Many competitive bass fishermen probably feel a lot like Louisiana Bass Cats president Max Stevens feels going into this third week of January.

“The hardest part of the year for me is between the last tournament of the year and the first tournament of the year. I can’t wait to get back out on the water. I like competing in tournaments,” Stevens said Wednesday, warming up to his favorite subject.

Stevens, 51, and dozens of other bass anglers who have been in withdrawal since the last bass tournament of 2022 — September or October for some and early November for others in Acadiana — don’t have much longer to get their first fix of ’23. Like clockwork, the region’s first two major bass tournaments are coming up soon.

Stevens, of Lafayette, was happy — relieved, really — to announce the date for the 17th annual Louisiana Bass Cats Open. Usually the first big derby of the year, it holds that distinction again on Feb. 19 out of Marsh Field Boat Landing at Lake Fausse Pointe.

At stake is $1,000. That’s the guaranteed first-place prize for the two-man team with the heaviest five-bass limit.

The second major bass tournament, the Legends on the Lake hosted by the Sunset-based Atchafalaya Hawg Hunters, is scheduled to be held the following weekend on Feb. 25 at Lake Fausse Pointe. That contest also has headquarters at Marsh Field Boat Landing.

To be sure, it’s that time of the season to respool line on the baitcasting reels, sharpen hooks, realign and restock the tackle boxes and, of course, get on the water for a look-see and some serious prefishing.

Stevens, born and raised in New Iberia, can’t wait to do all of that. After all, he’s posted a gif in the past that reads: “FISHING PILLS To be taken daily between sessions to avoid withdrawal symptoms.”

He’ll also be fishing the LBC Open for the first time as president of the hosting bass club after taking the gavel from Mike Sinitiere of New Iberia.

The Lafayette bass angler started promoting the LBC Open on the bass club’s Facebook main page the day after Christmas. However, he said, he has yet to post it on the event page.

“I’ve got some feedback. The last time I checked it had 4,000 views. I haven’t put it on the event calendar yet,” Sinitiere said, noting he intends to do that after the bass club’s first meeting of the year on Jan. 31.

“We had a pretty decent turnout last year … roughly 28 boats. I hope we reach that and more” on Feb. 19,” said the oilfield compressor mechanic for K&R Operating LLC.

Entry fee for the LBC Open, which starts at 6:30 a.m., is $100 per boat, plus an optional $10 fee to get in the big bass pot.

The “opener” is being held at Lake Fausse Pointe for the second straight year after many years going out of Cabot Landing on the Intracoastal Canal. Sinitiere and other bass club members believed the site change to Marsh Field Boat Landing would attract smaller boats, plus it was common for the majority of LBC Open competitors to run back to fish Lake Fausse Pointe.

“We felt like the lake had much more opportunities,” Stevens said, adding there is ample parking for tow vehicles and boat trailers, plus the weigh-in site is covered, on a slab and conveniently located.

The 2022 Louisiana Bass Cats Open winners, New Iberians Mike O’Brien and Mike Sinitiere, left that boat landing for a long, cold haul to the interior of the Atchafalaya Basin and returned with a winning limit weighing 14.11 pounds worth $1,200 (purse increased due to 33-boat field).

“Well, we’re starting out the season well. That’s a good win to start out with. We had to work for it. It was a long, long cold ride but well worth it,” O’Brien said about the 1:20 boat ride one-way.

For more information on the 17th annual Louisiana Bass Cats Open, call 281-5018.

Less than one week after this year’s LBC Open many of the same bass anglers will return to Lake Fausse Pointe for the Legends on the Lake.

The Atchafalaya Hawg Hunters spokesman, Jarade Schexnayder, said tournament hours for the Feb. 25 contest will be from safe daylight to 3 p.m. Entry fee is $65 for AHH members and $75 (both include entry in the big bass pot) for non-members. Registration begins at 5 a.m. at Marsh Field Boat Landing.

The 2022 Legends on the Lake was won by Braxton Resweber and his cousin, Austin Theriot, both of St. Martinville. Their five-bass limit weighed 16.19 for $570, plus two handsome plaques shaped like the outline of Louisiana.

“That’s a pretty plaque. I tell you what, it’s on the wall right now,” Theriot said two days after the big win.

For more information on this year’s Legends on the Lake call Schexnayder at 501-3539.