IR&GC fishing rodeo off to fast start at the scales

Published 11:10 pm Friday, June 29, 2018

It was time for fish tales and other discussions when, from left, Charlie Oubre, IR&GC fishing rodeo chairman Brock Pellerin, Brian Romero and past IR&GC fishing rodeo chairman Chad LeBlanc got together Friday afternoon during the weigh-in at Cypremort Point.

CYPREMORT POINT — Most anglers hear the oft-repeated refrain: “You should have been here yesterday.”

After the first day of fishing Friday in the 65th annual Iberia Rod & Gun Club Saltwater Fishing Rodeo, Brennan Lasseigne of New Iberia just wishes he could be on the water Saturday, the second day of the three-day holiday weekend event held at fishing rodeo headquarters along Quintana Canal. Lasseigne saw enough promise in the rapidly clearing water in the popular reefs off the southern shoreline of Marsh Island to make a second trip to the northern reaches of the Gulf of Mexico.

“It should be a good day tomorrow. The water’s starting to clear up in the reefs, starting to get pretty out there. Tomorrow’s going to be interesting,” Lasseigne said soon after weighing some bull reds caught on Carolina-rigged live croakers at the Boxcar Reef on the western side of Vermilion Bay about two hours before sunrise Friday.

Later, Lasseigne pointed the bow of his 21-foot Frontier and his crew of Ryan Clement of New Iberia and Cory Montet of Broussard to Southwest Pass and headed for Pavy’s Reef. It was time to catch redfish in the reefs and they did, despite unfavorable water conditions.

“We fished all of them. We fished all the way from Pavy’s to the Keys. We did our best around the Shell Pile,” he said, noting it took two hours to get a limit of redfish, including a nice slot redfish.

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However, because of the dirty water, speckled trout were out of the question, he said.

“We got out there this morning and the water was dirty. When we left at 2 it was clear,” he said.

“The redfish are plentiful and it’ll be good for speckled trout tomorrow. I’d like to be there. There will be some fish caught as long as the wind stays under 10 mph.”

He and his crew won’t be making a return trip Saturday because Clement’s young son — Lasseigne’s godchild — is celebrating his birthday Saturday. Lasseigne said they plan to return Sunday.

Lasseigne’s boat didn’t stick any fish on the board in the Inside Division. Their biggest redfish, a 30.9-pounder caught by Clement, stayed for a while before an onslaught by anglers on a fairly busy opening day, especially considering the Fourth of July is next Wednesday.

Approximately three dozen boats came and went while the scales were open from 3-6 p.m. at fishing rodeo headquarters near the Quintana Canal Boat Landing. The scales will be open from 3-6 p.m. again today and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the third and final day Sunday.

Some of the biggest noise under the pavilion was made when Sydni LeBlanc’s slot redfish took over first place in the Inside Division. The 17-year-old New Iberia Senior High senior was fishing on the Syd-Rock with her parents, Chad and Korie LeBlanc of New Iberia, and their godson, Blake Frioux, 15.

The high schooler’s redfish touched the 27-inch line and stopped. It weighed 7.86 pounds.

She was a nervous wreck while veteran weighmaster Mackie Boudreaux measured the redfish she caught on a leadhead tipped with shrimp in Big Charles Bayou.

“It made me nervous weighing it in because it was right at 27. Right on the dot. I was most nervous about weighing this one here because it was really close. They (fishing rodeo officials who have known her since she was a baby and fished every year since she began walking) wanted to mess with me and tell me it was 30 but they didn’t slide it all the way over to the edge,” Sydni said with a relieved chuckle.

When the weight was announced, there were cheers and loud oohs and aahs in the crowd.

Chad LeBlanc, veteran IR&GC board member along with his wife, said they started the day of fishing at Southwest Pass, where it rained, then fished Pavy’s Reef, where it rained some more, then went to Tee Butte and inside Marsh Island.

It was a great day for Jeamie Romero of Lydia, who went out with her husband, veteran charter boat captain Brian Romero. She won the Inside Division Best All-Around Fisherman title in 2016 and, after Friday, made a move to win it again in 2018.

