Barone: Giving Thanks, 2017

Day one of Twenty-Seventeen, January in New England looks likeâ¦
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<i>Editor's Note: Don Barone reflects on 2017 and what he has to be thankful for after covering Bassmaster events for 10 years.</i>

Day one of Twenty-Seventeen, January in New England looks likeâ¦
Editor’s Note: Don Barone reflects on 2017 and what he has to be thankful for after covering Bassmaster events for 10 years.

â¦this, Dave is outside figuring where to put the snow, me Iâm insideâ¦

â¦trying to figure this year of travel out but this is what it is looking like, Ill explain the Xâs in a bit.

True story my wife, Barb, and I go out to see Comedian Kathleen Madigan at a show, sheâs budâs with my best bud from ESPN, Bob Ley who is there with his wife, Barb, and we get invited backstage after the show. Kathleen and Bob are talking, Iâm just sitting there when she asks what I do, I tell he about my Bassmaster gig and she freaks, turns out she is a huge bass anglerâ¦and the friendship began (I get texted lots of photos of her catching bass).

Back to reality, Iâm packing, hear something behind me and turn around to this. We are not actually country folk, in fact my house is 106 miles from the middle of Central Parkâ¦Manhattan for gawds sake, yetâ¦

So after dusting, er, sweeping, er snowblowing my way out of the driveway I head south to Elite #1 in Dandridge, TNâ¦and this is the very first shot I take in Season 2017â¦the moon over Tennessee from the Hampton Inn parking lot, year 10 in this gig for me just began.

Early morning and BASS is setting upâ¦

â¦as are the Elite anglers already out for practice andâ¦

â¦the town and the fans know we are here includingâ¦

â¦this guy, âEvery morning I walk across the street and throw a line in, then stop at that gas station over there and get me a sandwich and a smoke, go home and do my chores, been doing it just like that for 20 years now, everyday.â

Thatâs my buddy Elite Angler, John Murray and thatâs the look I got when I told him I was going to do a story about him and how he moved his family from Arizona to Tennessee to be closer to the lakes we fish inâ¦

â¦and this is what his wife, Amy, did when I told her basically the same thing.

Thatâs me at Elite #1 registration, for every registration I stand in line and shake the hand of every marshal who comes through the line. I ask them their name, where they live and what they do, and I get the coolest answersâ¦love doing this, must have shaken a couple thousands hands by now, good way to get to know America.

Elite #1 begins, weigh-ins in Knoxville, TNâ¦

â¦and I love the way our anglersâ¦

â¦go out of their way to meet the fans, I know this photo is blurry but it is one of my favorites of the year, look at the faces of those fans, love how happy they are to meet one of our guys, Jesse Wiggins on the left, loveâ¦

â¦this face too, itâs Elite Angler, Hank Cherryâs daughter, with or without paint, sheâs a beautiful child.

Sunset over Tennesseeâ¦and my time thereâ¦fire up the truck and head toâ¦

â¦Elite #2 inâ¦

â¦sunny Florida (also IRS proof I work on location).

Sometimes the best place to be during a New England winter isâ¦F L A, 8 days ago Iâm snowblowing and now, dudes check out this tree, made me dizzy taking the photo but thenâ¦

â¦you look up and see this in a tree, I sort of love, er, like Florida because itâs wild, animal wild, like, umâ¦

â¦this, every time I walked out of the place I was staying at this would surface and just look at me just like thisâ¦

Donât know what kind of bird this is but I do know the âstink eye,â when I get it, happened all weekâ¦

â¦so did this, lots of fans showing up, got to tell you something when you are away from home as much as I am you actually start feeling that the fans, strangers, are like family, weird, but true, the family we have out here goes from sea to stands.

Oh yeah, this ainât Manhattan anymore, I kind of like these things but once again I get the Mother Nature âStink Eye.â

Thatâs Brandon Palaniuk out there fishing the bridge, heâs got 4 minutes before he has to check in, he spent 2 minutes trying to land a bite right there within sight of the weigh in. You want to know what it takes to become Toyota Angler of the Yearâ¦it takes that right there.

Um, hmm, umâ¦just another reason why I wonât be golfing down here in Florida, hmmmm. See Ya F L Aâ¦

Back in the truck and drive from the Elite B.A.S.S. stage in the middle of Florida to theâ¦Open B.A.S.S. stage inâ¦

Branson, Missouri (dear kids if they still teach Geography in school PAY ATTENTION I didnât and because of that said it was no big deal to drive from Okeechobee to Branson, IT WAS).

Iâm a fan of the town of Branson, love the light both outside and onâ¦

â¦stage, thatâs the B.A.S.S. Open Tournament Director, and good buddy, Chris Bowes talking to all the anglers at Registration includingâ¦

â¦the guy in this suit, he didnât wear it to registration but as a stunt guy he does wear it all over the world in some sort of Spiderman beating him up gig. For a villain the dude outside the suit was pretty cool, big bass angler, told me though he just couldnât get himself to use, âthat spiderwire line though.â

Thatâs me and Steve Bowman, Hall of Fame outdoor guy and cooker on some sort of gizmo that looks like a round blade but itâs BBQ nightâ¦

â¦and Bowman and another bud, James Overstreet (a pretty good photographer most of the time) who have been using their hands to rub in the BBQ stuff, in Connecticut we just sort of pour it on out of a bottle, less, you know, hands on.

