After a “Bassmaster LIVE” season in which he devoured a cicada at Kentucky Lake and executed a perfect “mike drop” before jumping in Lake St. Clair, it should surprise no one that B.A.S.S. emcee Dave Mercer goes swimming in the St. Lawrence River in order to land a carp (acarp?) during the season-opening episode of his Facts of Fishing TV show.
The ninth season’s opening episode features B.A.S.S. pro Gerald Swindle vs. Mercer in a mano a mano “Carp Master Classic.” The show was taped after last summer’s Bassmaster Elite Series tournament in Waddington, N.Y., which bills itself as the “World Carp Capital.”
See photos of the Carp Master Classic here.
“Every season we try to open with something new or unusual,” Mercer said. “This is the Carp Master Classic. How could it notbe the opening show?”
“Master” is a bit of a stretch when it comes to Mercer and Swindle and carp fishing. If you follow sportfishing in general, you’re aware that carp attract a serious and growing number of anglers from around the world.
“I’m sure the serious carp guys will know right off the bat that Swindle and me aren’t dedicated carp anglers,” Mercer said.
However, Mercer is serious about fishing, no matter what the species. And there was a serious, i.e. big, trophy awarded to the winner.
“It’s always amazed me how certain species of fish are looked down upon by some people,” Mercer said. “I’m not a proud man. I just want something to pull on my line.”
Mercer and Swindle definitely got their lines stretched while fishing from a bank on the St. Lawrence River in Waddington. They alternated landing 20-pound-plus carp from a series of rods placed by some serious local carp fishermen, Kevin and Frank Bateman, nicknamed “The Carp Brothers.”
You’ll have to watch the show to find out who took home the Carp Master Classic trophy. And you need to watch the show to see Mercer go swimming, landing net in hand, in order to retrieve a carp.
“The current in the river was a little quicker than I anticipated,” Mercer said.
There is, of course, a simple explanation for why Mercer would do such a thing.
“I’ll do anything when a camera is on me,” Mercer explained, as if anyone needed a reminder.
Facts of Fishing airs on The Outdoor Channel at 10:30 a.m. EST Tuesday, 12 p.m. Friday, 7:30 a.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday. In Canada, it airs on Sportsnet 360 Saturday and Sunday at 8 a.m.