As I drove the 712 mile trek from Tulsa to my home in Alabama on Monday it gave me time to reflect on what we can do better and also time to craft this blog in my mind.
I will preface all of my remarks to say in 2013 we had a 100 percent live release back into Grand Lake O’ The Cherokees of the bass weighed in at the BOK Arena. That is as high as you can set the bar, and thankfully we reached that same mark at this year’s Bassmaster Classic.
But that does not help the fact that I had a trainwreck with one of the five beauties Edwin Evers brought to the scales in his 29-3 sack. Knowing what BASSTrakk and the blogs had reported and what our folks had told us, Dave Mercer and I knew we had a potential “Classic Moment” (no pun intended) in front of us. We had decided early on if things played out like predicted, we wanted to make sure and capture that moment by holding all five of Edwin’s fish up for a quick photo before they headed to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation truck. Most bass anglers have had those moments where the big one slipped away. That was a similar moment for yours truly.
It was in that quick second in time I let THAT bass leap from the scales onto the stage floor.
If you watched, Edwin had to retrieve THAT bass back to the scales.
Thank you, Edwin for your quick response.
And for the trainwreck that occurred in that special moment, I apologize to THAT bass.
Most who know me are aware that I am a tournament junkie. When not on the road working B.A.S.S. events, I am home fishing local tournaments in central Alabama. Like many of you, I am “eaten up with fishing.” I go to great lengths to take care of the bass I catch and the bass in my 2 1/2 acre pond behind my house. When something goes awry, I feel bad. As I sometimes tell the anglers in tournament briefings when asked certain competitive rules questions, “the fish stand a chance too.”
We take great pride in our fish care starting with our mesh bag system for all regular season events to our mantra of “weigh first, talk later.” What does that mean? Our rule of thumb is to get the weights ASAP, a quick photo if deserving, then back to the water for release. We know the clock is ticking and the talking can wait.
As for this year’s Classic fish care I want to say thanks to the following in the order it occurs.
- The anglers for taking special care of their catch.
- The great boat manufacturers which build state-of-the-art livewells.
- Our tournament staff at the lake which ensure bass are divided into both livewells with aerators on manual.
- B.A.S.S. Conservation Director Gene Gilliland and the B.A.S.S. Nation Conservation reps that help get the bass from the stage in soft containers to the truck rapidly.
- And finally the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation for getting the bass back to Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees.
To close, please know we have talked about our stage configuration and what we can do better where fish care is concerned. I have my thoughts in mind, as do others, to share with our groups.
And to THAT bass, I am sorry for the blunder. I hope you are alive and well for some other angler to get the thrill of catching you, or you are simply relaxing fat and happy in Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees.
Good fishing!!!!