Avery Derouen, left, and Hunter Neuville have qualified for high school nationals at Chickamauga Lake. A fundraising tournament to help them defray expenses is scheduled for July 10 in the Atchafalaya Basin out of Myette Point Boat Landing.

Teche Area bass anglers seem to always take care of their own.

They did that Oct. 18, 2020, with a fundraising bass tournament for St. Martinville’s Braxton Resweber, who qualified to fish the 2020 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Championship later in October in Florida. And they do it every spring by participating in the Big Bass Classic, which benefits two area cancer organizations.

Area bass fishermen have a chance to help two other young bass anglers on July 10. A fundraising bass tournament is scheduled that Saturday at Myette Point Boat Landing in the Atchafalaya Basin.

Money raised will help Hunter Neuville of Loreauville and Avery Derouen of New Iberia defray expenses later in July when they travel to Tennessee to fish the 2021 Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School National Championship at Chickamauga Lake near Dayton.

The recently graduated seniors are getting a big assist with the benefit tournament from Bubbie Lopez of Centerville. The 55-year-old outdoorsman was eager to help after he got a call from Neuville.

“Hunter got with me. He wanted me to give him a hand to get it all together, wanted me to help him out with it because he’s never done it before,” Lopez said Tuesday morning, the day after he posted an Open Bass Tournament Fundraiser flyer on Facebook and forwarded copies to other outdoorsmen across Acadiana.

“I ain’t got a problem with that,” he said, noting he and Neuville are members of the Franklin-based Louisiana Bass Anglers.

Lopez recently volunteered as weighmaster for the inaugural Baldwin Volunteer Fire Department Tournament in May. He has scales and years of experience running bass tournaments.

Tournament hours are from safe daylight to 3 p.m. Entry fee, which is $100 per boat, must be paid 30 minutes before safe daylight. There is an optional big bass fee of $10.

There is a .25-pound penalty for a dead fish. There is a 1-pound penalty per minute for boats returning after 3 p.m.

Tournament organizers said all participants must wear life jackets, use running lights. Also, drivers must hook up the kill switch.

The payout, based on 25 boats, will be $1,000 for first place, $300 for second place, $100 for third place and $250 for big bass. Tournament organizers pointed out payout for second and third and big bass will increase with more entries.

For more information about the fundraiser call Lopez at 578-1529 or Neuville at 967-7701.

Neuville and Derouen, Highland Baptist Christian School partners, qualified for the national event by winning the two-day Louisiana High School B.A.S.S. Nation State Championship on May 8-9 out of Doiron’s Landing in Stephensville. They enjoyed a 2-pound lead after the first day with five bass weighing 17.20 pounds and held on to make it a wire-to-wire showing to top the 107-boat field.

With Neuville’s father, Tony Neuville, acting as captain, their next big derby is July 29-31 at the national tournament at Chicamauga Lake. The three of them will get over there in time to prefish, then get back out on the Tennessee River impoundment for the first day of competition July 29.

Lodging and gas for the boat and tow vehicle are major expenses, of course.

Lopez believes the anglers in the area’s bass fishing community will turn out to help the two young men traveling to a national tournament.

“I’m hoping they respond. With all the fishing guys, we ought to get a decent turnout, I think. Twenty-five or better ought to be good. Whatever he can get will help him out,” he said.

Neuville agreed and said, “Ah, anything we raise is going to help no matter what.”

He said their respective families tentatively plan to leave July 25. The first day of practice is July 26.

Prefishing ought to be interesting, he said.

“’I’m going into it just like any other tournament. I don’t know what to expect. I guess we’re going to see how much my dad puts up with ‘offshore’ fishing,” Neuville said with a chuckle, adding his father can get impatient at times.

“We’ll have three days to figure something out,” he said.