An Interview with Theophile Bourgeois of Bourgeois Charters, Lafitte, Louisiana
Coastal Angler Magazine’s National Ad Representative Spencer Shorr recently interviewed Theophile Bourgeois, owner of Bourgeois Fishing Charters, in beautiful South Louisiana. His charters provide fishing on the bayous of South Louisiana, just thirty minutes from downtown New Orleans, using only licensed and insured captains, and now offering a seaplane ride to the fishing grounds of specks and reds (Chandelier Islands and Gosier Island). This is a guided Wade fishing charter for specks and reds on top-water bait!
CAM: Theophile, tell us how you got started, and give us a little history behind Bourgeois Charters.
Bourgeois: So 17 years ago….well, I’ll give you the beginning. When I decided to get into guide fishing, I got my guide’s license. I went shopping for my boat. I went to the boatyard and I was looking at some 24’ Predators, that had 200 Johnsons on ‘em, and I’m coming from a flat boat, you know. From that, moving to a 24’ bay boat, and I’m looking at that boat, looking at the size of that motor and I’m like “Man, I don’t know….” So I’m lookin’ lookin’ and they had this ol’ fat guy walking around it with me and he’s looking at it too. He’s got this little hat on, got this big ol’ cigar he’s puffin’ on. I walked away, then went back to it, thinking “How and the hell am I going to afford the gas on this big gas guzzler?” So I ask the fat guy “Man, you looking at this boat?’ He say’s “Yeah I think I’m gonna buy this boat.” I said, “ How much gas you think this boat’s gonna burn?” He’s chewing his cigar and he says, ‘Boy, when you can afford a boat like this, you don’t worry about gas!’ So this gave me a little different perspective. I didn’t have the money he had, I didn’t have a fat cigar, I was just trying to get the livelihood started. That was the beginning of scratching my head and saying “do I really want to do this?” I decided, I was going cold turkey. The only way you can get into it is you gotta go a 100%, you can’t go partial. So I made the investment for that boat. And man, so my note is $360/mo, and taxes and insurance and my bills, it’s almost $550/mo. Jesus, how do I afford that? Now I’ll give you the end of the story, 17 years later, now the thing is how are we gonna afford $300,000 a year. That’s our bills now—$300,000 just to stay in business. There’s been a lot of growth between then and now.”
CAM: Did all this start at home with your family or were you out on your own at the time?
Bourgeois: No, honestly, it started with the biggest change in my life. My Dad was always the type of person who’d always preach “Save your money, save your money.” He never would ever say “Go in business yourself. Take a chance. Grow some balls.” The game is, my Dad’s philosophy was work, save your money and enjoy yourself when you are older. My Dad died at 58, didn’t retire. So whenever he died I was like what do I have to lose. I’m going to give it a shot. So I got the boat. I started working on our family fishing camp. I built the Cajun Chalet in the marsh. What I was doing was guiding during the day, working at nighttime trying to make it a livable place for people from out-of-town to come stay. And now while I’m doing all this, everybody’s telling me, “No tourist is going to come on the bayou and come out and fish and be out here with these mosquitoes.” Well, I knew people do want to do that. And everybody that said it wasn’t going to work and have their own place now. It’s easy to be a follower, not a leader.
CAM: Tell us your first success story, the one that says I’m finally doing what I’d planned.
Bourgeois: Still waiting on that one. (Laughter). Honestly at the end of each year, when you’d tally up and you weren’t in the red, that was a personal achievement Being a turn-key facility is the way to go! When I go somewhere, I don’t want to have to bring this, bring that. I want show up and say: “I’m here. I’m hungry. Where do I eat? Where do I fish? Gimme a rod in my hand and I want to go fishin’!” When I go somewhere, that’s what I want to do. Be entertained. At Bourgeois Charters, that’s what we try to do. Like right now I’m boiling some crawfish, hangin’ out, gonna eat me some and enjoy it because life is short. My philosophy, especially since my Dad died is: You got to incorporate the little bit of time we are here with pleasure and work, but not turn that work into work. Work without love is slavery.
CAM: Tell me about the seaplane. Of course that’s something that no one else is doing.
Bourgeois: When I was 5 years old, my goal was, I’m going to be a game warden and I’m going to fly a seaplane. I’ve been flying seven years now for Bourgeois Charters. Right here we’re the center of the hub. From Chandeleur to Timbalier Islands, we’re dead center. Under half hour flight I can catch both islands. Under 50 miles I can catch anyone of the barrier islands from here.
Eileen Bourgeois (partner and wife): I see the need for another plane soon. The phone calls I’ve gotten from Bill Dance’s shows alone in the last three weeks, I’ve booked 40 different seaplane trips.
Bourgeois: My goal wasn’t, let’s get this place and buy a plane. It’s just, the opportunity was there for it to happen. From a marketing standpoint, that wasn’t in the game plan but I said let’s give it a shot.
Eileen: But it didn’t happen overnight. It was being pounded by hurricane after hurricane and still coming back stronger and stronger each time. Success ain’t easy! We work hard everyday to provide our customers the best that Louisiana has to offer. Great Food, Fun and Fishin’. And through it all great Friends!
Call today to book a once in a lifetime Louisiana fishing adventure with Bourgeois Charters, Lafitte La. For more information, call (405) 341-5614 or go to www.neworleansfishing.com. Catch Theophile and Bill Dance at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmkjrwJVSao
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