MANY – One Teche Area bass angler and his tournament partner had a great first day showing but a so-so second day in the prestigious 2023 Texas Oilman’s Bass Invitational at Toledo Bend.

Another bass angler from the heart of Cajun Country and his fishin’ buddy had a so-so first day followed by a huge second day on the water on the sprawling border lake shared by Louisiana and Texas.

Both Mike O’Brien of New Iberia and Dusty Davis of Lydia finished in the Top 10 in the 322-boat field.

O’Brien, who fished with Kenny Louque of Paulina, which is near Donaldsonville, led the large field the first day with 20.48 pounds and finished 10th with a two-day total of 30.91 pounds.

“We had a good tournament, a very good tournament. It could have been better,” O’Brien said. “We had fun. It feels good, Blue. It’s a big accomplishment, too. There are a lot of good fishermen there. I’m proud of us.”

Davis, who fished with Nick Derouen, a former New Iberian who now lives at Toledo Bend, had the highest finish among Acadiana bass anglers with 31.33 pounds for sixth place overall. They were second on Saturday with 21.01 pounds.

“I’ll take it any day of the week. It was cool. It was awesome. It was a trip spending time with family and catching fish,” Davis said.

The 2023 TOBI championship team was Richard Madole of Many and Jim Franklin of Lake Jackson, Texas, who remained consistent both days for a two-day total of 42.06 pounds. Friday’s limit weighed 20.48 pounds and they tacked on 21.79 pounds with five more bass on the second and final day Saturday.

After Day 1, the team to beat was O’Brien and Louque.

“Friday, they bit pretty much all day. It was rainy, cloudy, nasty, cold. We had a real good stringer,” O’Brien said.

They caught about 15 bass on wacky-rigged Senkos and plastic frogs in 2-foot depths and less, he said. Targeting bushes and grass was the key, he said, noting they’d target bass that hit and missed the plastic frog, then throw back in with the wacky worm.

O’Brien and Louque left that area to work over main lake points, where Louque reeled in a 6.39-pounder and O’Brien added a 4. That 4-pound class bass culled a 3.6.

They culled at least three times. After their weigh-in and the results were released, the pressure reared its intimidating head.

The friends had little confidence that their first spot that day would produce on Day 2, so they opted for an area O’Brien scouted during the days leading up to the event.

“We went first thing in the morning. Kenny had the first bite of the morning – about a 4. It came unbuttoned at the boat. It went straight under the boat,” O’Brien said.

More bass bit but they missed too many, he said, adding, “They were not eating it good. We couldn’t get them in the boat. It’s like they were not really hooked well.

“At 10 o’clock, the bite completely shut down on us. They were just gone.”

That same day, in another part of the crowded lake, Davis and Derouen were dialed in and bringing bass in after gambling on a new starting spot. Their preferred Friday morning fishin’ holes muddied after rain moved through the area Thursday night.

Saturday’s bite was on. NetBait Paca Craws or green pumpkin trick worms and Texas-rigged Paca Craws were the main meal as they caught approximately 25 keepers.

“Nick wanted to go in his back yard and that’s what we did. We took it to the house,” Davis said. “The water was pretty where we were right by his house. We caught them from a foot-and-a-half to 6 foot.”

Derouen hooked into a 6 ½-pound class bass that got tangled around a limb and broke the fluorocarbon line he was using, according to Davis.

When they practiced Thursday their five biggest bass would have gone 25 pounds, he said, but the water got very stained after the rainfall.

Both of them work offshore as electricians, Davis for Cox Operating LLC and Derouen for Linear Controls.

The friends since their boyhood days usually fish the Louisiana Oilmen’s Bass Invitational. But both would be working offshore for that one March 31-April 1 at Toledo Bend.