Keely, Angelle flip their way to 1st in B&B Bass Tournament

Published 7:45 am Sunday, August 15, 2021

MYETTE POINT — Damon Keely and his uncle, Mark Angelle, had “one of those days you can do no wrong” at the right time, Aug. 7, in the Atchafalaya Basin.

They caught no less than 25 keepers, probably closer to 30, on their way to winning a bass tournament put on by Brad Romero of New Iberia and Bubbie Lopez of Centerville. A local outdoor writer dubbed it the B&B Bass Tournament. (The B&B is short for Brad and Bubbie.)

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Keely, who lives in Carencro and fishes with the Carencro Bass Club, and Angelle, of Lafayette, culled to a five-bass limit weighing 14.32 pounds, just enough to win $750.

The winners benefitted from a dead fish penalty of .25 pounds assessed the catch weighed by Adam Marceaux and Rodney Marceaux. The St. Mary Parish bass anglers’ five-bass limit weighed 14.50 pounds before the penalty left them with 14.25 pounds.

The Marceauxs finished second in the 14-boat field and won $310. They also boasted the big bass of the tournament, a 4.32-pounder worth another $140.

Daniel Bryant of Duson was third with five bass weighing 12.25 pounds for $200.

Keely, 46, was surprised by the size of the bass in the livewell a few minutes before the weigh-in at Myette Point Boat Landing. Lopez acted as weighmaster while Levi Louviere of Franklin recorded the weights on a hot Saturday in August.

“When I took the fish out of the livewell, I didn’t realize how solid the fish were. I said, ‘Mark, man, we might have a little more than 13 pounds like we were thinking,’ ” Keely said.

They culled their first five, then their second five, then their third five.

“The fish kept getting bigger. It was one of those days you can do no wrong,” he said.

Keely, who works at Gulfgate Construction LLC, a utility contractor, said they caught the bass on dark-colored soft plastics in black/red, black and black/blue.

“Basically, we were flippin’ outer stumps, anything outer in deeper water. Brush Hogs, Speed Craws. It didn’t matter. They were eating,” he said.

Keely said he was unaware of the tournament until he got a call from Bryant, who asked him to fish it with him. He told his uncle, who was unable to find a partner, so they teamed up.