db: Back to B.A.S.S.

I’m baaack at the Bassmaster…

…Elite Series tournaments…

…back with my roommates, Shaw Grigsby and Paul Elias, back after missing the first 3 Elite events due to a busted up knee…

<p>...and this is the exact first picture I take, photo #1 of my 6th season of covering the Bassmaster Elite tour, this year starting at West Point Lake in LaGrange, GA, and the photo is of Cliff Pace, good friend and the 2013 Bassmaster Classic champion...</p>

…and this is the exact first picture I take, photo #1 of my 6th season of covering the Bassmaster Elite tour, this year starting at West Point Lake in LaGrange, GA, and the photo is of Cliff Pace, good friend and the 2013 Bassmaster Classic champion…

<p>...I wanted my first story back to be about Cliff, called the story, "A Change of Pace." You see that lunchpail on the deck of his boat...it's a vintage working stiff lunchpail and throughout the year I will do stories about the working stiffs I meet on the tour and at the end of the year I will present that lunchpail to whom I think epitomizes the working stiff work ethic...and my buddy Cliff is way up there in the running to win it.</p>

…I wanted my first story back to be about Cliff, called the story, “A Change of Pace.” You see that lunchpail on the deck of his boat…it’s a vintage working stiff lunchpail and throughout the year I will do stories about the working stiffs I meet on the tour and at the end of the year I will present that lunchpail to whom I think epitomizes the working stiff work ethic…and my buddy Cliff is way up there in the running to win it.

<p>And then I met this young man, 21 year old Mike Jacobs. The story I wrote is called, "<a href=

And then I met this young man, 21 year old Mike Jacobs. The story I wrote is called, “The Strength of Mike Jacobs,” and it flat out broke my heart…

<p>...Mike is battling a very rare form of colon cancer, tough survival rate stuff, but on this weekend he was just another kid looking for autographs. B.A.S.S. invited Mike to be their special guest at the tourney and gave him great backstage access where...</p>

…Mike is battling a very rare form of colon cancer, tough survival rate stuff, but on this weekend he was just another kid looking for autographs. B.A.S.S. invited Mike to be their special guest at the tourney and gave him great backstage access where…

…he met this young man…28 year old Elite angler Fletcher Shryock…

<p>...who did one of the most extraordinary gestures I've ever seen in sports, not only did Fletcher take Mike fishing...but he also let Mike drive his Elite Bass boat to the fishing hole. Cheers to you Fletcher for your heart, your compassion but mostly for... </p>

…who did one of the most extraordinary gestures I’ve ever seen in sports, not only did Fletcher take Mike fishing…but he also let Mike drive his Elite Bass boat to the fishing hole. Cheers to you Fletcher for your heart, your compassion but mostly for…

…the smile on Mike’s face.

A personal moment here…you see that Elite dude…that’s…

<p>...the Cajun Baby, Cliff Crochet...you see that look on his face...deep in thought, I'm sure about weighing in, BUT, maybe deep in thought over one other thing like...</p>

…the Cajun Baby, Cliff Crochet…you see that look on his face…deep in thought, I’m sure about weighing in, BUT, maybe deep in thought over one other thing like…

<p>...asking the lady waiting for him on shore, Sara Theroit, seen here kneeling with a young family friend, asking Sara to MARRY him. Sara said yes...congrats to you both...and Cliff my good friend, you just landed the best catch of your life.</p>

…asking the lady waiting for him on shore, Sara Theroit, seen here kneeling with a young family friend, asking Sara to MARRY him. Sara said yes…congrats to you both…and Cliff my good friend, you just landed the best catch of your life.

$<p>So my first tournament back, and the Red Blob still follows me, took out this Livingston Lures tent, but my knee, which has a couple of stress fractures in it, is in a huge brace and I have to use a cane to get around, but....</p>$

So my first tournament back, and the Red Blob still follows me, took out this Livingston Lures tent, but my knee, which has a couple of stress fractures in it, is in a huge brace and I have to use a cane to get around, but….

…I soon found out…canes ain’t made for mud…they just sort of stick there…but THANK YOU GEORGIA for the huge crowds that…

…showed up…

…despite the very heavy rain.

Dudes…the original check in time reminder app.

