All-Around Fisher(wo)man while fishing with Kiptyin and their father, Heith St. Germain, and paternal grandfather, Glenn St. Germain, on her dad’s 20-foot long Sea Hunt, Pacifier. Her brother’s bull red wound up third.

• “If it happens, it’ll be my first kid to be Best All-Around. I’ll be pretty excited.” — Tara St. Germain, IR&GC board member and fishing rodeo official, before the scales closed Sunday July 4. Her daughter, Karleigh, 14, led the Junior Division Best All-Around Fisherman after Saturday. It happened. Tara was excited. And proud.

• “It wasn’t bad, 1s to 2s (1- to 2-foot seas) coming back last night, a little bumpy with the storms. We cleaned up last night and made the ride over this morning.” — David Richardson, a Kaplan resident and skipper of Tee NaNa, a 42-foot long Bertram that stays in Pecan Island. Tee NaNa ventured 55 miles out between Vermilion 164 and Vermilion 201. Richardson’s Gator Repair Service, an auto repair service, is one of the fishing rodeo’s sponsors.

• “That’s what we targeted today.” — Brooks Amy, skipper of father-in-law Perry Scott’s 24-foot long Blue Wave, Fish Karma. Amy, Scott, Jacon Fisher and Amy’s son, Hayden Amy, were bidding for the Inside Division’s Boat Captain’s Award. They had three flounder and as many sheepshead to weigh. Scott’s 1.39-pound flounder stayed on the leaderboard.

• “It’s tight. Tight like we better go fish again in the morning.” — Lynn “The Bear” Hebert, skipper of his 21-foot long Sea Hunt, Bon Temps, talking to IR&GC Fishing Rodeo official T.J. Norris. The Inside Division Boat Captain’s Award race was heating up as a two-horse battle between Bon Temps, 717 points, and frontrunner Smokin’ Reels, 779.

DAY THREE

• “I started cooking about 8:30. Fifty pounds of pork; 20 pounds of smoked sausage; 25 pounds of rice; 10 pounds of smoked tasso; 7 pounds of vegetables (onions, bell peppers, celery, and green onions. I sliced the tasso and sausage this morning. Lydia Food Store cut up all the pork for me.” — Brock Pellerin, IR&GC board member and past fishing rodeo chairman, talking about the jambalaya he cooked Sunday.

• “I caught four fish!” — Aria Romero, 5, shouting, happily and proudly, after a short trip with her parents, Hunter and Rachel Romero, and their friends Brandon and Lainie Moss, who also brought their children, Kathleen Moss, 5, and Drake Moss, 4. Drake’s small croaker didn’t make the leaderboard.

• “I come just about every year. My son-in-law (Michal Duhon) has a camp and fishes on Aorta B Fishing. He was the Offshore Division Best All-Around Fisherman last year. His brother (Jordan) won it the year before.” — Byron Hebert, Broussard resident, soon after choosing what raffles items he wanted to try. It was his 62nd birthday.

• “We’ve been doing this a long time and we finally got one. That’s big! Better than me winning it.” — Heith St. Germain, skipper of the Pacifier, a 20-foot long Sea Hunt, which carried his daughter, Karleigh St. Germain, his son, Kiptyn St. Germain, and his father, Glenn St. Germain. St. Germain, who never won an individual title in nearly 30 years, was talking about his daughter winning best Best All-Around Fisher(wo)man title in the Junior Division.

• “I won as a Junior. I never won in the Inside or Offshore. It feels good, the first time. It’s exciting. I had a good crew, a good boat. It was wet.” — David Detwiler, a local favorite in the Offshore Division. He won Best All-Around Fisherman to go with Junior Division titles in 1992 and 1996.