Brees finishes up the night with (go figure) nine fish
With Drew Brees and several New Orleans Saints quarterbacks on board his boat for a bow-fishing trip late Monday evening, Capt. Jeremy Roussel ended up needing to pull off a little fourth quarter magic of his own.
Roussel, who owns Bowfishing Unlimited out of Port Sulphur, battled a steady wind all night long that made finding fish difficult for the MVP of Super Bowl XLIV and his teammates.
“The wind blew pretty hard and we were fishing in dirty water. It was probably blowing 15 to 20 (mph) that night,” Roussel said. “By about 2:30 Tuesday morning, we only had three fish. It wasn’t looking real good, but we weren’t giving up.
“With all the wind, I was like, ‘Man, if I can’t come through for Drew…’ There was a lot of pressure on me. I knew I couldn’t have three sheepshead laying in front of Drew Brees when we took the picture.”
So in true Brees come-from-behind fashion, after putting more than 50 miles on his boat, Roussel pulled out the “W” with only a few ticks remaining on the clock.
“We ran all over and finally, at the last spot, we found some grassy ponds with clear water and it just turned on,” he said. “They loved it. They were like little kids out there.”
Roussel said it was great being with the whole group, which included Luke McCown, Logan Kilgore and Ryan Griffin.
The players enjoyed the competition, and Roussel said it didn’t take long for Brees to find his mark with the bow.
“That was his first time. I think it was everybody’s first time,” he said. “He picked up on it quick. After his second or third shot, he already hit his first fish.”
The boat didn’t return to Roussel’s lodge on Happy Jack Canal until after 5 a.m.
“Once they got into it, Drew’s attitude was, ‘We’re not leaving until we fill the box,’” he said. “He’s such a laid-back guy. He was so down-to-earth, a great guy to be around.
“When someone would shoot a fish, Drew would get on his hands and knees every time to open the ice chest in the floor of the boat. We have regular customers who expect more catering than that. He was having a blast getting down and dirty with it.”
And Brees apparently brought along some Saints karma on the trip.
“I believe Drew shot nine fish, which is kind of weird with his number being nine and all,” Roussel said.