Thatâs the backstage crew for the Opens/Nation/College and whatever else needs to get done, great folks, these guys are family to me, and so are theseâ¦

â¦people, Kevin Short, K-Pink on the tournament trail, and his wife, Kerry my older younger sister and the point of this photo is to point out to me itâs possible to get good pizza in Arkansas not just up there in New Yawk (psst, they were right that was some darn fine Pizza Pie).

Speaking of New York thatâs it down there, Niagara Falls from 35,000 feet, I left my truck, smelling of pizza, with the Shorts in Arkansas and flew back home becauseâ¦

â¦43 years ago, back in my Tom Petty days, I married that young lady and this was our anniversary so I surprised her coming home and also surprised her with a pretty cool giftâ¦

â¦I took her up to a Vermont Culinary Inn where we, I, learned how to make CrÃ¨me Brule with a blow torchâ¦a Home Depot blow torch, the dessert, ok, the blow torch, way cool.

Back on a plane to Houston and the CLASSIC insideâ¦

â¦a Major League Baseball park, have to tell youâ¦

â¦having covered MLB for years standing out there on the warning track watching the anglers, many of whom are my friends, weigh in on the huge stage was pretty sweet, I was more happy for them and their opportunity than anything else, sweetness right there.

The gang is all here, those fishing in the big gig includingâ¦

â¦this dudeâ¦KVDâ¦this is what he does to me every tournament, comes up and gives me the eye to eye look to show me the fire behind the eyeballs, we do that to pump each other up some, we do it to hit the switch calledâ¦Game On.

Ah, Media Day, thatâs one of the great writers out here, Louie Stout, the dude was just inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall Of Fame, deserves it tooâ¦

Lunch is served at Media Day, um wrong tableâ¦

â¦thatâs betterâ¦but hey, took some time away from the food to be, you know, The Media and sat down withâ¦

â¦the boss, Jerry McKinnis, a huge baseball fan so this Classic venue was special to him as well. Hey boss, since the Astros won the World Series, possibly because of our good Ju-Ju, you think theyâll want us back, huh.

Two of my fav shots from the event, thatâs really really good buddy, Lee âDaddyâ Robertson, one of the best mechanics on the planet, and of Skeeter service crew fame, not on the road anymore but every Tuesday at every Elite event we had lunch together, miss ya buddyâ¦

â¦you have to be good friend, REAL good friends to take your camera and point it down and shoot through their legs without telling them what you are doingâ¦and thatâs what I did to Bobby Lane to get a photo of his dog June Bug. Yep.

Back in the truck and headed north toâ¦

â¦meet up with this dude, Hank Weldon, Tripâs son, who is the dude who runsâ¦

â¦the college B.A.S.S. gig. Love those events, wish I could do more, met these two dudes from a small school, they couldnât afford even jerseys, but, um, hmm, that got taken care of, somehow, you knowâ¦

â¦but a shout out to the higher ed anglers, do it now my friends, go for your dream now, life its-ownself complicates up down the road.

Gas up, head back south this time to Toledo Bend andâ¦

â¦bunking in this guys houseâ¦Tommy Martinâ¦who told me that other than for this photo with me, âI NEVER WEAR MY HAT BACKWARDS LIKE THIS,â just as Paul Elias took the photo.

One of my top 10 photos of the year mainly because what an honor it is to sit around with two Bassmaster Classic winners and listen to them talk shop and know that both are also great friends, to think my opportunity to do this kind of stuff isnât special would be to just be a dumb arse.

Bugs, this inside the outside nature stuff just freaks me out, and yep, they are bigger in Texas.

Fly homeâ¦

…dig New England in spring…

…fly back…

…and meet up with my roomies in Mississippi.

Ross Barnett, JUSTâ¦a little windy, and know Bobby Lane isnât sinking those are waves taller than the boat he is sitting inâ¦

â¦the flipside of Ross Barnett, the other side of the dam, bunch of folks fishing back there as well.

I remember this photo well, it was the last photo I took at the event, a morning launch, things didnât feel right inside meâ¦

â¦flew homeâ¦

â¦and the wheels came off, I passed out, docs thought it was a heart thing, told me to wear these compression socks and strapped a heart monitor on me for 30 days, 24/7â¦

â¦Iâll be honest, except for bugs, I donât get scared much, but you know when the heart monitor thing strapped on you starts beeping at night, your thoughts, your thoughts goâ¦

And I was grounded, no travel, so I had to cover events watching them online just like you and then this happenedâ¦

â¦Steve Kennedy won an event, there is no family Iâm closer to out there on the road than the Kennedyâs, even now I it is hard for me to look at this photo and write about it because I WASNâT THERE FOR THEIR WIN, just you knowâ¦

About 6 weeks later I was able to get back on the road and meet up with everyoneâ¦

â¦in upstate New York, this is Chuck Harbin, assistant tournament director who was very happy to see me back as wasâ¦

â¦this guy, someone who Iâve become very close to, tournament director, Trip Weldon. But trust me, I was just as happy to see everyone as they were to see me. Believe that.

