BASS Marshall Stories

[Deeznuts]

Japanese submarine slammed two torpedoes into our side, chief. It was comin' back, from the island of Tinian to Laytee, just delivered the bomb. The Hiroshima bomb. Eleven hundred men went into the water. Vessel went down in twelve minutes. Didn't see the first shark for about a half an hour. Tiger. Thirteen footer. You know how you know that when you're in the water, chief? You tell by lookin' from the dorsal to the tail. What we didn't know... was our bomb mission had been so secret, no distress signal had been sent. Huh huh. They didn't even list us overdue for a week. Very first light, chief. The sharks come cruisin'. So we formed ourselves into tight groups. You know it's... kinda like ol' squares in battle like a, you see on a calendar, like the battle of Waterloo. And the idea was, the shark comes to the nearest man and that man, he'd start poundin' and hollerin' and screamin' and sometimes the shark would go away. Sometimes he wouldn't go away. Sometimes that shark, he looks right into you. Right into your eyes. You know the thing about a shark, he's got...lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eye. When he comes at ya, doesn't seem to be livin'. Until he bites ya and those black eyes roll over white. And then, ah then you hear that terrible high pitch screamin' and the ocean turns red and spite of all the poundin' and the hollerin' they all come in and rip you to pieces.
Y'know by the end of that first dawn, lost a hundred men! I don't know how many sharks, maybe a thousand! I don't know how many men, they averaged six an hour. On Thursday mornin' chief, I bumped into a friend of mine, Herbie Robinson from Cleveland. Baseball player, boson's mate. I thought he was asleep, reached over to wake him up. Bobbed up and down in the water, just like a kinda top. Up ended. Well... he'd been bitten in half below the waist. Noon the fifth day, Mr. Hooper, a Lockheed Ventura saw us, he swung in low and he saw us. He's a young pilot, a lot younger than Mr. Hooper, anyway he saw us and come in low. And three hours later a big fat PBY comes down and start to pick us up. You know that was the time I was most frightened? Waitin' for my turn. I'll never put on a lifejacket again. So, eleven hundred men went in the water, three hundred and sixteen men come out, the sharks took the rest, June the 29, 1945. Anyway, we delivered the bomb.

[cec2fish]

Thanks

[Phoenix Jim]

Japanese submarine slammed two torpedoes into our side, chief. It was comin' back, from the island of Tinian to Laytee, just delivered the bomb. The Hiroshima bomb. Eleven hundred men went into the water. Vessel went down in twelve minutes. Didn't see the first shark for about a half an hour. Tiger. Thirteen footer. You know how you know that when you're in the water, chief? You tell by lookin' from the dorsal to the tail. What we didn't know... was our bomb mission had been so secret, no distress signal had been sent. Huh huh. They didn't even list us overdue for a week. Very first light, chief. The sharks come cruisin'. So we formed ourselves into tight groups. You know it's... kinda like ol' squares in battle like a, you see on a calendar, like the battle of Waterloo. And the idea was, the shark comes to the nearest man and that man, he'd start poundin' and hollerin' and screamin' and sometimes the shark would go away. Sometimes he wouldn't go away. Sometimes that shark, he looks right into you. Right into your eyes. You know the thing about a shark, he's got...lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eye. When he comes at ya, doesn't seem to be livin'. Until he bites ya and those black eyes roll over white. And then, ah then you hear that terrible high pitch screamin' and the ocean turns red and spite of all the poundin' and the hollerin' they all come in and rip you to pieces.
Y'know by the end of that first dawn, lost a hundred men! I don't know how many sharks, maybe a thousand! I don't know how many men, they averaged six an hour. On Thursday mornin' chief, I bumped into a friend of mine, Herbie Robinson from Cleveland. Baseball player, boson's mate. I thought he was asleep, reached over to wake him up. Bobbed up and down in the water, just like a kinda top. Up ended. Well... he'd been bitten in half below the waist. Noon the fifth day, Mr. Hooper, a Lockheed Ventura saw us, he swung in low and he saw us. He's a young pilot, a lot younger than Mr. Hooper, anyway he saw us and come in low. And three hours later a big fat PBY comes down and start to pick us up. You know that was the time I was most frightened? Waitin' for my turn. I'll never put on a lifejacket again. So, eleven hundred men went in the water, three hundred and sixteen men come out, the sharks took the rest, June the 29, 1945. Anyway, we delivered the bomb.

