L_S_2015_04_

(Jeff_L) #1

http://www.LouisianaSportsman.com April 2015 | Louisiana Sportsman 109


I knew Capt. Kenny Heikamp was pretty
good. I watched him work while fishing
on a shared charter when I was with the
near-legendary Grand Isle charter skipper
Bobby Terrebonne.
I asked Heikamp after the trip about
doing a story on his specialty: mangrove
snapper fishing.
The owner of Bentrod Fishing Charters
(985-817-0117) was agreeable, but asked
to put it off a year. He explained that he

wanted to “round up a crew of people
who know what they are doing.”
He wanted to show what could be done
with these hard-fighting but spooky and
finicky fish.
I realized how serious he was when he
laid aside a weekend at the peak of the
season; good-weather weekends are
a dear commodity for offshore charter
fishermen.
Joining Heikamp were six anglers:
50-year-old Richard and 22-year-old
Trey Waller, a father-son team from Prai-
rieville; 50-year-old Stanley Turner from
Covington; 49-year-old Darryl Lopez of
Mandeville; 47-year-old Rene Deshotel of
Metairie; and 25-year-old Brady Mouton of
Lafayette, who also doubles as Heikamp’s
regular deck hand.
The boat was crowded.
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