Coast Guard safety inspection before season begins

The 2017 Rookie of the Year Dustin Connell.

On Sunday, before the Elites got together for a pre-season meeting, the Coast Guard offered up free boat safety checks-ups. In the photo above that’s 2017 Toyota Rookie of the Year Dustin Connell getting his boat checked. 

This is the eighth year in a row the Coast Guard has offered the pre-season safety check-ups for Bassmaster Elite Series anglers. A crew of Coast Guard Auxilarists descended on each boat to review federal and state regulations, including lights, horn, ventilation, life jackets, emergency signals, fire extinguisher and the condition of the vessel. 

If the angler’s boat passed inspection he got a “checked for safety” sticker. Which means they shouldn’t need to get checked again in 2018. “Unless they are doing something stupid,” said Chuck Truthan, who lead the inspections. Coast Guard Auxilarists from Districts 7, 8 Coastal, and 8 Eastern participated in the inspections.

“These Elite anglers are ambassadors for fishing and boating safety,” said Truthan. “They represent both extremely well.”

Paul Elias adds his inspection sticker.
2018 Elite Series rookie Hunter Shryock has his boat inspected.