By Myles Midgley
My first experience as a Marshal was on the St. Johns River. The fish were spawning, and it seemed like everyone in the field was fishing in sight of each other on Lake George in an area loaded with beds. On the fourth day of the tournament, I was paired with Jordan Lee. It was the first time he had made a Top 12 in his young fishing career.
We headed over to Lake George and fished in the same general areas I had seen on the first three days with the other anglers. But by Sunday, the fish had moved on. With about an hour left in the day, Lee had just three keepers. We headed back to the weigh-in site and stopped to fish some boat docks near the check-in.
This is the part that was most memorable to me: Lee kept his focus and wasn’t going to give up. He made right-hand casts, left-hand casts, underhand casts, skipped his lures way up under the docks. He never missed his spot. Almost like a machine. He caught two nice 4-pounders in the final 20 minutes, ending up with a very respectable bag and a nice finish to the tournament.
I also had the opportunity to serve as a Marshal for Seth Feider on Bull Shoals Lake. The fish were on the beds and Feider had marked several fish during practice. About midday, we pulled into a cove and Feider spotted one of his marked fish – about a 3.5-pounder. He made 20-30 casts to it and eventually it bit. He got it about halfway back to the boat and it jumped and spit the hook. Feider was disappointed – this would have been his biggest fish of the day so far.
He continued into the back of the cove and about 15 minutes later returned back to the bed. The fish was back. He fished for it another 15 minutes or so and again got it to strike. This time he got it in the boat. But, the fish had been hooked outside the mouth, and Seth had to release the fish. More disappointment.
Feider then went to the opposite bank and fished it thoroughly picking up a small keeper. He returned to the bed for a third time. And his fish was back again. This time the fish hit very quickly – after maybe five to 10 casts. Feider had it in the boat and this time the hook was inside the mouth.
As a Marshal, this back-and-forth was enjoyable to watch and made me feel good about the integrity of the B.A.S.S. competitors. When Feider caught the fish the second time, he immediately noted that the fish was hooked outside the mouth. He had no hesitation about following the rules and returning the fish immediately.