2025 Boat Captain's Award winner Jacques Hebert, second from left, relaxes July 6 on the final day of the Iberia Rod & Gun Club Saltwater Rodeo with his crew that includes Lannie Buteau, center, Johnny Buteau, second from right, and Phil Timmons. Hebert collected the champagne bucket from IR&GC official Brock Pellerin. DON SHOOPMAN / THE DAILY IBERIAN

CYPREMORT POINT – There was an emotional, soft melt at midafternoon July 6 as names of the big winners were posted on the Offshore Division leaderboard at the 72nd annual Iberia Rod & Gun Club Saltwater Fishing Rodeo.

Many in the crowd under the pavilion probably were oblivious to the reason behind the high fives, knuckles and hugs exchanged with the primary recipients being two longtime fishing rodeo veterans and close friends, Jacques Hebert of Jeanerette and Lannie Buteau of Patoutville. It wasn’t a raucous celebration. After all, the awards ceremony was 30 minutes away.

It was a silent, poignant one between family and friends because Hebert’s Sea Mistress, a 36-foot long Lafco hull, was king of the hill again as winner of the Boat Captain’s Award and Buteau was Best All-Around Fisherman.

Sea Mistress won that prestigious title from 2013-2018. And never again until July 6.

Hebert, Buteau and fellow crew members Johnny Buteau and Phil Timmons were the last big boat to tie up along the bulkhead at fishing rodeo headquarters along Quintana Canal.

Buteau said, “I think the boat might fare well. Yeah, everybody on the boat fished very hard … couldn’t fish any harder. It was slow but we did boat every fish we brought to the boat. Jacques did an awesome job of gaffing. We didn’t lose any at the transom.”

As Buteau walked toward the boat after the weigh-in, Hebert asked, “Do we have any fish on the board?”

Buteau said, “We’ve got a lot of fish on the board.”

The final leaderboard showed nine fish from Sea Mistress, enough for 19 points to recapture the Boat Captain’s Award. Buteau led the way with five fish, including a first-place red snapper at 18.8 pounds, good enough to earn a Best All-Around Fisherman plaque.

Johnny Buteau accounted for the winning boat’s other four fish, including a winner of a mangrove snapper at 5.0 pounds.

“It was a fun weekend,” Hebert said.

And it wasn’t easy.

“When we get ready to go, we prepare meticulously. These are won by very small margins. You can prepare and plan but when you get out there it’s more different to implement what you planned than when you were sitting on the dock,” Hebert said.

One of the biggest tests over the weekend was to find and catch mangrove snapper. Sea Mistress swept that category.

“I think us producing those three mangrove snapper was a huge challenge but what won it for us,” Hebert said.

Sea Mistress targeted them at SMI 41, he said, “in terrible water.”

“But we just worked at it till we got three mangroves. It took a while but we got five or six of them” on a hot, calm day, Hebert said.

“The sun’s beating on you, the boat’s tied up backward to the rig …,” he said, noting the Buteaus dropped baited hooks while Timmons chummed.

“You know? You just stay at it when conditions are not right. I’m proud of my crew. They work hard.”

Sea Mistress’ captain, obviously pleased to get back on top, said, “It’s tough, man. It’s competitive. Those guys (captains and crews on each boat) can fish. They have the equipment and they’re competitive.”

With 19 hard-earned points, Sea Mistress shook off Outlaw, its fishing rodeo nemesis for most of the 2020s. Outlaw, roared into the holiday weekend as Boat Captain’s Award winners since 2021.

The 37-foot long HV Freeman’s crew racked up 16.4 points to finish runners-up in this year’s event, and About Time, a 36-foot Yellowfin captained by Caleb Clark of Rayne, was third with 11.2 points.

Before leaving the fishing rodeo site Saturday, Dr. Patrick Savoy, a surgeon and proven skipper from Oakdale, shared the crew’s plan going into this fishing rodeo. Outlaw flipped its tried and true script by deciding to target swordfish on the Fourth of July and chasing “rodeo” fish Saturday before heading north to Cypremort Point.

The big boat with the intricate wrap returned with two swordfish flags flying. Savoy’s crew included Chad Bailey of Oakdale, Dr. Joe Rustom of Winnfield, Colby Mayeaux of Ville Platte and Chris Swider of Mandeville.

“We approached this a little different. With our work schedules we’re not able to fish a whole lot, so we decided yesterday (Friday) to spend the whole day swordfishing. We did well. We had four bites, hooked three and lost one right under the boat after 40 minutes,” Savoy said near the weigh-in stage.

Rustom said, “They put on a show for us, too … jumped clear out of the water. Chris probably fought the big one an hour-and-a-half. He hooked it around 1,300 feet and it came straight to the top and jumped out of the water. Every time we thought we had it it went straight back down.”

“We just fished for whatever we caught. We thought we’d have fun. It was a more enjoyable trip,” Savoy said, noting he and the crew stayed loose because they didn’t worry about focusing solely on “rodeo” fish.

The Outlaw’s captain tipped his cap to the winning captain and his hard-fishing crew in a text message sent to a local outdoors writer at 3:39 p.m. Sunday:

“We just want to congratulate the crew of the Sea Mistress and apologize for not being there in person … However, life dictated that we get home early today. Thanks to the Iberia Rod & Gun Club for another great event.

“This was an epic weekend for the Outlaw fishing team. One of the best trips in the history of this boat. We went two-for-four on swordfish. Although swordfishing took one day of tournament fishing away, we still placed second. Could not be more pleased.”

