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July 16, 2014
Williams red-hot to start season
July 16, 2014
The sun was still young on the morning sky on July 5 when Lafourche Parish native Chad Galliano felt an “aggressive strike” on his fishing line, which had been patrolling the Gulf of Mexico’s warm, salty waters for a few hours on this bright, warm Saturday.
He set his hook and started to reel the fish in. Galliano thought it was a Yellowfin or Blackfin Tuna. After all, those were the fish that were biting on this early morning for the self-proclaimed “Bust Crew,” which consists of Galliano and a slew of his longtime friends and relatives.
But after amusing the fish for a few minutes, Galliano realized that he had a fight on his hands.
The fish wasn’t a tuna; it was a Dorado, a 57-pound, 8-ounce Mahi Mahi monster that easily broke the record at the Golden Meadow-Fourchon Tarpon Rodeo two weekends ago.
For the Galliano native, the record fish was a thrill – one that he will not soon forget.
He shared his story with the Tri-Parish Times this week, touting that the fish was both exhausting and memorable, a cause of many high-fives from Galliano and the rest of his crew.
“It was yelling and high-fives all around with the Bust Crew,” Galliano said. “I’m pretty sure we woke up some rig hands that were on the nearby Medusa oil platform. … It was a weekend to remember, a fish of a lifetime and a weekend with friends that I will never forget!”
THE 25-MINUTE FIGHT
For Galliano and the rest of the crew, the weekend fishing trip started early – well before the sun made its arrival on this clear, calm Saturday.
“We left Fourchon around 1 a.m., on Saturday morning,” Galliano said. “We wanted to head to the ultra deep water for some big game fish.”
Once offshore, Galliano and the Bust Crew started to fish in the wee hours of daylight – as soon as the sun started to peek its way into the Louisiana sky.
The Bust Crew is a fishing group that consists of Galliano, Lance Reynolds, Kenny Orgeron, Brock Danos, Jake Charpentier and Capt. Rustie Charpentier.
The group fished on this day in the motor vessel ‘She Likes it Rough.’
Galliano said the trip was a success from the start and the fish were biting early in the morning hours, just as the sun was beginning to shine over the Gulf of Mexico’s waters.
“We had already caught two nice Yellowfin Tuna and a few Blackfin early that morning once the sun was starting to show,” Galliano said. “That began the day’s excitement.”
Galliano said it all started when Orgeron’s line started to scream. He had a big one on his line.
“Instinctively, I began to reel in my line fast to get it out of his way for the fish,” Galliano said.
But this first fish wasn’t meant for the crew and it got unhooked after a short fight.
The next one was better – the record fish anglers dream of!
Galliano said shortly after Orgeron lost his fish, he felt a strike on his line. He had a fish.
He started to reel it in and learned something right away: This was not a tuna. This was a monster.
“Tuna typically go deep on their runs once they are hooked, but this fish was a completely different animal,” Galliano said. “He was making runs toward the surface like a shark. I yelled for someone to get me the fighting belt. I got strapped in and the real fight began.”
Galliano said about a minute after battling the fish, it jumped out of the water and showed itself to the Bust Crew.
“This was when everyone in the boat realized we had a trophy on our hands,” Galliano said. “Everyone started cheering with excitement and disbelief.”
Galliano said three jumps and 10 minutes later, he had the fish positioned near the boat. Not wanting to be caught, it made one last run at freedom, shaking wildly away from the angler.
“He was right out of gaffing range, then he got angry and decided to make another tough run, shaking his head wildly, jumping repeatedly,” Galliano remembers.” He was trying just about anything to get off of my hook. He was constantly pulling drag and we were always turning the boat to get into the right position for the fight. No one on board wanted to see this monster get away.”
It took 25 minutes total and Galliano still doesn’t know exactly where he found the strength, but he pulled the fish close enough to score victory.
It jumped eight times total, but Galliano reeled it close enough to the boat where Reynolds, the angler’s older cousin, could strike it with the gaffe and swing it on board.
“He hit it perfectly and was able to pull it in,” Galliano said.
The crew immediately took photos with the mammoth while it still had color. The fish is as big as a human, both vertically and horizontally.
Chad said the strength he generated for the fight was all a giant rush of energy.
“Once the massive fish was on board, we all realized that it must have been pure adrenaline that Lance was able to pull the fish in solo,” Galliano said. “It was huge. This was when the real excitement began.”
RECORD CAPPED HUGE DAY FOR BUST CREW
After everyone got their photos with the prized fish, (which Galliano used to rest himself from the exhausting 25-minute battle), the crew got back to business and continued to fish.
Galliano said the anglers tried a few different baits, but didn’t enjoy much success, which ended their day’s work.
“The morning bite was over, but we had two Yellowfin, a few Blackfin, and a stud Dorado,” Galliano said. “We realized that our early departure from Fourchon was definitely worth it.”
Once at the dock, the crew tried to contain its excitement. The fishermen weighed all of their other fish before showing their beast to the crowd, drawing a bevvy of ooo’s and ahhh’s from the weigh master and those at the weighing station.
“The moment the fish hit the dock, the weigh master realized we had a potential record on our hands,” Galliano said.
The weigh master put the fish on the scale and waited for it to stop moving so that its true weight could be measured.
“57-pounds, 8-ounces!” the weigh master exclaimed. “That’s a new record.”
Galliano’s catch shattered the record by six pounds.
It was the largest Dorado ever caught in the 66-year history of the Golden Meadow-Fourchon Tarpon Rodeo.
Of course, as one could easily imagine, it was also the winner in its category, owning the title by several pounds.
“That’s when it really hit me,” Galliano said. “I had the new rodeo record. The old record was 35 years old, and it was finally broken. The high fives and chest bumps started again, and everyone around us was excited, too.
“People were calling it the fish of the tournament.”
Galliano had the big fish of the day, but everyone on board had success – a trip of a lifetime.
The crew also won first place for Blackfin Tuna, Rainbow Runner and Grouper.
It won awards for Yellowfin, Jack Crevelle, King Mackerel and Mangrove Snapper, as well.
All-in-all, it was quite the trip. Galliano said he won’t ever forget it – the day he made Louisiana fishing history.
“It was a weekend to remember,” Galliano said. “It was a blast – one of the best times I’ve had in a long time.”
Lafourche Parish native Chad Galliano had a heck of a day on July 5, catching this mammoth, 57-pound, 8-ounce Dorado fish in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The fish was easily a record at the Golden Meadow-Fourchon Tarpon Rodeo, and it was a day that the young angler will never forget. He shared his story with the Tri-Parish Times this week, detailing his catch.
