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Ralph Dupuy of Groves hoists the winner’s trophy after taking the top spot in the 2022 Big Bass Splash on Sam Rayburn. Dupuy is the first two-time winner amateur fishing’s oldest big bass event. He also won the tournament in 2018.
Some fairy tale fishing stories have unfolded during the long history of the Sam Rayburn Big Bass Splash hosted by Sealy Outdoors. Ralph Dupuy’s recent encounter with double-digit lunker is solid proof that lightning can indeed strike in the same place twice.
On April 24, Dupuy was crowned the winner of the 38th annual amateur only fishing derby that drew 2,900 contestants and awarded more than $550,000 in cash and prizes to lucky anglers who reeled in the big ones.
Dupuy, a 38-year-old refinery construction worker from Groves, weighed in an 11.10-pound largemouth on the second morning of the three-day event. The fish put him at the top of the leaderboard in the overall standings for good.
He earned a grand prize package including a fully rigged Phoenix bass boat, a RAM truck, $10,000 cash, plus an additional $5,000 in hourly money for weighing in the biggest fish of the bonus hour. The total value, around $120,000.
“It was unbelievable,” Dupuy said. Indeed, it was. Dupuy’s 2022 Big Bass Splash title isn’t his first. The father of four also won the 2018 event on ‘Rayburn with a 12.05 whopper he caught on a Zoom Brush Hog in 18 feet of water.
He is the first angler to win the popular big bass derby twice. He won the recent Sealy event fishing from the Triton bass boat he won in 2018.
Dupuy, who claims he fishes the lake just about every weekend, took a shallower approach this year. He was fishing with his uncle, Bryant Rodriguez, when he made a casual cast into five feet of water that produced an extraordinary fish. His bait of choice was a black/blue V&M Chopstick, a soft stick bait.
“It was about 6:10 a.m. on our first stop of the morning, just beginning to crack daylight,” he recalled. “We were fishing around some hydrilla along a random shoreline at mid-lake. It was maybe my sixth cast of the morning when I caught her. I still can’t believe it.”
Tournament director Bob Sealy said he’s seen some some bizarre things unfold in amateur fishing’s oldest big bass event, but Dupuy’s accomplishment is a first.
He’s won two trucks, two boats and cash totaling nearly a quarter million dollars — not bad for two fish a few days on the water,” Sealy said.
While Dupuy took home the tournament’s biggest prize, he wasn’t the only angler to find big bass gold on Sam Rayburn during the April 22-24 derby.
Rounding out the Top 5 overall winners were:
Ocey Johnson, Cleveland, 9.95, $20,000; Bobby Amidon, Leander, 9.65, $15,000; Joshua Talley, Shongalou, LA., 9.40, $10,000; and James Anthony, 9.29, $5,000.
The fishermen weren’t the only winners. Tournament director Bob Sealy said $14,000 from the charity event was donated to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.
Sealy also noted the upcoming Toledo Bend Big Splash set for May 21-23 out of Cypress Bend Marina. The tournament will award $500,000 in cash and prizes, including nearly $251,000 in hourly cash for the 15 heaviest single fish weighed in each hour.
Entry fee is $165 for one day; $215 for two days; or $265 for three days. Anglers can register in advance or find more information at sealyoutdoors.com.