COTEAU HOLMES – There’s nothing like a clutch win to get back in the race for Angler of the Year.

On the way to Bayou Benoit Boat Landing on May 3 for the fourth Wednesday Night Hawg Fights Bass Tournament Series tournament of 2023, St. Martin Parish bass anglers Austin Theriot and Gavin Savoy talked about having slipped in the point standings after the third contest April 19.

Theriot, of rural St. Martinville, and Savoy, of Catahoula, made up for the slip up by winning the latest WN Hawg Fights BTS, which was the first one held in the Atchafalaya Basin. They returned to Bayou Benoit Boat Landing with a winning limit of three bass weighing 7.06 pounds for $473, including the night’s biggest bass, a 3.09-pounder worth another $105.

“Whew. It feels real good. Actually, points is what we were talking about on the way there, staying up in the point standings,” Savoy said, noting they dropped from third to sixth after the third tournament. “We should be back up there now.”

Theriot agreed and said, “It ought to jump us.”

The 100-point outing pushed them back into third place in the AOY race with 336 points. They trail frontrunners Blaine Miller and Brandon Sellers, who had 356 points, and John Gordon, who has 344 points so far in the 12-tournament schedule.

The 21-boat field ran into a falling Atchafalaya Basin that should have offered red hot bassin’ but inexplicably gave up just the opposite that Wednesday. The subpar days of prefishing by many veterans was the handwriting on the wall.

Except for Theriot, who was able to break away late Monday. He was out for 30 minutes to check out his favorite spot in the Spillway with the Atchafalaya River stage dropping to 10-feet at Butte La rose.

“He caught two solid fish and left,” Savoy said.

Theriot returned to his hotspot with Savoy two days later for the first WN Hawg Fights BTS outing this season in the Basin.

“Oh, yeah. I knew it had the fish. It was just up to us (to catch them),” he said.

Theriot, 22, who works for his father’s company, T&T Asphalt Inc., did just that on his second cast after the 5:30 p.m. takeoff. He put the 3-pound class bass in the livewell.

The bite shut off for approximately one hour before a much smaller keeper joined the big one. At 7:20 p.m., the alarm sounded as a notice to get ready to go back in.

Savoy, a 20-year-old welder for GOM Energy Services LLC, delivered the tournament-winning bass, a 3.09-pounder that bit the plastic frog he was throwing at 7:30 p.m. He reeled it in and they hurried back to the boat ramp for the 8 p.m. weigh-in.

“With the Basin falling and some pretty good fishermen showing up, I honestly thought if we had 6 pounds we’d cash a check,” he said.

Theriot, however, said, “I had a good feeling about it. … If we’d catch them we’d win. I was pretty sure we had it in the bag. It feels good, too.”

The winners turned back a hard charge by New Iberians Brad Romero and Raven Owens, whose limit weighed 7.12 pounds worth $284.

A father-and-son team from rural St. Martinville, Paul Resweber and Braxton Resweber, finished third with three bass weighing 5.44 pounds for $189. The elder Resweber was the evening circuit’s director for several years.

Theriot and Savoy caught their fish on buzz baits and plastic frogs. Theriot said he relied on a black Spro plastic frog and a ½-ounce War Eagle buzz bait with a black blade and a black Horny Toad.

The next WN Hawg Fights BTS is scheduled to be held May 27 at Lake Fausse Pointe out of Marsh Field Boat Landing. Savoy, for one, is ready.

“I’m looking forward to the lake,” he said, adding he’ was encouraged by the look of the water Wednesday under the Catahoula Bridge.

“Prettiest I’ve seen all year and we’re fishing in the Basin,” he said with a chuckle.