For Acadiana’s many competitive bass anglers who believe they can catch a bigger five-bass limit than the other guys on a given day, their first chance to do that on a grand scale is Saturday, Feb. 19.

The 16th annual Louisiana Bass Cats Open, traditionally regarded as the “season opener” in Acadiana, is scheduled to be held that day on Lake Fausse Pointe out of Marsh Field Boat Landing near Loreauville. At stake is a guaranteed $1,000 payout to the first-place team.

Winning the grand is good and all but there’s more to it than that, according to Hank Harris of New Iberia. Harris teamed with his friend and fishin’ buddy, Johnny Hester of Lafayette, to win it in 2021.

“It was more of bragging rights. The $1,000 was nice. We used it to fish and hunt the rest of the year. But it’s the pride of winning against friends, against good competition. It’d be nice if we could do it again,” Harris said Friday morning while taking a break from hunting and fishing with Hester in Arkansas.

For the first time in its history, the Open will be held somewhere other than Cabot Boat Landing on the Intracoastal Waterway or Fairfax Foster Bailey Memorial Boat Landing in Franklin. Typically, many of the boats travel to Lake Fausse Pointe, which is why tournament directors decided to fish this one out of Marsh Field Boat Landing. The idea, according to bass club president Mike Sinitiere, was to give small boats the opportunity.

“I’m fine with it. I’m glad it’s in the lake. You can say it’s more predictable. If it’s out of Franklin (or Cabot) you can go either way,” Harris said.

However, unlike previous late winters, the lake level is unseasonably low. That’s making it difficult to “get on” bass and probably will put more boats in popular areas.

And the cold weather isn’t helping.

Asked about their chances of defending their Open title, Harris chuckled and said, “With it in the lake, where the water’s shallow, chances are 20 percent. We’re catching some fish but it’s been tough lately. We went last week and it was tough. It was cold and low. But we’ll be out there next week.”

Hester, 67, a retired drilling superintendent for Hunt Oil Co., said, “I’m looking forward to it. It’s a really good tournament and stuff. It’s fun.”

The way the weather and water conditions are shaping up, more boats could be congregated in certain areas, he agreed.

“This tournament, I think the borrow pit will probably turn on. I think everybody will be piling into the borrow pit working up and down,” Hester said.

Including the defending champs?

“No comment,” he said with a laugh.

They plan to be on the lake each day this week looking for bass.

Harris, 40, a self-employed drilling consultant, and Hester won last year’s Open with five bass weighing 20.21 pounds. They fished near Charenton Lake in the Atchafalaya Basin.

The Louisiana Bass Cats Open’s entry fee is $100 with an optional big bass fee of $10. Registration will get underway at 5 a.m. Tournament hours are from safe daylight to 4 p.m.

For more information, call or text Sinitiere at 337-321-1178.

DON SHOOPMAN is outdoors editor of The Daily Iberian.