Ehrler: New kid on the block

Though I’ve “switched to B.A.S.S.,” my job description has not changed. My job is still to find fish and catch fish.

My first Bassmaster Elite Series event is in the books, and though I wish I had finished a little better for my first one, it’s complete and I can now say I have truly been initiated into the Elites.

Being a rookie on the Elite Series and a “new kid on the block” you might say, I’ve been asked plenty of questions the last few weeks, and you can probably guess what some of these have been:

What’s it like to fish the Elites?
Is it different since you switched to B.A.S.S.?
Are the Elites different?
Were you nervous?
What’s it like to fish against KVD and Ike and Skeet?

First of all, though I’ve “switched to B.A.S.S.,” my job description has not changed. My job is still to find fish and catch fish. And if I don’t find fish and don’t catch fish, I don’t get paid, simple as that; like what happened at the Sabine. If I had turned in that kind of performance in any other tournament, I wouldn’t have gotten paid, either. So in terms of my job duties on the water, it’s the same.

For that reason, I was not nervous. I’ve fished tournaments professionally for nine years now. The nuts and bolts of what I do during practice and the tournament hours are the same. I understand what I must do and the challenges I face to put fish in the boat.

I have fished against Ike and KVD and Skeet before in other events – that is not new to me. But to be honest, when you ride through a bayou and see Ike, Skeet, KVD and Aaron, you do kind of think to yourself, “Well, what’s the point in fishing there?” So I’m not going to lie, seeing that much fishing talent balled up in one place is not something I take lightly; believe me, I have a healthy respect for those guys.

All that being said, after my first Elite event was over, I did have some things that stuck out as being different.

As I just pointed out, in my job I understand the challenges I face during the week to put fish in the boat. The biggest different at the Elites is that I was surrounded all week by people who seemed to understand and respect the weight of those challenges as well.

From the very first tournament meeting I attended on Sunday before practice started, there was a sense of purpose and direction with the B.A.S.S. staff and volunteers. I never once, all week, was left wondering, “Well, I’m here. Now what do I do?”

There was no standing around waiting on anything. I was told where to go, what to do and where to go when that was complete. Every single step had been thought out and tested for the sake of efficiency for the anglers.

We had to bring our trucks and boats to that first meeting for photos and decal placement. Honestly, I figured that process would take forever with 113 boats. Well, I was in and out of there before I even knew it.

And that’s the way it was the rest of the week. Whether I was at the registration meeting, at the service yard or putting my boat in in the mornings, it was all done with hustle, purpose, direction and efficiency. It made me realize that everyone there had a respect for my time and the job I was there to do. It was all business and I appreciated that for sure.

In the mornings, I didn’t have to field calls from my co-angler telling me he was running 15 minutes late, then 30 minutes late or that he needed to be picked up from his hotel 20 miles out of the way. As I came through line each day, my marshal was waiting on me – not telling me I needed to pull over to his truck so we could load up his tackle. My marshal simply jumped in my boat and we were off. I was even handed breakfast and a cup of coffee as I came through line! The other stunning thing about takeoff was the number of people who got up so early to come see us. So there I was in the middle of a fast, efficient launching process, a marshal at the ready, hand-delivered breakfast and coffee, a huge crowd on hand watching – I didn’t even know how to behave!

For the last few years, I have heard how big the crowds are at Elites Series events. And it’s true: The crowds are huge. But what really floored me about the crowds – both in the morning and at the weigh-in – was how engaged they were as true fishing fans. It’s not like the crowds were there looking at us, wondering who us guys in the jerseys were holding bags of fish. When Ike or KVD or Skeet got on stage, those people went nuts – the crowd knows who those guys are and they came to see them. On that note, each angler gets quality time on stage with Mercer. Mercer knows the backgrounds of every angler that comes across the stage, and he engages us in a way that entertains the crowd. When you have that many engaged fans watching weigh-in, actually listening to a meaningful conversation about our fishing day or fishing lives, it is fertile ground for a rookie like me to gain a lot of new fans quickly. Now I need to get busy doing my job catching bass to give those new fans something to cheer for.