Tee Roy Savoy’s philosophy in the weeks and days leading up to an ultra-popular annual fundraising bass tournament unique to this region is the early bird doesn’t always get the worm, er, donations and sponsors.

With key variables – such as the weather forecast and bass angler participation — trending in a positive direction before the Jackie Savoy Memorial Big Bass Classic scheduled for Saturday, the fundraising was gathering steam as of Thursday.

Three new $500 donations were announced in a text burst Thursday afternoon along with news that all ingredients have been donated for the free pork and sausage jambalaya to be served to all at Marsh Field Boat Landing. Those and other donations got the attention of Savoy.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s running smooth,” the 56-year-old Coteau Holmes resident said Thursday night, the day after the board’s last organizational meeting before our local version of Bob Sealy’s Big Bass Splash.

“I’ve learned a couple of things. I’ve learned you’ve got to hit them at the end. People say you’ve got to hit them early. No, they’ll put it on their desk and forget,” the seventh-year director said. “That (late approach) works better, I’m telling you, for some donations.”

Other major donations are pending, he said.

The bass tournament at Lake Fausse Pointe (although eligible waters aren’t restricted to Lake Fausse Pointe) sells itself to bass fisherman across Acadiana. It has ever since it was founded several decades ago by the late Elvis Jeanminette.

The Jackie Savoy Memorial Big Bass Classic became more popular last year when Savoy introduced a five-bass stringer to the contest. It segued smoothly into the hourly big bass format.

The big winners in 2021 can attest to that after Austin Theriot and his girlfriend Leryn Quintana, both of St. Martinville, won $750 with three first-place bass in the hourly format and another $975 for winning in “stringer money” for a total of $1,725.

Thirty-nine boats fished last year’s Jackie Savoy Memorial BBC, which was held on April 17. Each participant was given a free T-shirt in a ditty bag also stocked with artificial lures and other items.

Entry fee for the 2022 Jackie Savoy Memorial BBC is $150. Registration begins at 4 a.m. Entrants can leave the boat landing at 5:30 a.m. but the official time for first cast is at 7 a.m.

The first hour’s weigh-in concludes at 8 a.m. The final weigh-in ends at 3 p.m. Hourly payouts for the top three bass hourly (based on 40-boat field) are $250, $150 and $100 for a total of $4,000.

Five-bass limit payout (100 percent based on 40-boat field) is $1,000, $600 and $400. As Savoy explained last year, the catch is when a team has weighed five bass, none can be culled for the “stringer” portion of the contest by a sixth fish, hence the tournament director’s tip to weigh fish strategically. He advised if a team has put three bass on the scale to keep a few smaller keepers to complete a limit at the end of the day if necessary.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Lydia Cancer Association and Acadiana Hope for a Cure members representing the fundraiser’s two main beneficiaries talked about a Jeep Run with a scheduled stop at 12:20 p.m. at tournament HQ. It is being held by Acadiana Hope for a Cure. Savoy said those “poker run” participants can chow down on the free jambalaya and hopefully bid on silent auctions or snap up raffle tickets for varying items.

In all probability, all will be able to enjoy a balmy day in the mid-80s with a single-digit chance for rain, Savoy said after looking at a long-range forecast.

DON SHOOPMAN is outdoors editor of The Daily Iberian.