nice one
that movie scared the hell out of me back then

[jbassman87]

2009 I got in the Dardenelle tournament. Day 1 I drew Kevin Langill. We had a very long fog delay and we sat in the boat for several hours just killing time. He was calm and laid back. He showed me a couple swimbaits he was designing and a rattletrap prototype he was working on. Once we got underway he started sight fishing for bed fish. He didn't do to well bed fishing and about mid day he was scrambling to catch fish. This is when I first got a glimpse of what the future held for Kevins professional career. He started getting really spun out. He pulled up to a grass flat and wanted to throw a swim jig which he had earlier said would be his go to bait if the bed fish didn't work out. Problem was guys were on his stuff and he didn't handle it very well to say the least. His short fuse started to show, but this was my first day as a marshal and I accepted that this might be usual attitudes for the pros. He had words with another angler that he thought was a little close to him, but the angler was moving away and not much come of it other than it further spun him out. He finished the day with only 2 keepers I think and I remember thinking he seemed high strung and stressed.

A month or so later he got into a big spout with Boyd Ducket and eventually got himself kicked off the trail. The details of his run in with Boyd can be found here. BassFan.com

He treated me as though i was his friend and for that i was gratefull, but I felt bad for him cause I felt like he was in over his head at that level and didn't know how to handle his emotions, but his actions were unexcusable and thus he never fished as a pro with BASS or FLW again.

Day 2 I was paired with Gary Klein. He was a total professional and was total business once we took off after another short fog delay. He had a late draw number and was concerned he wouldn't be able to get back on his stuff which had him in the top 12 from the first day because of the late draw. I think we were boat 96. His fears were confirmed once we got to his first stop and he had 6 or so guys fishing a big flat that he was cranking a square bill over. He fished hard, but he did try to explain some of the how's and why's of what he was doing. He struggled but stayed with it and I learned alot by riding with him. With 20 minutes left he had 3 small keepers and made the comment that he needed one more keeper to get in the money. he made a quick move where he thought he could get a bite, it didn't happen and he had ran out of time. He pulled up trolling motor made the run in like a scalded dog and looked at me just as we got to the checkin station and said i got 4 minutes left. He dropped the trolling motor and made 3 casts and caught his 4th keeper with a minute to spare. He caught the small keeper fish and I was as happy for him as he was. He finished in the mid 30's if i remember correctly but that 4th keeper was a $10k fish cause had he not fished those last few minutes he wouldn't have made the top 50.

Day 3 I got paired with Kevin Short. We meet at the top 50 meeting and he was in contention to do well with a good day 3. The weather was supposed to be really bad (big cold front)and he spent time with me to make sure I understood how bad the conditions were gonna be and that i should be fully prepared for a miserable day conditions wise. I assured him i would be suited up and ready to go. We meet the next morning and I jumped in his truck with his wife driving. We got to the ramp and everything was on hold as BASS officials assesed the conditions. After a 30 minute delay he got out of his truck and walked up to see if we would go out. While he was gone his wife asked me to keep a close eye on him cause he was in very bad pain due to shingles all over his leg and was wore out due to not being able to sleep comfortably. She said he had pain pills, but that he refused to not go out. Turns out that day 3 got cancelled completely and he got the day off. I was truly excited to spend the day with Kevin Short not because i was dissapointed in the other guys but i felt Short had a good chance to do well and told me to expect a good time. I was disapointed I didn't get that 3rd day with him but happy he got a rest. I was very impressed with the team that he and his wife were and I understand that she travels to most tourney with him as his driver.

