4th Place – Senior Essay
Barry Brechtel, well-known and highly regarded fishing guide and part-owner of Breton Sound Marina in Hopedale, died early Tuesday morning, Nov. 25, when his pickup truck slammed a utility pole on the Florissant Highway in lower St. Bernard Parish.
Brechtel was returning to the marina from the Saints Monday Night Football game in the Superdome when the accident occurred. No one else was in the vehicle.
Brechtel was in partnership in the Breton Sound Marina with Glenn Sanchez, and he was in partnership with Capt. C.T. Williams in the Bigfish Charter Service. He and Williams also hosted two weekly fishing shows, The BigFish on WDSU-TV and Louisiana Wildlife, a statewide and national TV broadcast.
Brechtel was actively involved with promoting the interests of recreational fishermen and well known for his outgoing personality, friendliness and willingness to share information and advise anglers where to find fish.
When Katrina destroyed the marina in 2005, Brechtel and Sanchez rebuilt. Destroyed again by this year’s duo of hurricanes, they rebuilt again.
“Not too many people actually get to live their lives doing what they loved, but Barry did,” Sanchez said.
Brechtel’s death is a tragic loss to his wife, Pam, their three children, his family and many friends and the entire fishing community.
The Louisiana Sportsman staff extends its deepest condolences to the Brechtel family.