A new boat with a young and formidable crew showed up Saturday before Outlaw. About Time made its presence known by sticking four fish on the final leaderboard.

Three of their fish were winners, each caught by Austin Barbier of Lafayette. He weighed a 50-pound yellowfin tuna, a 21.8-pound lemonfish and a 7.4-pound king mackerel for the hat trick.

About Time’s other crew members were Austin Kleck of Slidell and Matt Domingue of Lafayette. Clark said their first- and second-place yellowfin tuna bit on live bait and topwaters at their first stop, 160 Tahita, a floating rig.

Ko-Kar-Kip, a 32-foot long Donzi skippered by Heith St. Germain of Jeanerette, placed four fish on the final leaderboard, including Kiptyn St. Germain’s 26.8-pound grouper and Glenn St. Germain’s 27.8-pound barracuda. Jason St. Germain added a second-place red snapper (16.8 pounds) while Kiptyn St. Germain also had third-place barracuda (14.6 pounds).

Following are the final results from the 72nd annual Iberia Rod & Gun Club Saltwater Fishing Rodeo held July 4-6 at Cypremort Point:

JUNIOR DIVISION

REDFISH

1, Bowen Davis, 7.44. 2, Bentley Vining, 7.48. 3, Chance Muffoletto, 7.35.

SPECKLED TROUT

1, Benjamin Bishop, 2.45. 2, Axel Sumrall, 2.24. 3, Andrew Delcambre, 2.09.

FLOUNDER

1, Bentley Vining, 2.20. 2, Layn Davis, 2.13. 3 Bentley Vining, 1.77.

WHITE TROUT

1, Axel Sumrall, .28. 2, Easton McLean, .06. 3, Easton McLean, .05.

SHEEPSHEAD

1, Sophia Vining, 3.71. 2, Bentley Vining, 3.41.

DRUM

1, Bentley Vining, 3.14. 2, Clelie Sumrall, 3.0. 3, Max Baudry, 3.0.

CROAKER

1, Reid Dore, .65. 2, Liem Mogerman, .64. 3, Michael Lipari, .64.

GARFISH

1, Reid Dore, 53.4. 2, Clelie Sumrall, 36.2. 3, Axel Sumrall, 35.8.

JUNIOR DIVISION BEST ALL-AROUND FISHERMAN: Bentley Vining.

INSIDE DIVISION

REDFISH

1, Cody Landry Sr., 9.41. 2, Drake Boudreaux, 8.15. 3, Keo Khamphilavong, 7.75.

SPECKLED TROUT

1, Caleb Sumrall, 2.78. 2, Bret Bishop, 2.61. 3, Drew Romero, 2.28.

FLOUNDER

1, Alexis Romero, 2.35. 2, Rhett Thibodeaux, 2.04. 3, Drew Romero, 1.94.

WHITE TROUT

1, Keo Khamphilavong, .38. 2, Caleb Sumrall, .34. 3, Matt Khampgilavong, .29.

SHEEPSHEAD

1, Alexis Romero, 2.76. 2, Joshua St. Germain, 2.45.

DRUM

1, Bruce Broussard, 27.6. 2, Jon Baudry, 20.2. 3, Kenny Rogers, 19.2.

CROAKER 

1, Matthew Broussard, 1.32. 2, Cory Mire, .72. 3, Jerrod Guilbeau, .68.

GARFISH

1, Laythan Monte, 55.8. 2, Courtney Delcambre, 38.6. 3, Trop Louviere, 32.2.

INSIDE DIVISION BEST ALL-AROUND FISHERMAN: Alexis Romero.

INSIDE DIVISION BOAT CAPTAIN’S AWARD: Smokin Reelz II, Drew Romero.

OFFSHORE DIVISION

YELLOWFIN TUNA

1, Austin Barbier, 50.0. 2, Austin Kleck, 45.6. 3, Jonathan Foreman, 42.4.

BLACKFIN TUNA

1, Jonathan Foreman, 28.2. 2, Chris Swider, 27.6. 3, Michael Duhon, 23.4.

WAHOO

None entered.

BONITA

1, Chris Swider, 14.8. 2, Colby Mayeaux, 14.0. 3, Lanny Buteau, 13.0.

TRIPLETAIL

None entered.

BARRACUDA

1, Glenn St. Germain, 26.8. 2, Lannie Buteau, 16.8. 3, Kiptyn St. Germain, 14.6.

MANGROVE SNAPPER

1, Johnny Buteau, 5.0. 2, Johnny Buteau, 4.4. 3, Lannie Buteau, 2.6.

LEMONFISH

1, Austin Barbier, 21.8. 2, Lannie Buteau, 19.2. 3, Johnny Buteau, 17.8.

DOLPHIN

1, Chad Bailey, 5.6. 2, Chris Swider, 4.4, 3, Dr. Joe Rustom, 4.2.

GROUPER

1, Kiptyn St. Germain, 26.8. 2, Colby Mayeaux, 13.0. 3, Jonathan Foreman, 10.4.

KING MACKEREL

1, Austin Barbier, 7.4.

RED SNAPPER

1, Lannie Buteau, 18.8. 2, Jason St. Germain, 16.8. 3, Johnny Buteau, 15.2.

OFFSHORE DIVISION BEST ALL-AROUND FISHERMAN: Lanny Buteau.

OFFSHORE DIVISION BOAT CAPTAIN’S AWARD: Sea Mistress, Jacques Hebert.