Editor's note: This is part 1 of a 2-part story that looks at the Bassmaster Elite Series marshal program, which replaced co-anglers this year. Part 2 will be published on Wednesday.)
BASS says its "ecstatic" with the way the new Bassmaster Elite Series marshal program has operated through the first three tournaments of the 2009 season.
The majority of the anglers are thrilled with it, too.
The only glitch thus far seems to be a fairly substantial number of no-shows among the observers at the storm-plagued, early-season events. However, that's a problem that's expected to mostly rectify itself with the onset of better weather, and it's one that the organization will try to completely avoid in the future by overbooking the ride-along slots.
"I think it's working very, very well," said Florida pro Terry Scroggins. "It's a great learning experience for those guys, and the pros don't have to worry about a competitive (co-angler) casting on our fish when we stop to re-tie. I didn't have a problem with co-anglers, but this is more fair for everybody."
Said a BASS communications official: "BASS is ecstatic over the success (of the program) thus far. We've received an overwhelming majority of positive feedback from marshals and Elite pros alike. Most comments from marshals revolve around pros teaching them how to read electronics, (what they learned from) watching pros sight-fish, equipment lessons, etc."
A Different Breed of Back-Seater
BASS announced late last year that non-fishing marshals would replace co-anglers in Elite Series boats this year. The pros had contended for some time that co-anglers tilted the playing field – some were seasoned, highly competitive sticks who were fully focused on claiming the top prize in their division, whereas others barely fished and were content to go for a boat ride with a pro and pick up a tip or two along the way.
Obviously, a pro who drew a co-angler of the former type was at a disadvantage to a competitor who drew one that leaned toward the latter type. And with so much of their own money at stake (per-tournament entry fees for this year were originally more than $5,000, as they've been in years past, but were reduced to about $4,000 as a concession to the poor economy), most pros felt that such divergent approaches left too much of their fate to the luck of the draw.
The marshals serve the original purpose of the co-angler – to be a witness to the events that transpire in the pro's boat that day. Such a presence is of extreme importance if questions of rules violations or ethics arise – BassFans will recall that Rick Morris' day-1 disqualification at Smith Mountain Lake 2 years ago was based partly on the testimony of his co-angler.
As the same time, because they're not fishing, the marshals don't affect a pro's on-the-water performance – positively or negatively. They don't catch the fish the pros found in practice, nor do they find patterns that the pros can exploit. They're simply observers.
Jeff Cox, a 49-year-old father of four who runs a family-owned grocery/hardware store in Walker, La., is exactly the type of marshal BASS had hoped to attract with the new program. He paid the $100 fee and shelled out for plane flights and a hotel room to serve in that capacity at Wheeler, and will do the same for the upcoming event at Guntersville.
"I'm in a club down here and it's the only competitive fishing I do," he said. "With the store, I can only take a couple of days a month to fish, and I thought if I could get out there with guys who fish upward of a couple hundred days a year, I could really learn something."
He rode with Mark Menendez on day 1. After day 2 was cancelled due to weather, he went out with rookie Luke Gritter on day 3.
Terry Scroggins thinks the marshal program is accomplishing what it was designed to do – provide a learning experience for the observers while leveling the playing field for the pros.
"I figured it would be really good and I wasn't disappointed at all," he said. "At first I didn't say much – I'd wait for them to start talking. But once I saw they wanted to talk, I'd ask a couple of questions and then hush up for awhile so they could concentrate.
"When I go out at home, I don't want to be fishing blind, and that's mostly what I discussed with them. When I stop at a point, I want to know why I should use a certain bait based on the conditions and things like that. That's mostly what I was hoping to pick up, and with those guys I was able to accomplish a lot of that."
Always One in a Crowd
Menendez caught a 16-pound bag and culled numerous times on day 1 at Wheeler en route to an 8th-place finish. He thoroughly enjoyed having Cox on board.
"He was fantastic," Menendez said. "He asked so many questions and I caught so many fish. The only thing I couldn't believe was he actually ate a Spam sandwich.
"One thing I'll say overall is that this program appeals to people of a different level of experience. They're hungry for information about all of the little bitty things we do, like how to tie a specific knot or why we're using the size of bait we are or why we have that particular sinker on there. That's a very positive thing."
On the flip-side, Menendez has had one bad experience with a marshal – perhaps the only one of its kind to date. It occurred on day 3 at Amistad, where he finished 46th.
"The guy I'd had (as a marshal) the first day showed up in my spot fishing with his girlfriend. There was one key 80-yard stretch of bushes, and he fished it twice while I watched. I took the high road and didn't say a word.
"It was a big area, but that was a very important stretch with a lot of 3 1/2-pounders. I only caught four that day, so that upset the whole deal. One more 3-pounder would've meant another 15 places."
Notable
> Part 2 will include the views of four-time Bassmaster Classic champion Rick Clunn, an avowed proponent of the co-angler system. It will also include comments from several anglers, Clunn among them, who've fished without marshals during particular days this season.
– End of part 1 (of 2) –
