The Tickfaw 200 Rolls Again

On a good day, the bayou waters traveled during the three-day Tickfaw 200 Poker Run based out of Blood River Landing in Springfield, La., are a coppery-rust color. On a not-as-good day—because there’s never really a bad day of boating on the bayou—they look like chocolate milk that’s been in the sun too long.

As always, the Tickfaw 200 Poker Run attracted a healthy fleet of Sunsation Boats models. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

Regardless, the event and the good times that come with it roll on as they did this weekend.

Boat counts are elusive at the annual event because the only tally is that of the card hands sold at Crazy Charlie’s Fun House on the Blood River Landing property. This time around, participants purchased more than 200 hands. Based on guesstimates from locals and out-of-state visitors, 100 to 200 powerboats, most of the high-performance kind, were involved in the weekend happening.

A ghost from the past, this immaculate verison of Reggie Fountain’s offshore race-winning 47-footer was in the mix.

Stops for the run included Blind River Bar in Maurepas, where Dustin Clouatre and his partners once again combined with Speedonthewater.com for a Saturday party. More than 200 boats filled the venue yesterday.

Taking a quick break from the offshore powerboat racing world, Bill Pyburn and his fiancé, Fallon Thibodeaux, who is from the area, joined the Saturday festivities in their MTI-V 50 center console.

Enjoy more images from this weekend’s event in the slideshow above.

“It was a huge turnout,” said Pyburn, who throttles for the Super Cat-class Dirty Money and Pro Class 1 XINSURANCE South teams and has a “camp,” which translates to a lovely second home, on the shores of the Tickfaw River. “Dustin and his crew knocked it out of the park.”

Inspired by a recent speedonthewater.com article, Craig and Patti Mears and company had special shirts made for the event.

Pyburn estimated that he has participated 14 times in the annual event. Based on his substantial experience, he believes the Tickfaw 200 is on the upswing.

“The crowd seemed to be getting back to what it was prior to COVID,” he said. “It was a good time.”