I take these dog photos for Riley, my wife’s Shih Tzu…Hey Riley check this out, there are other dogs on the tour to sniff.

<p>The dude in the black rain gear, a B.A.S.S. Marshal for the day. A Marshal spends the competition hours as an observer in an Elite angler's boat, here he's helping pull the boat to beach in the sand...BUT</p>

The dude in the black rain gear, a B.A.S.S. Marshal for the day. A Marshal spends the competition hours as an observer in an Elite angler’s boat, here he’s helping pull the boat to beach in the sand…BUT

<p>...he's also one of my several thousand bosses. Dude's name is Jim Sexton, when I finish writing a story and hit the SEND button, it goes to him. Nice guy, not just saying that because he is a boss, but when you have a boss that is a nice guy and not a jerk, you need to say thanks. BTW, that dude standing next to him is probably my best friend on the tour, Kevin Short, also known as K-Pink, except on this day when he was more like, K-Yellow.</p>

…he’s also one of my several thousand bosses. Dude’s name is Jim Sexton, when I finish writing a story and hit the SEND button, it goes to him. Nice guy, not just saying that because he is a boss, but when you have a boss that is a nice guy and not a jerk, you need to say thanks. BTW, that dude standing next to him is probably my best friend on the tour, Kevin Short, also known as K-Pink, except on this day when he was more like, K-Yellow.

<p>Welcome to Montgomery, AL and the next stop on the B.A.S.S. Elite tour, the Alabama River. I walked into the registration location for the event and freaked...dudes we're talking big, vey BIG building here...<br />
</p>

Welcome to Montgomery, AL and the next stop on the B.A.S.S. Elite tour, the Alabama River. I walked into the registration location for the event and freaked…dudes we’re talking big, vey BIG building here…

…one very cool thing about the people who sign up to be…

<p>...a Bassmaster Elite Series Marshal is their story...a story you never really hear...until this event...this event I did a "Pick-3" story. "Pick-3" is where we randomly pick three people, three people I don't know and have never talked to, and then I sit down with the strangers and try and find the story of their lives. We are very serious as to how we make the picks random so we use the most state of the art scientific method possibly and this is...<br />
</p>

…a Bassmaster Elite Series Marshal is their story…a story you never really hear…until this event…this event I did a “Pick-3” story. “Pick-3” is where we randomly pick three people, three people I don’t know and have never talked to, and then I sit down with the strangers and try and find the story of their lives. We are very serious as to how we make the picks random so we use the most state of the art scientific method possibly and this is…

…it.

Eenie..meenie…miney…moe…three of these Marshals have been randomly picked and they will find out as soon…

…as they sign in…which BTW…I haven’t seen this many pencils since I failed that stupid SAT test.

A quick draw…right back at ya…

<p>Hey thanks Star brite dudes for sponsoring the Alabama River event...this is no gratuitous plug but man, can't thank the sponsors enough for helping us keep this sport afloat. Buy the sponsors stuff if you can, you help them, they help us, you get to keep watching your favorite sport...simple math.<br />
</p>

Hey thanks Star brite dudes for sponsoring the Alabama River event…this is no gratuitous plug but man, can’t thank the sponsors enough for helping us keep this sport afloat. Buy the sponsors stuff if you can, you help them, they help us, you get to keep watching your favorite sport…simple math.

So, after that commercial break, those three slips, those there are the “Pick-3” dudes and here’s what they look like in face not paper…

…Zachary Sapp who ended up riding with my friend, Steve Kennedy, on Day One…

…Derrick Weston was paired with Kurt Dove…

…and Nick Carlyle who was paired with Keith Poche who was out on his boat working on tackle when I found Nick in the crowd.

<p>This dude DIDN'T get picked but I think that <a href=

This dude DIDN’T get picked but I think that Tackle The Storm tee shirt he has on is a fine, fine looking shirt.

