BROOKELAND, Texas – Soon after Louisiana bass anglers Dennis Narcisse Jr. and Brannon Mire agreed to “go for the win” Oct. 8 in the 2023 Sealy Outdoors Lake Sam Rayburn Fall Shootout, Narcisse hooked a “hawg.”

“I said, ‘Like, dude, you’ve got a boat on the end of your line,’” Mire said.

The Lafayette native meant that figuratively, not literally, because he knew if his fishin’ buddy landed the fish it could mean winning a new Phoenix boat, motor and trailer worth $78,000.

Narcisse, a lifelong St. Martinville resident, had it under control.

“I said, ‘Dude, this is the one we need.’ Barron said, ‘Take your time, like we’re practicing. Don’t horse her,’ ” Narcisse said.

The 45-year-old St. Martinville bass angler played it to the boat, where Mire slipped the landing net under the big bass and lifted it into the boat.

“When he netted that fish, that jig literaly came out of its mouth into the boat. Yeah, I’m telling you. Unbelievable,” Narcisse said.

They deposited the boat, er, bass in Mire’s Ranger bass boat’s livewell and headed to the Noon-1 p.m. weigh-in at the Umphrey Family Pavilion. Narcisse’s bass weighed 8.05 pounds, winning the hour and the two-day tournament. Narcisse had purchased a T-shirt that doubled his winnings in the 12-1 T-Shirt Bonus Hour from $1,000 to $2,000 and first-place overall netted a Phoenix bass boat, Mercury outboard motor, full array of marine electronics and boat trailer valued at $78,000.

Sealy, the man who started the prestigious Big Bass Splash circuit that includes Lake Fork, Toledo Bend and Lake Guntersville, called him up for the awards presentation. Sealy announced the winner’s name and weight of the bass to the crowd.

Narcisse, a branch manager for Reladyne Inc., strolled to the front and accepted the coveted trophy. Then he listened as the circuit’s founder listed the winnings.

It’s all on video on his Facebook page. Since that moment, heart-felt reaction poured in.

“It’s unbelievable the support and congratulations I have from back home. It’s just a blessing, man. The money’s fine but the thing that means the most to me is the hardware,” he said.

It’s been an emotional time, as well.

“If anybody deserves it, he does. He wants to give me credit. He caught it. All I did was drive the boat and net it. It couldn’t happen to a better man. Actually, it’s a blessing,” Mire said.

They began fishing together in the Big Bash Splash and related tournaments as well as the Outlaw Outdoors Team Series in the mid-2010s. It was a chance meeting years ago that paired them up.

While working for Halliburton, Narcisse met Mire’s uncle, Robert Mire, and their shared bass fishing interests led them to Brannon Mire’s camp at Toledo Bend.

“He (Narcisse) loves to fish. I love to fish big tournaments. We hooked up. He’s one of the best guys you’ll ever meet,” Mire said.

Mire said they weren’t so much gung-ho going into the recent Fall Shootout at Lake Sam Rayburn as a bass tournament but as a therapeutic time during a challenging period in his fishing buddy’s life. Narcisse has been caring for his gravely ill mother, Dorothy Perrio Narcisse, after losing his father several months ago. Narcisse’s dad, the late Minister Dennis Narcisse Sr., died April 25 at age 76.

“He actually just wanted to get away,” Mire said.

The getaway paid off.

While prefishing Friday, their catches included a 5-pounder. Day 1 of the two-day Fall Shootout dawned extra windy, messing up their patterns, but they landed a 3-plus pounder, which ranked fourth that hour according to live updates on the radio. High seas prevented them from making it back to Umphrey in time.

The wind subsided on the calm Sunday. Mire and Narcisse probed the shallow stuff until about 11:30, 11:45 when Mire, who lives on Toledo Bend and owns the Best Stop in Toledo Town, asked his tournament partner what he wanted to do.

Narcisse said, “Let’s go do the 9-pound spot.”

He was talking about the deep hole that gave him his personal best, a 9.59-pounder, on Jan. 9 during the Bass Champs 2021 Texas Tournament Trail opener with Mire. It anchored a five-bass, 18.05-pound limit that was good enough for 12th and $1,100 in the 290-boat field.

They never made it that far Oct. 8, Narcisse said. Mire, who specializes in deep water fishing, decided to fish a deep point first.

“He stopped and said, ‘Look, I’ve got one spot before that.’ We ended up stopping there. I’m sure happy he made that call,” Narcisse said.

The midlake point went from 15-feet deep to 25-feet deep. Mire targeted some deeper structure while advising Narcisse to cast his 5/8-ounce Rayburn craw Talon football jig to the shallower depths and come back over a shell bed about the size of a BBQ pit.

They both got bites but they were Kentuckys, Mire knew. And that was a good sign.

“He (Mire) said, ‘If there’s Kentuckys there, there’s usually a big fish eating those in the area,’” Narcisse said, noting his fishing buddy advised him to shake off the smaller bites.

“I actually made three casts. The first two were Kentuckys,” Narcisse said.

On the third cast, he retrieved over the shell bed, or rock, and bumped the jig off it.

“I felt something mushy. I reeled up the slack,” he said.

When Narcisse felt the weight of the fish on the other end, he slammed the steel home.

The boat-winner was on its way in.

Narcisse said they will sell the boat and split the money down the middle. That’s the way their partnership works, he said.