Here is a story posted on Bassmasters website referencing the teams that some of the husband and wifes make up and how good these Ladies are. The trailer-backing women of B.A.S.S. | Bassmaster

Overall I thought the marshall gig was well worth the money i spent on it and I am looking forard to my upcoming Bull Shoals tournament this April and the personalities I get to meet there. Also gotta say I met up with Joel Porter (jbassman87) from BBC and we roomed together and I had a great time with him. We had never meet before then and have only spoken a few times since, but I guarantee you he would come runnin if I called and needed his help. He was a blast to hang out with.

Right back at you Dustin. We need to find another one to go to. Maybe one where there won't be a snowstorm come in and drop 8 inches of snow.

[AFarmerKSU]

bump

[gizzardshad]

I rode with an elite series guy on KY lake, who had driven from TX to TN months before the tournament towing a flatbed of bricks he used to dump in the lake and try to create his own productive summer ledge no one else would find. He actually had a pretty good day, but bombed on day 2.

[meeavey]

I rode with Byron Velvick . He told me he had a bass on the bed that was a real good one that was the same fish as a few yrs before when they fished Smith Mountain Lake . I thought sure you do . So he pulls up on it and sure enough it's a good one . About that time some people come walking down and say you think you can catch her this year . We both laughed . And the answer was no . He couldn't catch her . Same tourney I rode with *****myer and he had a good one and thought it was about 5 1/2 . He threw the kitchen sink at that fish and it didn't blink . Then a big ol carp came around the corner by its bed and mama bass went berserk . Blowing her jaws chasing the carp . Don't know if it was the next cast but it wasn't many cast later he caught that bass for big fish of the tournament . Around 7 if I remember correctly .

[Hoot]

This is one good thread based on first hand accounts by eye witnesses...Hope we have more like it in the future

[FlippinMaster]

Bump - Loved reading all of the stories, anyone got anymore?

[AllyFishing]

Nope, unless you like to spend 8 or so hours sitting in a boat watching someone else fish. You do get free stuff but it doesn't compensate for the feeling of being a "tag along girlfriend".

My sentiments exactly. Especially if the Pro you are paired with has no personality

[Legend LE-195]

My sentiments exactly. Especially if the Pro you are paired with has no personality

You expect them to entertain you? Really this whole Marshall deal should be a free lottery for BASS members who want to throw their name in the hat IMO, it would have much greater demand I know they are having problems filling the marshall field at most events. They're never gonna pay guys to marshall because you are there to make sure no rules are broken so in a way you are a referee. I know some say they do this to learn but all your gonna learn most of the time is these guys are better at getting baits in impossible places, more efficient and better an finding fish than any of us could ever imagine to be...

[juice780]

Why do people feel the need to quote posts that are 5 years old?

[dartag1829]

Some great stories for sure, but I have a couple of questions. Why do you have to pay $$ to be a Marshall??? Shouldn't they be paying you for your service??

Like posted the idea of the marshall paying is so they show up on tournament day. If they didn't have guys would not show up if it was cold, windy or there mom wouldn't let them.

[dartag1829]

I remember reading very scared marshall reports from the Classic where they were running the Mississippi River in the fog. Some guys had installed radar units to look for the ships and barges. Bet they would not send them off in the fog like that today.

[Rider99XX]

Like posted the idea of the marshall paying is so they show up on tournament day. If they didn't have guys would not show up if it was cold, windy or there mom wouldn't let them.

That still happens. There were several that didn't show up for the second day at Barnett last year.

[Axkiker]

Well reminder that I wont buy a used boat from a pro.

[96MrBass]

I Marshaled for Dave Wolak and Zell Rowland. I was never once bored, Wolak was bed fishing and made it perfectly clear he needed quiet..I gave it to him. He talked when he could and I learned more from him talking to himself than to me He kept going over what he ad to do, where he needed to go, how he needed to fish, and so on. He talked to me when he could but he was super focused. Zell was not bed fishing and I got a good dose of "just fishing" Zell talked all day and I learned from a master. You get out of it what you choose to pay attention to. If you'd rather be fishing and have a sour attitude, don't sign up. I'm not star struck with any of the Elite Series Anglers but you have to admit, they got this game figured out at a much higher level than us. Any chance I have to peek into their heads 1 on 1 is $$ well spent.