Jeamie coasted to the first-day lead with 266 points after sticking a first-place flounder (2.24 pounds) and first-place sheepshead (4.37 pounds), plus a second-place slot redfish (7.65 pounds) on the leaderboard. She had three first-place fish before LeBlanc’s beauty touched the scale about an hour later.

The Romeros fished in their 23-foot Ranger, Smokin’ Reel I. He carried the fish they caught to the weigh-in platform under the pavilion.

Told it looked like they had mopped up, Romero said, “That’s my wife. She caught most of the fish. She did a good job today.

“This is my wife’s weekend. I’m the deckhand and the captain. I let her drive some today,” he said.

They caught most of the fish they stuck on the board — he had a second-place flounder (1.97 pounds) — in southwest Pass and at Tree Reef in the Gulf, he said.

His wife has a comfortable lead over Ronnie Dore, who amassed 158 points.

The Junior Division race for the Best All-Around title appears to be a little more wide open after the scales closed Friday.

Alaina Myers forged the early lead with 152 points. Cade Savoy is right behind her with 133 points.

Myers weighed in a first-place slot redfish at 5.71 pounds and a third-place croaker at .56 pounds.

Savoy also had two fish on the leaderboard going into the second day — second- and third-place slot redfish at 5.58 and 5.57 pounds, respectively.

For those who need to get bait and tackle, the owner of Suzie’s Bait & Tackle has set up shop at the fishing rodeo site. Suzie Clark, who opened her shop behind the old EconoMart at Center Street and Weeks Island Road, said she plans to have bait shrimp, Matrix soft plastics and the popular new popping cork, the Four Horsemen.

CYPREMORT POINT — Following are the results from Friday, the first day of the 65th annual Iberia Rod & Gun Club Saltwater Fishing Rodeo:

INSIDE DIVISION

Redfish

1, Charles Latham, 32.1. 2, Trevor Broussard, 31.3. 3, Jonathon Rush, 31.2.

Speckled trout

1, Donald Biggs, 2.70. 2, Brennan Biggs, 2.12. 3, Scott Hutchison, 1.93.

Flounder

1, Jeamie Romero, 2.24. 2, Brian Romero, 1.97. 3, Mike Robideaux, 1.20.

White trout

None entered.

Sheepshead

1, Jeamie Romero, 4.37. 2, Douglas Patout, 3.74. 3, William Migues, 3.15.

Drum

1, Chris Hebert, 30.72. 2, Ryan Savoy, 2.96. 3, Issac Dupre, 4.3.

Croaker

1, Mike Robideaux, 1.24. 2, Angelic Broussard, 1.07. 3, Angelic Broussard, 1.82.

Gardfish

1, Mark Boudreaux, 34.2. 2, Ronnie Dore, 24.7. 3, Ronnie Dore, 19.1.

Slot redfish

1, Sydni LeBlanc, 7.86. 2, Jeamie Romero, 7.65. 3, Ronnie Dore, 7.14.

BEST ALL-AROUND INSIDE DIVISION LEADERS: Jeamie Romero, 266. Ronnie Dore, 158.

INSIDE DIVISION BOAT CAPTAIN’S AWARD LEADERS: Smokin’ Reels Charters, Brian Romero, 346. Priority One, 194. Bon Temps, 193.

OFFSHORE DIVISION

Yellowfin tuna

None entered.

Blackfin tuna

None entered.

Wahoo

None entered.

Bonita

None entered.

Tripletail

None entered.

Barracuda

None entered.

Mangrove snapper

None entered.

Lemonfish

None entered.

Dolphin

None entered.

Grouper

None entered.

King mackerel

None entered.

Red snapper

None entered.

JUNIOR DIVISION

Redfish

1, Blake Frioux, 27.2. 2, Kourtni St. Germain, 24.8. 3, Kiptyn St. Germaon, 21.1.

Speckled trout

None entered.

Flounder

None entered.

White trout

None entered.

Sheepshead

None entered.

Drum

None entered.

Croaker

1, Madison Darden, .62. 2, Hayden Amy, .62. 3, Alaina Myers, .56.

Slot redfish

1, Alaina Myers, 5.71. 2, Cade Savoy, 5.58. 3, Cade Savoy, 5.57.

BEST ALL-AROUND JUNIOR DIVISION LEADERS: Alaina Myers, 152. Cade Savoy, 133.