Allow me to dump the travelogue stuff and just sort of talk with ya, tell you what I think is important out hereâ¦PEOPLE. Especially kids, thatâs Shaw Grigsby with his grandson, Brice, out on the waterâ¦

â¦this kid I watched him behind our stage collect these autographs and he never stopped smiling and showing people his hat, theseâ¦

â¦kids at the Nation event, let me be honest with you, this isnât OUR sport, itâs these kids sportâ¦

â¦another top 10 shot, this is Elite Angler Greg Vinsonâs son, Gaige, I remember when Greg told me that his wife, Stephanie was pregnant, how do you not look at this photo and not know, not feel that weâ¦

â¦have a duty, an obligation to pass this sport on to the children, our youngest fans, in better shape than we found it, This is their game, weâre just holding it for them.

Max Leatherman, lost a brother of the game this year, one of the best, thatâs the toughest part out here, the part that rips me upâ¦

â¦these anglers have long since stopped being just another athlete playing a game, these guys, and their family and all the crew become close friends, yeah, you step over that line between story and personal involvement, but Ken Cook, who passed away, we were close asâ¦

â¦with âPooley,â a backstage guy, best buds with Trip and Chuck, who left these Bass gifts at his grave andâ¦

â¦and even with fans, this is my buddy, Uncle Buff, his grave in Oklahoma, I need a break, sorry.

Another top 10 photo, that’s Elite angler Tim Horton. It is behind the stage, not a view you get to see very often, but this is an angler flat out exhausted. This is an angler who gave the game every thing he had, thatâs what you want to see in any sport you follow. Become fans of those who play their heart out.

Jason Christie, in line for the AOY weigh-in, if you are reading this on your phone take your fingers and blow this up so you can see the look in his eyes, that my friends is the look you want to see in whatever sport you follow, this dude is dialed in, you think he is aware of the world around him, this photo is the definition of hyperfocusâ¦AND ITâS WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE BY THOSE WHO PLAY YOUR SPORT.

And then this, this is the kid who just a few years back came out of the Nation and stood on the Bassmaster Classic stage and blew a whistle, the Brian Kerchal whistle, this is a guy who has dreamt to be last in line in the final AOY weigh-in, DREAMT, his life goal is moments away, win or lose, the clock is tickingâ¦

â¦and this is the exact moment when dreams come true. This is what you want to see, a strong arse dude break down on stage and cry, it ainât an act up there when the winner canât even talk, and thisâ¦

â¦is the exact moment when his family, when his loved ones know, know about the dream and know it just came true. Never think any of us do this game alone, without family, you donât win, simple as that.

Yeah, itâs about the fish, but it is so much more than thatâ¦

â¦itâs about family, young Stella yelling out for Daddy, Mike Iaconelli, as he comes ashoreâ¦

â¦itâs about employees of B.A.S.S. like Nation Director Jon Stewart here who loves his job, and itâs obvious, itâs aboutâ¦

â¦longtime backstage worker, Mike Wall, who retired this year and who just realized at this moment that this was his last gig after many, many years on the job. Bye Mike, going to miss ya.

Itâs about goofing with the guys, thatâs me and Bassmaster Classic winner Randy Howell, weâre having fun here for the camera, this is what happens every time we stand together and watch something, just about anything, we start crying. True story.

Goofing here with KVD, remember that eye close up a few photos back, this is how we do it, many who see it have no idea whatâs going on, but itâs how we say âgood luckâ to each other, itâs how we say, âlove you dude, be careful out there.â

It is a long road out here, it twists, it turns, sometimes you know whatâs up, sometimes you just got to keep on keeping on to know what lies aheadâ¦

â¦and for me it always ends up back here in Connecticutâ¦

â¦New England, my favorite place to be in the fall.

We live on a âLeave It To Beaver,â kind of street where on Halloween lawns are filled with blow up creatures and trick-o-treaters, whereâ¦

â¦and empty Long Island sound beach frees up the soul of a Greyhoundâ¦

â¦locked within the body of a Shih Tzu, Riley our dog.

And now we come to this, MY FAVORITE #1 photo I took this year, a women in the crowd who stood and sang along, word for word, the National Anthem of this here United States of America. Trust me when I say this, whether you stand or not your ability to do so is based solely on the red, white and blue flag, and it is that flag and all it stands for that allows for that simple act of freedom. For the recordâ¦ I stand.

And in the end this is what Iâm the most thankful for, that tiny dot in space that is usâ¦Earth. This is a NASA photo of the Earth photographed from the surface of Mars. Every thing you know, everyone you have ever met or loved, everything in your existence is within that tiny dot in the blackness of space. And on this Thanksgiving, Iâm most thankful there is that tiny dot and that me, my family, and youâ¦are on it.

Happy Thanksgiving,

db, bb, ab, jb and Riley too.