Billiot and Dowdy Team Up to take Opener in Slidell
In a very limited field event taking place as part of the Gulf Coast Sportsmen Outdoor Expo this team cashed in on a 4 redfish, 2 day limit that tipped the scales at 33.37 total pounds good enough for 1st place just 99/100 of a pound better than second place finishers Barnie White and Dwayne Mills who made a big push on day 2 with a giant 17.02 pound limit for a 32.38 pound total 2 day weight.
At the end of day 2 Billiot’s and Dowdy’s 15.52 was just enough to hold off Mills and White, team Blazer Bay who still took home $5,000.00 for 2nd.
Team 4 Horsemen Tackle pocketed $10,000.00 and by winning the Brecknell Big Red Challenge put another $5,500.00 in the bank for their 9.69 giant weighed in on day 1. Not bad for a weekend of fishing.
3rd place was the Mississippi/Texas team of Bo Favre and Mark Robinson who weighed in 32.05 for the 2 days just 1.32 pounds behind the leaders while Gary Moreno and Stephen Fleming too 4th with 15.52. Remarkably Bubba Corbin and Jacob Brown had a top 5 finish even after weighing in just 1 fish on day 1 and bringing to the scales just 3 fish total for the weekend.
It was a great time to be on the Louisiana Northshore and indoors at the Gulf Coast Sportsmen Expo. Thank you to St. Tammany Parish, the staff at the Harbor Center and each of the exhibitors that attended. It was a great show and a great showing for the sport of professional redfishing in St. Tammany Parish and Slidell Louisiana.
EVENT RESULTS: DAY 1 – DAY 2 – FINAL STANDINGS – BRECKNELL BIG RED : EVENT IMAGES: CAPTAIN’S MEETING – LAUNCH AND WEIGH INS
Team 4 Horsemen Tackle Chad Billiot and Roger Dowdy takes the lead after day 1 with 17.85 pounds anchored by a 9.69 Brecknell Big Red to this point. Second after day 1 is Bo Favre and Mark Robinson with 15.50 followed by Barnie White and Dwayne Mills in 3rd with 15.36 pounds…It’s still close enough for anyone weighing in 2 fish today to take tour stop 1. Teams braved cold temps and rough waters on the way to their favorite fishing spots on the Louisiana Northshore.
A great crowd attended day 1’s weigh in at the Harbor Center and were excited and loud for the pros of the Elite Redfish Series. “This was perfect, what a great weigh in we are so excited the tour teamed up with Donnie and the great people of the Gulf Coast Sportsmen Expo.” stated Louisiana Northshore representative Tanya Leader stated. The expo was well attended and exhibitors from all over the country enjoyed a great day of visitors to the expo. Day 2 takes place under cold but clear skies with teams fishing from 7 AM – 3 PM prior to returning to the Harbor Center for day 2’s final weigh in with over $20,000.00 in guaranteed cash paybacks plus prizes.
The start of the 2022 season is underway with a great captain’s meeting at the Harbor Center as day 1 of the Gulf Coast Sportsmen Expo presented by the Louisiana Northshore.
Anglers showed up at 5:00 PM to the first captain’s meeting of the year and some great news. This season the tour has instituted a lot of changes to equipment and fishing practices but has also sweetened the payback pot by including portions of sponsors money in addition to the entry fees to boost the payback purse.
Starting off with the new Brecknell Big Red the tour announced it would put 1,000.00 in the pot of sponsor money to kick off the season and paying a nice bounty for the biggest single redfish of the tournament which for tour stop 1 equates to a $5,500.00 cast for some lucky angler.
The first place cash prize of $10,000.00 guaranteed and the announcement weeks ago that the Elite Team Tour Stop 1 would be designated as the first Super Tournament of the year meant double points and double free boat giveaway coupons would be added to a great payback.
Finally, the tour announced a very well received adjustment that due to the cold and possibly icy roads both days of competition would take place 8 AM – 4 PM with the weigh in starting each day at the Harbor Center at 5 PM daily.
“There’s a lot to like about tour stop 1 but nothing more than this great group of anglers we have fishing. These guys get it and understand the direction we are heading.” Tour host and director Pat Malone told Louisiana Northshore representative Tanya Leader. It’s going to be a great event and the expo is already underway with great crowds showing up for day 1 with days 2 and 3 promising to be even more well attended with sunshine forecasted for the final 2 days. Stay tuned for a great event and day 1’s weigh in Saturday and Sunday at 5 PM.Due to the threat of severe storms, sustained wind forecast of 20 to 25 mph, heavy rain and wind gust that could cause a small craft advisory on Friday and with the closure of the Chalmette bridge this weekend leaving us limited safe alternative launch locations, like Shell Beach or other points that would allow us to skip having to cross Lake Borgne in severe weather and after phone calls with the officials in Slidell this event has been moved to Saturday and Sunday preceded by the captain’s meeting Friday afternoon at the Harbor Center.