I can ditto much of what you wrote. This was my first time as a Marshall and though I have past experience as a deputy, I hadn’t been that fast in anything since then. One thing all three anglers and some Marshalls asked was how I handle a restroom issue. Basically, I make sure I don’t need to. I just hydrate really well at the end of the day.
I drew Casey Scanlon (Rookie) the first day and we were boat #19, making the run across the lake south of Chauncey Bay. Now I haven’t traveled much of the lake, so a lot of the time, I really wasn’t sure where I was, but I can find my way back there. The wind was gusting and the waves made it a pretty rough ride, but I’ll say he wasn’t reckless. I was thankful of the two hand holds on the Nitro, though the foot rests were a little too far away, so my feet kept bouncing off the floor. I found out the boat we were in was a loaner, as he was in a boat accident the day before when an aluminum boat made a 90 degree turn in front of him on the river. He said he’d taken what evasive action he could, but still went over the back of the boat. There was major damage to his boat, but at least the other boaters weren’t seriously hurt and admitted to FWC that it was their fault.
The first spot had fish busting here and there and he had a lot of fish striking his spinner bait, but not really loading up on it. He also threw a Big EZ, which had many hits, but it seemed they weren’t getting it well enough for a good hook set. I learned that Florida is where some pros just want to survive until they can get to more familiar lakes up north. I know I would like to hit that area when I go down there again. The second spot was back across the lake to the west side. Again, I apologize about not being certain where exactly we went, but he filled his limit there. We had fish all around us.
He didn’t have the back seat up, so I was sitting in the passenger seat, and I looked over to see a bass’s tail fin the size of my hand, under a mat of grass right next to the boat. You can’t say anything or assist in any way, so I ignored the at least 5+ lber and watched how Casey was working the area. (I had on a buff which covered my face for sun protection, Costas, and big floppy shade hat, so I knew he couldn’t see the expression on my face when I saw the size of her.) He eventually cast the bait by her, she busted on it and just took the tail end off the Big EZ. Inside, I was feeling disappointment for him and could just feel his frustration, as he was trying to figure what it was these fish were wanting. He ended up with approximately 9 lbs that day, 21.9 for the two days. But I was very impressed with his seriousness and professionalism about the sport. I am definitely keeping an eye on how he does this year. I’m thinking he will do VERY well indeed.
The next day, I was with Brandon Card (Rookie), and this time, I rode in a Triton. There wasn’t a second handle for my right hand, but I found a small space between the cooler lid, between the seats. It was juuusst enough room for 3 fingers to fit. That was a good thing, because we passed two other boats on the morning run, to what I “think” is Monkey Box. We caught some hang time with the prop roaring when we busted over some wakes. At the first stop he was flipping the thick mats of hyacinth, lily pad mix with a black/blue creature bait from Jethro. It seemed like just a couple casts and he winching up a 5+ lber in the boat. Then just a couple mats down, he loaded up again with what ended up being a near 6 lber. This one he nearly lost at the boat! He was trying to get hold of her and she was so covered in vegetation, he was getting it, not her. The hook came out as he snatched her up and into the boat. I told him he had the reflexes of a snake! With just two fish he doubled what his previous day’s weight was. He pitched for a couple hours without boating another then we moved to some reeds. There he boated 3 more rather quickly and started culling. He improved enough to make the cut for Saturday. The second spot was so shallow, I had to position myself to the deck (with feet still on the floor) until he could get on plane. I saw several other Marshalls doing the same. The run back was very fast and smooth and if I could have pried my right fingers loose from the death grip I had on the cooler lid, I would have loved to get a photo of Michael Iaconelli’s boat blasting along right next to us. Again a very professional young man and I’ll be putting him on my Fantasy Fishing Team.
The third day, I was paired with J. Todd Tucker and rode in a Phoenix. I was hoping to get that chance because we are looking at purchasing one of those in the future. He made a long run south and stopped where some birds were at, and had his limit by 8:35. The next stop was Cochran’s Pass where it looked like the majority of the field was there. I saw KVD pitching to reeds and shaking his head. So he apparently hadn’t caught that 8 lber yet. Tucker was pitching into some reeds and had a giant of a bass load up on him, wrapping itself up in the reeds, and then coming off. The bass was no less than 8 lbs, possibly bigger. It had bent the hook on that big jig! I was in disbelief and disappointed for him. He upgraded throughout the day, not enough for the cut, but still in the money. I tried to send BASS some photos I'd taken of him catching fish and boating them, but had no service. Saturday and Sunday are the only days you can use a smart phone to text or send photos to Trip or Chuck of BASS. Other than that your phone is off and put away.
I did notice a difference in fishing styles. Scanlon and Card didn’t throw towards any fish that were breaking surface and Tucker would. He used all his senses to locate fish, not just casting towards likely locations. He’d seen the reeds moving where the big fish was at, pitched to her, hooked her up, but being that’s its Fishing not Catching, she got enough leverage around the reeds to get off.
All in all, it was an experience I was glad to take part in. I was able to visit with Shaw Grigsby, get my hat signed by several and made some new friends.