TOXIC

I fished with Zell to real down to earth guy. He shared some stories and gave me quite a few baits. First thing in the morning we pull up to a spot he picks up a devil's horse turns to me and says prepare to be educated lol.

[TownesZ21]

That still happens. There were several that didn't show up for the second day at Barnett last year.

It would happen a tone more if people did not have an investment in it.

As stated above, you get out of it what you want. They are not there to entertain you or make sure you get your $150 worth.... if you think they owe you anything, you are the jacka.. Everyone I have been with was way nicer to me that I would have been trying to make a living from the front of the boat. I learned a tone, but not necessarily ground breaking stuff that some seem to expect. I was very interested in their choice of knots, colours, scents or not, rattles or not, hook details, custom tied keepers, trolling motor set ups, electronics, electronics settings sensitivity etc and the list goes on and on.

I have had a bunch of tournament days with way heavier bags then the guys I rode with. Does that make me a better angler than them.... NO. Does that mean I was bored..... NO. Did I learn anything, YES

I read someone say that "it's all about the attitude" once or twice. I think he may be on to something!

[Kb444fishing]

Greg Vinson twice super nice guy. Paul Elias once he was really stressed out about making the classic and started apologizing to me then set the hook on a five pounder, then we hauled ass to the weigh in high fiveing all the way. He told me at the weighin that fish put him in the classic. Not a elite guy but a flw pro Jim Dillard worst experiance I've ever had won't go into detail.

[J D]

Glad this thread resurfaced...
My experience was immensely positive!
Day 1 Ross Barnett last year... I was paired with Casey Ashley. I met him at the meeting on Wed night, he immediately asked me where I was staying, by chance we were at the same hotel. He invited me down to hang out with he and Marty Robinson as they prepped tackle, I did but hung back as I did not want to interfere with their prep. I headed up to my room and a short time later Casey is calling me, asking if I had plans for dinner..... next thing I’m hanging out with Casey And Marty... busting a gut laughing at their stories, they put me at ease and they were soon laughing at my stories from my AF flying days. Next thing I know I’m hanging out at Bass Pro with them, then one more stop at Academy. I was one of the boys and had their help spending my money. Lol I rode with him to the ramp...Casey dropped me and his boat in the water... had me come back and get him. Was a bit nervous manuavering his boat around all those other boats, trying to get back tothe dock. The day on the water was fantastic... the guy was a machine... I swear he could skip a pop r 20’ under a dock. I asked him what I needed to do to stay out of his way... he laughed, just said hang out and have fun!
Day 2
I drew out Mark Daniels Jr, another great guy who put me at ease immediately. It was a tough day and Mark went out of his way to not let it affect how he treated me. He was another fishing machine, putting a frog in places I thought were impossible. At one point we very within yelling distance of Timmy Horton, (I had been watching Timmy wearing out a school) Timmy called us over and invited Mark to get in on the action.... Mark politely declined, told me as we idled away that those wernt his fish and wouldn’t impose.... pure class on both of their parts. What impressed me was that even without a limit after noon, he kept his down and kept fishing... when he flipped up number 5, the stress was relieved. Mark was very open to answering questions even though out the day. At one point we were talking about boats and my next purchase... he flat told me to keep his number in my phone, call him when I wanted to purchase some poles, that he could help me out. That day came not too long ago, I sent him a text, doubting he’d remember me... no worries there, we BSed for 30 min... then told me to send him the details and he the get poles for me.
the ride in that day was nuts.... a couple of the pros commenting how that water was the roughest they’ve ever seen, Mark stopped a couple of times to check on me... all good, wish my phone was doing as good.... trashed, along with my pictures.

would I do it again... in a heartbeat. I made some friends, learned a ton and got a front row seat to the action.