FLORENCE, Ala. – The chaos began building as violent thunderstorms rolled into northwest Alabama Wednesday morning. It reached a crescendo about 3:30 p.m., during the final hours of the third and final practice day for the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Pickwick Lake.
Julia Kennedy was in their camper with her two children, while her husband, Steve, was still on Pickwick Lake. A TORCON (tornado condition index) of 7 had been issued, and the local tornado warning sirens were blaring. Julia calls it an angel number when a digital clock reads identical numerals, like 3:33 p.m. That’s when she texted Steve that she would have his boat trailer in the water at the boat ramp in short order.
At 3:40, Julia was there, and Steve wasn’t. “I was filing for divorce on-line,” Julia said Thursday morning, with only a hint of a smile.
“I don’t know about divorce, but funeral services for sure,” Steve laughed.
It’s emotionally uplifting to joke about living to fish another day after you’ve survived life-threatening weather conditions. But there was nothing to joke about at the time. Julia was trying to stay calm in front of their kids. Meanwhile, their son, S.J., was wearing a bicycle crash helmet and a life jacket inside the camper. Steve practically had his BassCat on plane when he hit the trailer at 3:41.
Thursday dawned with more chaos. The first day of the tournament was postponed when the combination of high water, strong current and high winds blowing in the opposite direction of the current made it unsafe to send 100 Bassmaster Elite Series anglers out on Pickwick Lake. Then it was announced that the McFarland Park and Recreation Area campground was being evacuated due to the water rising rapidly through the Tennessee River system. The campground was packed with Elite Series anglers. They were suddenly tournament-less and homeless – nomads.
As he can do so well, Gerald Swindle put the whole scenario in perspective.
“I don’t think we need to be upset over things we can’t control,” he said. “I think BASS made a good call. Some people ain’t going to be happy. But you can’t always listen to fishermen. Yesterday there was an F7 TORCON warning and the alarms were going off and there was still 20 rigs in the parking lot of guys out there fishing.
“So how smart are we? I don’t think we have any input anymore. That washed out all validity of what anglers can fuss about. If someone were to wreck this morning on the debris, they’re going to wreck flying. And when they hit that current, if somebody behind them isn’t experienced in rescuing them, you’re probably not going to be able to get them out. If they wreck in that narrow spot, and it washes them under those blowdowns, we lose somebody. I don’t think it was worth risking that.
“I get it. I know why some guys still wanted to fish. I’ll put my big boy britches on and run down there. But as an organization, we’re supposed to be the leader in conservation and common sense. So we lead by example, even if it’s uncomfortable. Now that we’re seeing what’s developing – the campground fixing to flood – we need to keep everything in perspective. There are people around here without power and without homes. We’re still lucky. We’re just going to have to move.”
Lots of questions remained to be answered as the anglers were on their phones, looking for new locations for their campers, and preparing to leave McFarland Park. But the reality of the storms that swept through here Tuesday – both during the day and into the night – was apparent: You can’t fish here, and you can’t stay here. Embrace the suck, as they say in the Marines. Deal with it.
For more photos from the Elites campground evacuation, click here.