Photos: Pick 3 Day at Fed Nation Championship

B.A.S.S. writer Don Barone picks three boat numbers at random and tracks down those three Federation Nation Championship contenders to tell their story.

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So....I cut up a sheet of paper into 56 pieces and on each piece I write a number...
So….I cut up a sheet of paper into 56 pieces and on each piece I write a number…
...then I put the number in a baggy thing and bring it downstairs in the hotel to...
…then I put the number in a baggy thing and bring it downstairs in the hotel to…
...B.A.S.S. employee Emily Hand and tell her to pick three slips of paper and...
…B.A.S.S. employee Emily Hand and tell her to pick three slips of paper and…
...show me the number on the paper...
…show me the number on the paper…
...then I get in the rental car and hustle down to the boatyard looking for that number and I find it...
…then I get in the rental car and hustle down to the boatyard looking for that number and I find it…
...and the dude sitting in it....
…and the dude sitting in it….
Jeremy Pridgen.
Jeremy Pridgen.
Now while I'm interviewing #48, I take extraordinary steps to ensure the safety and chain of evidence of the second slip of paper...
Now while I’m interviewing #48, I take extraordinary steps to ensure the safety and chain of evidence of the second slip of paper…
...#32...
…#32…
and the dude in that boat...Brent Boyette.
and the dude in that boat…Brent Boyette.
Brent is a North Carolina farmer who worries...
Brent is a North Carolina farmer who worries…
...about whether he will be able to pass the family farm on to his children as his
…about whether he will be able to pass the family farm on to his children as his “Daddy did for me, and his daddy did for him.”
And finally, #56...
And finally, #56…
...Tony Choe...
…Tony Choe…
...an angler from the Paralyzed Veterans of America tour...
…an angler from the Paralyzed Veterans of America tour…
...but the story of his injury...
…but the story of his injury…
...a life changing injury to a vibrant soccer/tennis playing dude...
…a life changing injury to a vibrant soccer/tennis playing dude…
...that keeps him confined to a wheelchair...will not make you very happy.
…that keeps him confined to a wheelchair…will not make you very happy.