CYPREMORT POINT – There’s nothing like a monstrous fish to grab the attention and limelight at a saltwater fishing rodeo.

Colby Maveaux’s 91.1-pound grouper did that and more Sunday when it hit the large digital scale on the third and final day of the 70th annual Iberia Rod & Gun Club Saltwater Fishing Rodeo. It wowed the crowd and led Outlaw to the Offshore Division Boat Captain’s Award.

It was the coup de grace for the big boat’s return to the winner’s circle in arguably one of the most popular saltwater fishing rodeos along Louisiana’s Gulf Coast. Outlaw left Cypremort Point with the Offshore Division’s Boat Captain’s Award and, fittingly enough, the Offshore Division’s Best All-Around Fisherman, none other than Mayeaux.

The Vidrine outdoorsman stuck two other first-place fish, plus a second-place bonita, on the final leaderboard to claim the individual title with 11.2 points. His nearest challenger, crewmate Chad Bailey, had 6.8 points while another crew member aboard his boat, Joe Rustom, had 5.2.

The Outlaw boasted five firsts, three seconds and two thirds after the scales closed once and for all on the three-day fishing rodeo at 1 p.m. Outlaw’s assault on the leaderboard gave skipper Dr. Patrick Savoy of Oakdale another boat Captain’s Award.

Minutes after hoisting the cup and champagne on the weigh-in platform, Savoy said, “Oh, it feels good, man. Whenever you work hard and get a reward, it’s good. I can’t ask for a better crew. They work hard, don’t complain and are very easy to get along with.”

With Sunday’s sweep in the Offshore Division, Outlaw won all the marbles for the second time since 2021 and, more importantly, avenged a narrow miss for the overall title at last year’s fishing rodeo here when Basket Case scored a double with the Best All-Around Fisherman and Boat Captain’s Award in the Offshore Division.

Basket Case was an also-ran on this latest go-around. Outlaw amassed 24.8 points to finish far ahead of Ghost in the Marine, 12.2, and Sea Mistress, 4.6.

It’s easy for the Outlaw’s profile above the water to catch the eye of spectators and fellow offshore fishermen alike. After all, the 37-foot long Freeman features a beautiful “Blue Marlin It” wrap on the hull designed and applied by Jason Mathias of Stuart, Florida.

Apparently, a pre-fishing rodeo study of water conditions by Savoy indicated cooler water areas north of Grand Isle.

“We left Thursday around noon and ended up 165 miles away from here. Oh, I went way east. We kind of rig hopped and rig hopped until we found a rig in 4,000 feet of water. We started marking tuna (via sonar) and got on the tuna bite for a couple hours,” he said, noting the tuna bit from about 4 a.m. to sunrise. The tuna went deep after the sun got up over the horizon, he said.

“After the tuna spot we ran to another spot in 600 feet of water. We picked up the grouper and big snapper from there. We kept hitting spots on the way in and started heading in Saturday afternoon,” the personable boat captain said.

Maveaux and the rest of the crew will remember that grouper experience for a long time. The grouper bit a whole hardtail at 2:15 p.m. and fought for 30 minutes before it was hauled inside the Outlaw.

“The grouper ate a big hardtail on my third drop. The rod bent almost to the water. There’s nothing easy about bringing that kind of fish,” Maveaux said.

That the 7-foot Poseidon fishing rod, one Savoy had built in Florida specifically to target grouper, bent double stunned the angler and the crew. They knew right away there was a beast on the business end of the 250-pound test Tuff-Line XP Braid line spooled on a Penn International 80 Wide fishing reel.

Apparently, 250-pound test line was the key. After the fish was landed, the crew found another hook in the bottom lip, a sign that it had been hooked before and broke off.

Maveaux’s other first-place fish were a 21.5-pound red snapper and an 11.1-pound mangrove snapper. He also had a second-place 12.6-pound bonita,

Also sticking fish on the final leaderboard from the Outlaw were Chad Bailey, first-place bonita (12.8 pounds), second-place barracuda (24.3 pounds) and third-place red snapper (18.3 pounds); Joe Rustom, first-place yellowfin tuna (32.0 pounds) and second-place red snapper (20.9 pounds), and Savoy, third-place bonita (12.0 pounds).

Jacque Hebert, skipper of Sea Mistress, eased the 36-foot long Lafco hull with beaucoup fishing rodeo skins up to the bulkhead around noon, a few minutes before Outlaw’s arrival. Hebert said right away the boat’s big ice chest had few fishing rodeo-worthy fish.

Lannie Buteau, a long-time fishing buddy, had the only two fish that stuck, a huge first-place bonita (12.8 pounds) and a third-place mangrove snapper (9.1 pounds).

Hebert, very gracious and genuinely respectful in his comments about the top boat, Outlaw, said, “They had a good time and I’m happy for them. Look, those guys got some good fish and I’m happy for them.”

As for Sea Mistress, he said, “We zigged when we should have zagged but you never know.”

“We went to the west toward Flower Garden where the water was very warm and they (Outlaw’s crew) said they went east toward Grand Isle. They hit some cool water and it was very productive,” Buteau said. “We couldn’t have fished harder but we could have caught more fish.”

“Cooler” water might be the best word. Savoy said on their way out the water temperature was consistently 90 degrees but when his boat got to where they wanted to start fishing it was 87.

That 3-degree difference in water temperature makes all the difference in the world, Savoy and Hebert agreed.

Meanwhile, Sea Mistress’ accomplished and veteran skipper had a sinking feeling when his boat arrived at the Flower Garden Banks located 100 miles south of Galveson. The water was too warm and he didn’t even need to check the temperature.

“I don’t know what the temperature was but you can tell,” Hebert said, explaining that the lack of fish feeding on the surface and the scarcity of baitfish in the National Marine Sanctuary was a telltale sign that left the anglers struggling to put fish aboard the Sea Mistress.

Sea Mistress has the range but not the speed to recover, he said.