By Barb Elliott
When one thinks about being a Bassmaster Marshal, the first thing most people think about is the cash outlay. My first Marshal experience on Oneida years ago cost me $100. I would have to agree – that is a fair amount of cash to lay out. And yes, I have heard all the reasons for not spending that cash for an experience where one never wets a line all day.
I guess, before one spends that kind of money on an experience like that, one needs to examine what they want out of their fishing and where they want their fishing expertise to go. If you believe you are at the pinnacle of your fishing career, you have no room for improvement and don’t figure you can absorb anything more into your cranial vault, the Marshal experience is probably not for you.
On the other hand, if you think there could be room for improvement in your angling performance, the Marshal experience is worth every penny you shell out – and then some.
There are roughly a hundred chances to ride along on the first two days of each Elite event with a competitor that has qualified for the top echelon of fishing competition in this country. These individuals spend more hours on the water in a season that most of us get to experience in years. They are a wealth of resources and information. In all my Marshal experiences, there has never been an instance where I did not learn something valuable and informative that, in the end, had a positive effect on my fishing.
My first Marshal experience was on what I consider one of my home waters – Oneida Lake. I was a Marshal for Yusuke Miyazake, Cliff Pace (future Classic champion) and Stephen Browning. Day 1 with Yusuke ended up being a tutelage in power fishing techniques. Through the day, I was impressed with his techniques and learned a lot. At some point during the day, I asked him a question about drop shot/finesse techniques. He promptly informed me that just because he was Japanese, it did not mean he was an expert on finesse techniques – that he was a “power fisherman.” Make no mistake about it. I figured he had been queried many times about those finesse techniques, and it was just one of “those” questions people get asked over and over again and get tired of answering.
The next Marshal draw ended up being a day on the water with Cliff Pace, and I observed a lot of different techniques. The final day with Stephen Browning was another observation in productive techniques, most notably his jig fishing. I have never seen anyone with such cat-like, lightning-fast, hook-set reflexes. He would be standing on the deck fishing a jig and in less than an eye-blink, he would be in full-on pole bent/hookset mode. It was just an amazing thing to watch all day. I nicknamed him “Lightnin'” and it’s what I call him to this day.
Counting it all up, I paid for three 8-plus hour days, accounting for over 24 hours of personal, detailed instruction covering a wide variety of techniques, strategy approaches, and just plain pleasant conversation. This equates to just over $4 an hour.
Compare that to hiring a professional guide to the tune of $350 to $450 for a six to eight hour day, equating to about $43 to $58 an hour. Most people think nothing about paying a professional guide – you are paying a fair price for his knowledge of a particular body of water – but chances are you will only be exposed to a very limited number of “new” ideas/techniques. You are paying him to put you on fish that you use your own knowledge and skills to catch.
Looking at it another way, with regards to improving one’s personal knowledge, you are also getting the benefit of spending a full day on unfamiliar water without the cost of fuel and wear and tear on your boat. On a per hour basis, what would you consider the best deal? I know where my money is best spent.
On a slightly more humorous note, I got to marshal for Skeet Reese at one of the Waddington, N.Y., and St. Lawrence events a couple years back. Skeet had schooled me in an impressive day of jerk-baiting. He had taken me to some impressive Canadian water I had never seen before. He was fishing a beautiful, crystal-clear flat, about 4 feet deep – a perfectly beautiful smallmouth area. There were other tournaments occurring on the U.S. side of the river, and boats had been buzzing around all day, plus the usual spectators that gravitate to the Elite events. Skeet was in the middle of this clear water flat, with a deeper channel that bordered it. As he was fishing, a beautiful red bass boat came tooling down that channel at quite a clip, veered up on its side – banking to make the turn back out to the American side of the river.
As they banked into the turn, the two occupants started waving like crazy. Skeet politely waved in return and as they passed us by, the driver of the boat hollered very loudly, “Hello Barb!” I could not tell who it was, but I learned later it was a member of one of my bass clubs. Skeet had an audible sigh, dropped his head, shaking it back and forth – saying “Of course, they would want to say hello to Barb. Why would they want to say hello to me – why would they wanna do that?” He was of course smiling and chuckling the whole time he was verbally acknowledging the abuse to his ego. I did remind him that this was my home water and of course people around might know who I was. I had quite a chuckle at Skeet’s expense – his reaction was priceless.
Being a Marshal is full of unique experiences – not all funny, not all good, not all inspiring, but the majority are memorable and leave you with an expanded set of skills to add to your arsenal. It’s kind of like attending the Bassmaster Classic – something everyone should do at least once in their life. I can just about guarantee for most people, marshaling will not be a one-time thing.