<p>So the "Pick-3" dudes are all selected, and I was waiting to interview them when I saw this huge flag. And as I was taking this picture, I just happened to see...<br />
</p>

So the “Pick-3” dudes are all selected, and I was waiting to interview them when I saw this huge flag. And as I was taking this picture, I just happened to see…

<p>...this walk by...so here's where I throw a monkey wrench into the story thing because if you are wearing anything like this and serving our country now, laying your life on the line so we can be free to be anglers, or long scraggly haired writers...dudes...<br />
</p>

…this walk by…so here’s where I throw a monkey wrench into the story thing because if you are wearing anything like this and serving our country now, laying your life on the line so we can be free to be anglers, or long scraggly haired writers…dudes…

<p>...so much for random...I'm going to pick you out and tell your story every time. So "Pick-3" became "Pick-3+1" as CW4 Darrin Gibson was added to the story and spent Day One with good buddy, Dennis Tietje.<br />
</p>

…so much for random…I’m going to pick you out and tell your story every time. So “Pick-3” became “Pick-3+1” as CW4 Darrin Gibson was added to the story and spent Day One with good buddy, Dennis Tietje.

BTW, if you are wearing something like this, or are a fireman, first responder, nurse, and I know it…random gets blowed up that day as well.

…ah…sorry…hang on a minute…time for a, you know…break.

And they’re off…100 or so Elite anglers take to the Alabama River including…

…my roommate, Paul Elias…and why is he smiling like that…this is…

…why…

<p>...it's been three years since Paul made the Top 12 cut at a tournament, the last time was the Elite Series Southern Challenge on Lake Guntersville in 2010...<br />
</p>

…it’s been three years since Paul made the Top 12 cut at a tournament, the last time was the Elite Series Southern Challenge on Lake Guntersville in 2010…

…so it was very cool to see Paul standing up there on stage as one of the last 12 anglers left standing…

…that’s Paul leaving the stage after he got knocked off the hot seat…dude finished 10th overall…way to go roomie.

You think they’re “just fishin’,” but this shot of my other roommate, Shaw Grigsby, shows that every, EVERY cast counts…

<p>...and Shaw had a good tournament as well...finished 21st overall...but those fish he's holding...not actually his best catch of the tournament...I'm thinking this...<br />
</p>

…and Shaw had a good tournament as well…finished 21st overall…but those fish he’s holding…not actually his best catch of the tournament…I’m thinking this…

<p>...was. That's his grandson, Bryce. Bryce and Shaw's wife, Polly, and son, Shaw Jr., snuck into town as a birthday surprise, and it worked big time, "It knocked me over when I saw Bryce come on stage. I about started to cry like a baby." Happy Birthday, roomie! ...you know with the Elite anglers it's all about...<br />
</p>

…was. That’s his grandson, Bryce. Bryce and Shaw’s wife, Polly, and son, Shaw Jr., snuck into town as a birthday surprise, and it worked big time, “It knocked me over when I saw Bryce come on stage. I about started to cry like a baby.” Happy Birthday, roomie! …you know with the Elite anglers it’s all about…

<p>...family. That's my friend Steve Kennedy...Steve had a great tournament, came in 3rd place, was doing that interview because normally at the end of Day 3, the Top 12 anglers get to fish on Sunday, the last day of the tournament, but Steve couldn't stick around to the end of weigh-in and go up on stage with the other 11 finalists because he had somewhere he had to scoot to...<br />
</p>

…family. That’s my friend Steve Kennedy…Steve had a great tournament, came in 3rd place, was doing that interview because normally at the end of Day 3, the Top 12 anglers get to fish on Sunday, the last day of the tournament, but Steve couldn’t stick around to the end of weigh-in and go up on stage with the other 11 finalists because he had somewhere he had to scoot to…

…this. He had to jump back into his truck and head home to Auburn to be at his 4-year-old daughter Sophia’s first ever Ballet Recital. It truly is…

…The Family, Elites…backstage you’ll always find anglers with their wives and kids…here’s Boyd with his son Eli…

…Billy McCaghren with son, Callen…

…and the dude with the white hair, Bill along with friend Judy, watch Bill’s baby boy…

…John Crews weighs in up on stage.

