Hurricane Hole Louisiana Open Preview
What to know coming into tournament week at the Hurricane Hole Louisiana Open, presented by XTRATUF
It’s tournament week again for SFC’s Gulf Division, trading the white powdery sands of Ft. Walton Beach and Florida’s Emerald Coast for the heart of the Bayou in Louisiana. The Hurricane Hole Louisiana Open, presented by XTRATUF takes place May 8-10 in Grand Isle as the blue marlin season looks to start heating up.
What to expect
We should see the angling clubs begin to start rolling into Hurricane Hole Marina & Resort tomorrow. The weather window being a little rougher than desired offshore means there will be limited opportunities to prefish heading into competition on Thursday.
Media Day takes place on Wednesday, where SFC Insider and the tv cameras will be rolling to ask the captains and crews about their preparation for this second of six stops on SFC’s schedule. Some of the lingering questions from the East Pass Challenge are how several of the boats are fairing mechanically, given the struggles many had over the course of that event.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 7: Media Day interviews 12:00PM-5:00PM CT
Captains Meeting: 5:00PM-6:00PM CT
THURSDAY, MAY 8: Shotgun Start 10:00AM CT
Mississippi Blues Look to Stay Hot
The division-leading Blues had a commanding victory in round one with three Blue Marlin releases, and placed in a different tournament this past weekend with another two releases and a yellowfin tuna. Captain Jimmy, “Cricket” Crochet, angler Jaselyn Berthelot and angler/mate Toby Berthelot are in the groove early and hope to use that momentum to build on their lead in the SFC standings. A new mate joins their squad this weekend, but she’s a familiar face that we will be catching up with at media day.
Co-owner Talor Gooch of the LIV Golf Tour has been smiling ear-to-ear with his Mississippi Blues Angling Club in the lead. He had himself a banner weekend in South Korea, with an individual third-place finish, and a second-place finish in the team competition with Smash Golf Club.
Gulf Coast Cowboys Angling Club Getting Back in the Saddle
Rough conditions to start the week will keep the Gulf Coast Cowboys from getting much prefishing done prior to the Hurricane Hole Louisiana Open. However, this tournament marks the third time the Cowboys have fished from Hurricane Hole in the last calendar year, with strong results. We’re looking forward to catching up with Captain Blake Bridges on Wednesday to see if familiar places bring familiar fortune and results for them.
Other than the major question mark of whether the Gulf Coast Cowboys will find their championship form this week is whether their roster will be at full strength come Championship Saturday. The rumor mill has been swirling about whether angling club co-owner and country music star Brian Kelley will be making his way to the boat after Thursday’s Academy of Country Music Awards.
The first angling clubs and league officials should be touching down in Grand Isle tomorrow, and with everyone excited to dig into some crawfish boil and get after the billfish.