Bassmaster.com posted a graphic box on its BASSTrakk page today noting that 21 anglers are fishing without marshals on day 1 of the Elite Series event at Lake St. Clair. None of those anglers, who are listed in the graphic, are in the Top 50 in the points standings.
A B.A.S.S. communications official provided BassFan with the following statement:
"In the event that not enough marshals register to take part in an Elite Series event, we recruit additional observers to fill the slots. All these are randomly assigned to Elite anglers. Should we end up with fewer observers than anglers, computer placement typically determines who goes out solo – with the exception of television camera assignments, of course.
"In the Plano Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair, which is the final regular-season event leading up to the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship, we decided to make sure that each of the Top 50 anglers in AOY points would be accompanied by a marshal. Where the anglers would likely be fishing was not a consideration."
