When net man gets the net it’s crush city for big winners

Published 11:00 am Tuesday, August 5, 2025

MYETTE POINT – When push came to shove to get to the top, basically reaching lofty “crush city” status, Josh Son of Youngsville delivered Aug. 2 on a hot afternoon in the Atchafalaya Basin.

Son called out, “Get the net,” in the last hour of the inaugural Just B Cause bass tournament, then the self-proclaimed “great net man” himself, Matt Hebert, also of Youngsville, did just that to put a 3 ½-pound bass into the waiting landing net. Son and Hebert, a Franklin native, knew deep down that sizable bass would clinch the top spot in a 24-boat field that fished the tournament out of Myette Point Landing.

“He (Son) said that and I looked up and saw the rod. I thought it’d be over 4. When it got close to the boat, I  scooped. My superb ‘net man’ skills got him in the boat,” Hebert said, proudly, chuckling.

Matt Hebert, left, and Josh Son’s limit of bass weighed a whopping 15.50 pounds Aug. 2, more than enough to win the inaugural Just B Cause bass tournament in the Atchafalaya Basin out of Myette Point.
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That bass sealed the unexpected win for the two fishing buddies from Youngsville because it culled a much smaller bass to give them 15.50 pounds and a payday of $1,400.

Before that clutch catch, Hebert and Son figured they had approximately 13 pounds with the five bass swimming in the aluminum boat’s livewell.

“I give credit to my partner. He stuck a good one. At that point, we knew we had 15 pounds and we felt pretty confident,” Hebert said.

Hebert, a 37-year-old business development manager for Tiger Safety, which specializes in services and equipment for oilfield-related companies, said neither of them prefished but benefitted from timely tips from his partner’s brother and dad.

Twenty limits hit the digital scales manned by tournament founder and weighmaster Bubbie Lopez. Many of the teams culled despite a curveball thrown at them by the Atchafalaya River, which bumped up from 7.36 feet at Butte La Rose on early July 31 to 7.8 feet at 8 a.m. the day of the tournament.

The Just B Cause’s second-place team earned its lofty finish Aug. 2 with bass like this 4.02-pounder being dropped in the weigh-in basket held by weighmaster Bubbie Lopez, left. Randy Giroir, who’s lifting the big bass of the tournament, and Jarrod J. Aucoin finished with a five-bass limit weighing 14.09 pounds.
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Hebert and Son needed the bragging-size, 3-plus pound average limit to stay ahead of the pack. The closest challengers were Jarrod J. Aucoin and Randy Giroir, whose five bass weighed an eye-opener 14.02 pounds for a second-place finish worth $600.

The Aucoin-Giroir team also boasted the tournament’s biggest bass, a 4.02-pounder that added $250 to their winnings.

Dustin Robicheaux smiles as he grips the lip of two “hammers,” good-sized bass that helped him and Ry Savoy finish third Aug. 2 in the inaugural Just B Cause bass tournament in the Atchafalaya Basin out of Myette Point Landing.
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Ry Savoy and Dustin Robicheaux teamed up to finish third with a limit weighing 12.78 pounds for $400.

The winning team’s day started fairly slow, Hebert said.

“We didn’t get a bite for the first 1 ½, 2 hours. After that it was crush city. We caught three of our five keepers in 20 minutes in one stretch. Our confidence went up after that,” he said, noting the last two words of the second sentence are pet phrases among the fishin’ buddies whose paths crossed years ago on business. They have fished numerous Oilman’s tournaments on Toledo Bend and Lake Sam Rayburn.

“After the flurry, we had 12 ½ pounds early, 9:30ish, and we culled up to about 13 pounds about 10:30. We were stuck on that for a while. We started looking around. We needed to get rid of a 1-8.

“It wasn’t like we caught all day. We fished pretty hard. The bites we did catch obviously were the right ones. It was a team effort. I caught two of the keepers. I’m a great net man,” Hebert said with another chuckle.

Son hooked the key 3 ½-pound class bass on a spinnerbait, he said.

However, their first two big keeper bass bit on a homemade “Crowson Model Buzz Bait” crafted by New Iberia native Bucky Crowson of Lafayette. Another big bass was caught on a swim jig.

Most of their keeper bass were caught in an undisclosed area around cypress trees and deadfalls. However, Hebert did say the best spot was a “Secret Herrera north of the Atchafalaya River.”

“It was an awesome day. We fished well together and we’ve fished many tournaments. We’ve done well in many tournaments before but if I’m not mistaken this was the first one we win. We really didn’t expect that. We were excited to get a first-place finish,” he said. “It was fun. The weather was good, especially in the morning. Then it got hot for everyone. I want to thank Bubbie Lopez for throwing it (tournament), putting things on.”

And to further cover all the bases, he added, each winner thanked their respective “wonderful wives” for allowing them to fish so often.

Matt Hebert’s fist pump Aug. 2 was a combination of another nice-sized bass being put in the boat by his Just B Cause bass tournament partner, Josh Son, and, mostly, the fact he located and retrieved his rod and reel from the bottom when he put his fishing rod down immediately when Son yelled, ‘Get the net!” It wound up dropping in the water. The two-man team won the tournament with 15.50 pounds.
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Peter Romero, right, pays his entry fee about an hour before the start of the Just B Cause bass tournament Aug. 2 at Myette Point Landing in the Atchafalaya Basin. Michael Louviere, foreground, and tournament founder Bubbie Lopez record the information.
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Dicky Fitzgerald, foreground, checks results he’s tabulating while his long-time bass fishing buddy and weighmaster Bubbie Lopez calls out the weight of five bass on the digital scale Aug. 2 for the inaugural Just B Cause bass tournament Aug. 2 in the Atchafalaya Basin.
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Mike Louviere, on bended knee, makes a marriage proposal Aug. 2 to Tabitha L. Landry after the weigh-in for the Just B Cause bass tournament at Myette Point Landing in the Atchafalaya Basin. Landry said ‘yes’ to the area bass angler who has fished local tournaments for many years.
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Boats launch in the predawn darkness Aug. 2 before the start of the inaugural Just B Cause bass tournament organized by Louisiana Bass Anglers member Bubbie Lopez. Twenty-four boats participated in the tournament.
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