LOREAUVILLE – The 4-plus pound bass that charged and smashed a hollow-bodied plastic frog like a big redfish gave the bass angler on the other end a doubletake as he fought it.

Hagen Riche said the 4-pound, 5.5-ounce bass somehow was hooked outside the mouth and on top of the head, which made it more interesting, well, suspenseful, while getting it close enough to the boat for his Louisiana Bass Cats tournament partner to lip it and seal a satisfying first-place finish April 7 with 11 pounds, 14 ounces, at Lake Fausse Pointe.

How satisfying? Considering Riche recorded the best bass club tournament of his life less than a month earlier but finished second March 16-17 to the incredible two-day total brought in by brothers Ben Suit and Zach Suit at Toledo Bend, it was rewarding and much-needed.

“Those were my best two days of tournament fishing at Toledo Bend,” Riche said about the two limits carried to the digital scale by him and Jordy Russo weighing 19-16.5 pounds and 21-6.0 pounds, including his PB weighing 7.14 pounds Day 1 and Russo’s 7.3-pounder Day 2.

But their 40-12.5-pound total paled in the face of the Suits’ 60 pounds, 14.5 ounces, anchored by Zach Suit’s 10-14.5-pounder on Day 2.

That’s why Riche, a 27-year-old Youngsville resident who works as a project manager for Southern Constructors, called the hard-earned win at Lake Fausse Pointe a few weeks later in a 16-boat field “rewarding.” It was a good feeling compared to the runners-up finish at Toledo Bend, he said.

It also was his fourth win in six years with the Louisiana Bass Cats, which made it even sweeter.

“Absolutely. It was a good time,” Riche said. “I fished the weekend before for a few hours. Oh, man, I couldn’t find anything until I found a few fish in an area.”

But an unseasonably late cold front concerned him before the tournament. Apparently, it warmed up enough.

Riche and Wyatt Veronie of Morse, a friend he met while both were studying at UL-Lafayette, arrived at their first spot to find about eight other boats fishing. They fished for approximately 1 hour before leaving with a light 5-bass limit at about 7 pounds.

They spent the rest of the day bouncing around the Texaco Field, Riche said. They found the back of one of the canals with plenty of shad and concentrated on that area after boating a 2 ½-pound class bass.

Around 2:15 p.m., close to the time they’d have to take off and return for the weigh-in, Riche’s black Spro popping frog was hammered by the 4-5.5-pound bass hooked atop the head. Veronie lipped it.

“That fish saved us. It brought us from 8, 9 pounds to almost 12,” Riche said after the winners took in $720 for first-place and $160 for the lunker bass of the tournament.

Mike Sinitiere of New Iberia and Brooke Morrison of Lafayette finished second with 10-6.5 pounds for $432.

Third place was nailed down by Rusty Owens and B.J. Frank, both of New Iberia. Their limit tipped the digital scale to 9 pounds, 7.5 ounces, worth $288.

Riche, who fished two years on the ULL Fishing Team, was upbeat after his win in the bass club’s third tournament of 2024.

“I’m looking forward to the rest of the year. I hope I can keep the momentum going,” he said.