Hobie Fishing World Championship is Coming to Louisiana
The 2016 Hobie Fishing World Championship presented by Rhino-Rack will be contested Lafourche Parish, La. in the legendary Leeville area, Dec. 4-10.
The traditional flats targets are on the catch-photo-release (CPR) menu: brawny red fish, speckled trout and flounder. The angler with the highest cumulative length over the three-day period will be crowned Hobie Fishing World Champion.
It was inevitable that Hobie’s fishing spectacular, where every one of the 50-some qualified anglers from around the globe is on identically and lavishly tricked-out Mirage Pro Angler 14s, would make its way to the skinny waters of the Gulf Coast. This is the sixth annual Hobie Worlds. A redfish has graced the top of the trophy since the very first one.
The location couldn’t be better. Leeville is hallowed water.
“There isn’t much there but fishing. There’s only Boudreaux’s Bait Shop and fishing,” says Hobie Fishing’s Keeton Eoff.
Local angler Chris Holmes is thrilled with the news. “It’s a chance to show off Louisiana’s great fishery. A chance to show off Louisiana hospitality,” he said, then came to the real payoff. “A lot of fish will be caught. There ought to be some really big bull reds, 40 to 50 inchers.”
Did you catch that, prospective international competitors from 20 countries or more? This rodeo offers Cajun sleigh rides… in fin-deep water.
Defending Hobie Fishing World Champion Ma Xiaohong of 2015 host nation China is up to the challenge.n Ma is one of a handful of anglers who have already punched a 2016 Hobie Fishing Worlds ticket. Anglers have to earn their way in through a gauntlet of qualifying events. As of publication, the USA and Canada have four still on offer. The same goes for Europe. Australia is already deep into the country’s qualifying series, with just one more to go.
United States team captain Benton Parrott is already in on the strength of winning the 2015 IFA Kayak Tour Championship, contested last October in Chalmette, not far from the Fishing Worlds site. He says fishing Louisiana has made his career.
Parrott is looking forward to meeting his teammates, the winners of the Jamaica Bay Kayak Fishing Classic (May 12-15), Hobie Bass Open (June 3-5), Border City Classic (June 25-26), and IFA Kayak Fishing Tour, Sarasota (Sept. 11).
Matt Petrie is Parrott’s Australian counterpart. As team captain, he’s already earned his way into the exclusive field. Petrie can’t wait to cast to a tailing redfish. He is well aware that the host nation has won four out of the past five Worlds – the exception was American angler Steve Lessard’s championship in Europe. Australia and the U.S. are knotted up 2-2 in championships. This will be Petrie’s fourth worlds. He’s coming with a game plan.
“It will be a little different to the finesse fishing we do on home waters, but with some tackle upgrading and working as a team, we are up to the challenge. The U.S. team members are in the box seat to take this title, but it wouldn’t surprise me if an Aussie can cause an upset win,” he says.
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