Events like this remind me how long I've been doing this. Some of this memories make me chuckle a bit.
For instance the last time I was on Chesapeake Bay was in 1991 for the Bassmaster Classic.
We took off not too far from where Aaron Martens caught his Day One leading stringer. But Martens will have an easier time getting here than we did 24 years ago getting anywhere.
I can remember being with Mark Davis, who actually had a chance to win that event. We took off in a 17-foot Ranger and a 150-horse motor. The same for every one in the tournament.
When we went out on the bay, we ran a long long ways across the bay to a series of creeks. I remember getting to the middle of the bay and looking around and not seeing land in any direction.
My job was to keep an eye on the compass as we traveled across what looked like the Atlantic Ocean. There was no such thing as electronic GPS, no good maps, so we trusted magnetic north and our instincts more than anything.
We've got it much better today. No one would make the same kind of trip Aaron will make today because it was too far. We have electronics, big motors and all the things that make fishing easier.
But I miss the days when some of those more basic skills were an important part of an adventure.