CHATHAM – While Bossier City High School Fishing bass anglers stole the show March 18, a high school team from Erath grabbed a “hawg’s” share of the spotlight in Louisiana High School Bass Nation tournament at Caney Lake.

Erath High School juniors Brayden Landry and Branson Word culled to an eye-popping five-bass limit weighing 22.3 pounds for a third-place finish in the annual tournament known as the Caney Lake High School Hawg Fest. They had two 6-pounders in their bag.

The Erath High School Fishing Club team was unable to scout and went into the tournament cold, literally and figuratively because a cold front roared through the region two nights before the event.

It was a tournament finish to remember for the Bobcats.

“Oh, yes it was. I was a proud papa, that’s for sure. Third out of 180 … it’s definitely something to be proud of,” Clayton Landry, the club’s founder and their captain, said.

Another proud papa was Brock Daigle of New Iberia, who captained the Catholic High School Fishing Team of Hollis Daigle, his son, and Vincent Soprano. The youngsters notched their third Top 5 outing of the 2022-23 season with three bass weighing 7.78 pounds for fourth place in the Junior Division.

The Hawg Fest didn’t disappoint as plenty of “hawgs” hit the digital scale. Twenty-two 5-pound plus were caught; 14 bass over 6 pounds came in; six over 7 pounds were weighed; five over 8 pounds crossed the stage, and four over 9 pounds wowed the large crowd on hand for the tournament featuring 180 high school teams and 30 teams in the Junior Division.

Leading the way with a stunning margin of victory was the Bossier Parish Fishing Team duo of Mason McCormick, a senior who attends Byrd High School, and Alexis Virgillito, a freshman at Parkway High School. Their five bass weighed 37.13 ounces, which is being touted as a national high school record for a five-bass limit.

McCormick and Virgillito, captained by her father, Bradley Virgillito, had a 9.22-pounder, three 7-plus pound bass and a 4 ½-pounder following a day of fishing bass on their spawning beds. McCormick said the bass bit mostly on a NetBait Paca Craw, others on spinnerbaits and Big Bite Baits Fighting Frogs.

However, the winners didn’t boast the day’s biggest bass or, even, the day’s second-biggest bass.

Northshore Bass team Parker Emery and Noah Strickland hooked and boated a 9.56-pounder. Rayne High School’s Travis Meche Jr., who fishes local tournaments at Lake Fausse Pointe, and Chance Watson just missed big bass by a fraction of an ounce with a 9.55-pounder.

Erath’s team members each won a plaque, $100 gift certificate from Academy and Swamp Stix Fishing Rod. Their captain applauded their effort.

“We didn’t even get up here until late Friday night,” he said, which meant they had no time to prefish before hitting the water Saturday. “That was a very rewarding day for us. We went straight to the tournament. This is our third year we fish the Caney Lake tournament. We just went off the pattern we fished Caney Lake the last two years.”

It was overcast, cold and windy the day of the tournament. High winds muddied many areas.

At mid-morning, Landry’s son and Word were fishless. Their enthusiasm was starting to wane. Exasperated, Word turned his back to the shoreline they were fishing and cast to the middle of the lake. He came back with a 4-pound class bass that bit the watermelon Senko.

“I said, ‘If you get another, that’s a pattern.’ Five casts later and he caught a 6.41. I said, ‘That’s a pattern,’” he said, noting the two-man team began targeting 6- to 9-foot depths with Senkos. Dead-sticking the soft plastic was the key.

Daigle and Soprano, represented CHS-New Iberia, and their captain never had been on the lake before. They were fast-learners.

Brock Daigle, the boat’s captain, said they showed up and put their soft plastics to work catching three keepers. The boys have fished all eight tournaments in 2022-23.