MANY — Clayton Landry of Erath knows youngsters love to fish. It’s easy to get hooked and stay hooked.

Landry was hooked as a boy, much like the boy Luke Bryan sings about in the popular country music video “Bill Dance.” The 41-year-old Erath angler grew up watching Dance, Roland Martin, Orlando Wilson and Jimmy Houston on TV and fishing with his father, John Landry Sr., and his brother, John Landry Jr.

He’s still hooked, which explains why there is an Erath High School Fishing Club. He told most of the story minutes after one of the fishing club’s four two-man teams finished third Feb. 5 in a Louisiana High School B.A.S.S. Nation tournament at Toledo Bend.

Landry, a natural gas compressor mechanic for EnLink Midstream, is 23 years removed from his days as a starting quarterback his junior and senior years at Erath High School (EHS Class of 1999). Now he’s giving students the opportunity to enjoy on-the-water experiences at various venues, learn more about bass fishing and get a taste of competitive bass fishing.

The EHS Fishing Club was born two years ago as the Erath Fishing Club, sans ties to EHS at first because of a coronavirus-related moratorium on forming new clubs imposed by the Vermilion Parish School Board. It been embraced by the community from Day 1.

“We have a big support group. It’s awesome. It’s a different experience for the community. It was never offered before. It’s attractive to kids that play multiple sports as well as kids who don’t play sports. It gives something for everybody to do,” Landry said minutes after his son, Brayden Landry, and Branson Word, weighed a five-bass limit in the LHSBN opener for 2022.

“High school bass fishing is a fast-growing sport. It’s a huge thing, really big, and we don’t want to be left behind.”

Landry got the wheels rolling in 2020-21 after asking his son, an Erath Middle School student at the time, if he wanted to be a part of high school bass fishing his freshman year. Brayden Landry said yes and his father contacted EHS Principal Marc Turner, who was all in but pointed out the School Board restrictions.

Clayton Landry refused to give up. He contacted Tommy Abbott, LHSBN state director, who said a “community” club could be started. The Erath Fishing Club’s first year was a success with five teams qualifying for the LHSBN state tournament, which got the attention of Turner, who was so fired up he tried again, a year later, and moved to start the EHS Fishing Club.

It was the second high school fishing club in Vermilion Parish. The first was formed by coach Craig DeRoche at North Vermilion High School.

Two of four EHS Fishing Club two-man teams caught bass Feb. 5 at Toledo Bend. Brayden Landry and Word boasted one of only 11 five-bass limits carried to the scale that day. Their limit weighed 12.91 pounds.

Clayton Landry, who captained the team, had a hunch on what to offer the bass in tough conditions. Watermelon/red and black/blue Speed Worms got six bass, including one non-keeper, to bite.

“I’ve been fishing here for years,” he said, noting his first bass tournament after high school was a Louisiana Oilman’s Bass Invitational at Toledo Bend.

The value of a captain can’t be overstated, Brayden Landry said. Without his father’s advice earlier that day, he said, they may have come to the weigh-in empty-handed.

Clayton Landry downplayed that but his son insisted and said, “If you wouldn’t have told me to pick up that worm we would have never caught fish. I would have stayed with a Brush Hog.”

Captains drive the boat per high school rules. Otherwise, despite being passionate bass anglers in some of their best fishin’ holes, they are spectators because they aren’t allowed to fish.

They’ve got to love it, especially on days like a week ago Saturday at Toledo Bend. Temperatures were in the upper 20s before and after sunrise.

It was even colder the day before, the final practice day. It snowed, a development that generated countless videos.

“It was brutal yesterday,” Clayton Landry said about weather conditions Feb. 4. “Once the snow passed, we were able to put the boat on the water and go check some spots.”

They were on the water for just two hours before calling it a day with nary a bass bite.

Under the Cypress Bend Resort pavilion the next day, his two-man team talked about the tournament on a day wind whipped the water while boat traffic added to wave action, and about the fishing club.

“Branson, I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’m still rockin’,” Brayden said to his partner soon after they put their catch on the scale, then posed for photos.

“I enjoy it. I’m just getting into tournament fishing,” Word said.

Brayden Landry said, “It’s the friendships we have. We’re all friends in school and out of high school.”

Truthfully, it’s the only sport available to him right now. He tore an ACL this past football season while playing for the Bobcats.

Trevor Huval is one of four juniors on the team. The others are Aiden Mouton, Sean Richard and Brooks Richard.

Huval said he relishes the opportunity to be on the high school fishing team. As a catcher on the EHS baseball team, he was unable to fish Feb. 5 at Toledo Bend.

However, Huval and eighth-grader Talen Landry, one of the coach’s four sons, finished 16th at an MLF High School Fishing tournament in January at Toledo Bend. It was 21 degrees the morning of that tournament.

“Trevor’s a great asset to our fishing club. Trevor’s one of the dedicated student/anglers. He’s got the fever like we all do,” Clayton Landry said.

Sophomores Bradley Gravouia and Chase Mier also fished last weekend’s tournament with captain Kevin Gravouia. They finished 25th in the 155-team field with three bass weighing 7.77 pounds.

Freshmen Matthew Richard and Cohen Luquette also fished at Toledo Bend and were captained by Ryan Richard.

Other EHS Fishing Club members are freshmen Damian Russo, Corey Stoute, Slaide Mouton and Landon Bouillion.

Clayton Landry also started the Erath Louisiana Jr. Bass Club. Two 7-year-olds, Miles Theall and Isaac Primeaux, captained by Theall’s maternal grandfather, Mike Sinitiere of New Iberia, are the junior club’s pioneers who fished and put four fish on the scale in their first tournament together last fall in an LHSBN tournament out of Doiron’s Landing, Stephensville.

“How awesome is that?” Landry said.

Bill Dance would be proud.