100 days as a Bassmaster Marshal

Brian Drake estimates he has served as an Elite Series marshal for more than 25 tournaments, racking up more than 100 days on the water.

During the past seven years, it’s hard to imagine anyone has learned more about bass fishing without ever making a cast than Brian Drake.

With a list of teachers that included Bassmaster Elite Series pros like Greg Hackney, Kevin VanDam, Edwin Evers and Aaron Martens, he’s picked up tips that were only available to someone who was sitting in the boat with the superstars while they fished for big money.

Drake estimates he has served as an Elite Series marshal for more than 25 tournaments, racking up more than 100 days on the water – and at age 69, he has no intention of slowing down anytime soon.

“I worked in an office my whole life,” said Drake, an Illinois native who now lives in Lakeview, Ark. “I love the outdoors, and I never got an opportunity to enjoy it while I was working, except on the weekends. So when I retired, I thought ‘What better way to learn about the sport?’”

B.A.S.S. began its marshal program for the Elite Series in 2008, replacing co-anglers with registered observers who don’t actually fish. The marshals pay $125 per tournament to participate in the program, and they’re paired with a different angler each day by random draw.

Drake pounced on the opportunity shortly after the program’s inception, and he’s been such a regular fixture in the role since then that he’s known by B.A.S.S. tournament officials as a “super marshal.” Just this year, he’s worked tournaments on the Sabine River in Texas, Lake Guntersville in Alabama, Lake Havasu in Arizona and Kentucky Lake in Tennessee.

He’s planning at least two more trips to New York’s St. Lawrence River and to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.

“Some people say I shouldn’t be paying to do this, B.A.S.S. should be paying me,” Drake said. “But in my mind, there’s no better way to learn. Even though I’m old, I still want to learn something every day.”

While some anglers are more talkative than others during tournament hours, Drake said he’s had some of the best one-on-one seminars an angler could have.

“I probably learned as much from Greg Hackney as I’ve learned from anyone,” Drake said. “I’ve been paired with him four times, and if you’re with him four times and you don’t learn anything, shame on you.

“He takes the time to explain what he’s doing and why he’s doing it. Kevin Van Dam’s the same way. Edwin Evers was another great one.”

Drake admits marshaling is not always easy.

The travel can be a grind, but he often has Geri, his wife of 40 years, along for company. Bad weather is another thing that sometimes comes with the gig.

He said it’s also tough sitting in a boat without fishing.

“That’s the toughest part,” Drake said, laughing. “You have to go in with the right attitude, and my attitude is to try to learn something every day. I also get to go to places I probably wouldn’t go on my own, and I get to spend some time on the water with some really great guys.

“I don’t remember a time – outside of the weather being bad – when I actually had a bad day.”

Drake said he plans to continue traveling the country as an Elite Series marshal as long as he’s able, and he encourages young anglers to take advantage of the experience.

“It’s great, especially for the young kids who have an interest in tournament fishing or just an interest in improving their fishing skills,” Drake said. “I think it’s the best thing they’ve ever done for bass fishing, and I hope they keep doing it.”

Editor’s note: Marshal slots are still available for the final regular-season Elite Series event of the year, scheduled for Aug. 27-30 on Lake St. Clair in Detroit, Mich. For more information, click here.