Family and friends…it was so important to me to have people I consider family…

…and friends…(BTW, Ray, dude, I want you to donate that hat of yours as a fundraiser for Tackle The Storm)…at this event of all events…

…it was here in this historic train station at the B.A.S.S. All Star event…

…July 29, 2011…

….when my cell phone rang and my doctor told me…

…I had cancer…Prostate Cancer…

…so I had mixed feelings about walking back into the old train station…

<p>...but...but...I survived, almost a year to the day that I now stood here in downtown Montgomery..I had the Prostate cancer surgery...and just the other day, a year later all the tests show that I am now...cancer free.</p>

…but…but…I survived, almost a year to the day that I now stood here in downtown Montgomery..I had the Prostate cancer surgery…and just the other day, a year later all the tests show that I am now…cancer free.

Faith…

Family…

Fishin…

…and the American work ethic, working stiffs…and no where in this sport do you find the backbone of America more…than in the B.A.S.S. Opens…

<p>...next stop Lake Logan Martin and the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open #3...and BTW this map and the notes you see on it are from Paul Elias, "It was my GPS of the lake back when I fished it during the 1992 Bassmaster Classic." (He came in 5th.)</p>

…next stop Lake Logan Martin and the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open #3…and BTW this map and the notes you see on it are from Paul Elias, “It was my GPS of the lake back when I fished it during the 1992 Bassmaster Classic.” (He came in 5th.)

<p>...where I do another random, "Pick-3" er actually "Pick-8!" starting with these four friends who have been fishing Opens together for the past 4 years...quintessential working stiffs, an ER nurse, two Wal-Mart workers, a Georgia Southern employee...."We all take vacation days to do this.." and then...</p>

…where I do another random, “Pick-3” er actually “Pick-8!” starting with these four friends who have been fishing Opens together for the past 4 years…quintessential working stiffs, an ER nurse, two Wal-Mart workers, a Georgia Southern employee….”We all take vacation days to do this..” and then…

<p>...a young married couple, Brandon & Emily Lester, been married just about a year now, he runs the receiving dock at a plastics factory, she is a hairstylist...he dreams of becoming a pro-angler, she dreams he makes it...</p>

…a young married couple, Brandon & Emily Lester, been married just about a year now, he runs the receiving dock at a plastics factory, she is a hairstylist…he dreams of becoming a pro-angler, she dreams he makes it…

<p>...34 year old Bart Smith, married, 3 kids, was told he was the best welder in town, "db, when I put that hood down I'm at peace," but now fishing against some of the best in the world, "I'm as nervous as a cat."</p>

…34 year old Bart Smith, married, 3 kids, was told he was the best welder in town, “db, when I put that hood down I’m at peace,” but now fishing against some of the best in the world, “I’m as nervous as a cat.”

<p>And then outside in the parking lot I meet Lee McClendon Jr., at one time one of the most recruited high school football players in Alabama, but who in his senior year was paralyzed when an 18-wheeler forced his truck off highway but who tells me, "I enjoy life; don't look at me all crippled up. I enjoy life."</p>

And then outside in the parking lot I meet Lee McClendon Jr., at one time one of the most recruited high school football players in Alabama, but who in his senior year was paralyzed when an 18-wheeler forced his truck off highway but who tells me, “I enjoy life; don’t look at me all crippled up. I enjoy life.”

It is not America’s sport, it is the sport of Americans…ordinary folks who are extraordinarily American in who we are…

…what we do…

…and what it is we like…

…freedom. For me, the freedom to follow those who chase dreams, one lake at a time, and to call those dreamers…friends…family….B.A.S.S.

<p>Eh...one other thing...you see these dudes...they are the dudes of the service crew, the amazing mechanics that keep the boats of the Elites afloat...except when I need them to do something for me...which THIS TIME was a fairly simple request, "Dudes, I need you to set up an official REGULATION tournament DART game...in the service yard," which they did so I could take on...</p>

Eh…one other thing…you see these dudes…they are the dudes of the service crew, the amazing mechanics that keep the boats of the Elites afloat…except when I need them to do something for me…which THIS TIME was a fairly simple request, “Dudes, I need you to set up an official REGULATION tournament DART game…in the service yard,” which they did so I could take on…

…this dude. Kevin VanDam…

…darts…it’s the 3rd event in our competitions where I look…

<p>...into the eyes of the shark...and kick his butt...or...you know...try to....so look for the story of our Dart game next week where you will find out who it was that made this...</p>

…into the eyes of the shark…and kick his butt…or…you know…try to….so look for the story of our Dart game next week where you will find out who it was that made this…

…winning throw.