Veteran IR&GC Saltwater Fishing Rodeo weighmaster Dusty Hulin, left, has his hands full after weighing a 107.2-pound grouper that took Dr. Joe Rustom 20 minutes to land while fishing aboard Outlaw, a 37-foot long VH Freeman during the 71st annual IR&GC fishing rodeo. The boat was skippered by Dr. Patrick Savoy. DON SHOOPMAN / THE DAILY IBERIAN FILES

When the Iberia Rod & Gun Club Saltwater Fishing Rodeo gets underway July 4 at Cypremort Point, one big boat has a chance to three-peat while one of its crew members tries defending his individual title in the Offshore Division.

Dr. Patrick Savoy of Oakdale, who has captained Outlaw to two straight Offshore Division Boat Captains Awards, and crew have their eyes set on a third straight champagne cup when all is said and done July 6. Weather permitting, of course.

His crew includes the defending Offshore Division Best All-Around Fisherman, Dr. Joe Rustom of Winnfield; Chad Bailey of Oakdale, and Collby Mayeaux of Vidrine. That crew, led by Rustom, narrowly won last year’s Boat Captain’s Award by shaving a local boat, the 36-foot long Sea Mistress skippered by veteran Jacques Hebert of Patoutville, 13 points to 12.8.

Outlaw is more than ready for the rematch with Sea Mistress and Ghost in the Marine and other crews that showcase their skills in the next R&GC Saltwater Fishing Rodeo.

“It’s a very difficult title to defend because there are a lot of great anglers fishing this tournament. We have a bunch of targets on our back going for three in a row. We know there are a lot of great fishermen,” Rustom said.

“As always, I’m looking forward to fishing the Iberia tournament. It’s a very fun tournament and also very well run and always a great time.”

Outlaw recently competed in the weeklong 2025 Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic held out of Point Cadet Marina in Biloxi, Miss., ending June 8. The Louisiana boat was one of 87 boats in the field of an event that sets the standard for summertime action along the Gulf Coast.

Savoy, a general and vascular surgeon at Oakdale Community Hospital, trailered Outlaw to Biloxi, launched at the marina behind Golden Nugget casino and traveled west to fish southwest Louisiana waters before heading back, refueling in Venice, then finishing the round trip to Biloxi. Savoy said the boat and its new V6 350-h.p. Yamahas burned 665 gallons of gas.

Outlaw ran Mercurys before refitting with four Yamahas.

“I made improvements to my boat this year. Last year we were running Mercurys,” he said.

Since replacing the Mercs with Yamahas, Savoy said, his boat runs faster, has better fuel economy and handles better.

“It’s a totally different boat now. I just enjoy running it. To me the joy of fishing is navigating, running the boat and fishing. It’s the whole package,” the veteran skipper said.

Outlaw held its own in the 87-boat field but missed cashing in by 5 pounds in the Division 2 yellowfin tuna division behind the third-place 64.50-pounder off the boat of Relentless skippered by Jeremy Goldman.

“Fishing against a giant fleet like that, it takes a really good fish to place. We were close, you know, but close don’t win fishing against the best of the best,” Savoy said.

The MGCBC officials put on a “fantastic tournament” that is very well run, well attended, and a very good tournament. It’s a great time,” Rustom said.

Rustom and Savoy, et all, welcome the opportunity to fish the Fourth of July fishing rodeo out of Cypremort Point.

“It’s a change of pace for us. There are 10-plus species we have to target for this upcoming tournament. It’s a much more demanding tournament from chasing pelagics like tuna to snapper and all the fish in between,” Rustom said, noting those fish are all in different depths.

The Outlaw’s 60-year-old boat captain said he wants to try a different game plan for this fishing rodeo. That means driving his 37-foot long VH Freeman farther south in the Gulf of America.

“If weather permits, we’re going to go real far out, probably 180 miles out. The game plan depends on weather, water temperature and water clarity, all those things you look for,” Savoy said.

If all goes according to plan, the first stop should be in the Green Canyon area, a popular offshore fishing destination because it attracts big pelagic fish such as blue marlin, wahoo, dolphin and tuna. Wahoo, dolphin, blackfin tuna and yellowfin are among the eligible fish in the Offshore Division, which also has bonita, tripletail, barracuda, mangrove snapper, red snapper, lemonfish, grouper and king mackerel on the leaderboards.

The diversity of eligible fish in the local fishing rodeo is the main draw for Outlaw, according to Rustom, a 37-year-old dentist who practices in his hometown of Winnfield. The crew caught 24 different species during last year’s fishing rodeo.

“I would say it’s a little different tournament (than the MGCBC) because we have to catch so many fish,” he said.

Rustom was up to the challenge last summer. He had five of the boat’s six fish on the final leaderboard with first-place barracuda (27.8 pounds) and grouper (107.2 pounds), second-place grouper (19.2 pounds) and third-place blackfin tuna (11.6 pounds) and bonita (13.0 pounds).

The Outlaw’s only other fish on the final leaderboard was Mayeaux’s 18.6-pound, third-place grouper to give the boat a grouper sweep.

“Overall, I got really lucky. Everybody on the boat caught fish. I just got the big bites,” Rustom said.

Savoy praised the dentist after last year’s event and said, “Man, he’s tough. He fishes hard, barely sleeps. He’s the first to throw a bait in the water and the last to throw a bait in the water. We all caught fish but he caught the big ones.”

Rustom’s 11.4 points turned back Lannie Buteau’s 7.4 points garnered aboard Sea Mistress and Andrew Godley’s 6 points on his Ghost in the Marine, a 39-foot long Freeman.