Day #2 – Jami Fralick

Day #3 – Skeet Reese (What are the chances right?) 

     My wife and I left the Houston area and were excited to begin with. When we got to Del Rio the first order of business was to get my Mexico Fishing License. Done. Next was to get our room and to the registration. The registration was simple, forms were in, license in hand and I was paid up in advance. For our briefing, Trip Weldon and Chuck Harbin read through the rules highlighting our roles in the event. Pretty straight forward. I had my wife come in to see it all and no questions were asked as to why she was there. Next is what most of the guys were waiting for. The first day pairings were announced (Day 2 was posted at the weigh in, Day 3 was announced after the cut)

     They started with boat #1 and proceed to name the angler and the Marshal to go with them. 79 boats later, on Boat #80 Chuck  reads my name – “Here” – he looks at me and says “How about 2009 Classic winner Skeet Reese?” I said that would work. From that point, after the names were read, we were to go to the social to meet our pros, see where to meet them in the morning, and shake hands with who ever was around. Some guys (Marshals) were in awe, some kids were getting autographs and some announcements were being made by various people. I introduced myself (and my wife) to Skeet and stood around and talked about the next day as well as a few questions about the Classic. At one point I was in a circle of greatness. To my right was Reese, to my left was Rick Clunn, KVD was behind my wife and Ike on her other shoulder. Almost surreal!

    At the launch I was looking for Skeet, a lot of the guys launched in protected areas and boated over to Diablo due to the weather so I could not find him. I finally met up with him as the guys finished rigging the camera on the back, I had a little time to spare. My bag stowed and life jacket on we motored over to the other 99 waiting boats idling around awaiting on the morning to start. One by one guys starting motoring out, Skeet was very pleasant from the time I got in the boat. He gave me his extra goggles- “We have a little bit of ride this morning, you may want these.”- and I am glad he did. It was cold and windy, so much for the desert heat. We ran about 30 minutes before getting to his first spot. Once he got a few casts under his belt we started talking a little more. He had asked at launch what my job is, why I decided to Marshal, how long we had been married and other small talk. He is a genuine guy. 

While on the water, both on the first day and the third day I asked questions about why he was fishing in the spots we were in, what clued him in to those spots, rods, reels, boat, batteries, lures and anything else that would come to an anglers mind to ask about fishing. We talked about the Classic, travelling home, his family, off season, working out, his truck, golf, and the upcoming schedule. I asked if he got the trophy on the book shelf, “Yep, and it looks pretty damn good.” He would get a bite and shutter at a miss while getting silent when the hook was set on a good one. When a pro catches fish while I was riding (not fishing)- I got silent and watched closely. Without giving away what he was doing he was working his strengths, looking for a big bite like most of the guys were doing.

     We got into a routine, I knew when he wanted to move and took my position riding shotgun. We made some runs, although not too long at times but I got a feel for boat positioning and bottom contours while following along on the graph. He was organized from the night before with the setups that he wanted so there was not too much time wasted on line and tying on. We couldn’t help the anglers so even though I had my own thoughts, I watched as his wheels were turning while I waited on his next move. 

   Riding with the Classic champ for two days still has not set in, even though his videos and pictures are on just about every media outlet. 16 hours on the water with the Classic Champ 3 weeks after he wins is not something many people get to do or say they did. I watched more than I spoke but we did share some laughs and poked fun at each other. We had a lot of fun and good conversation about all topics while on the water. He was friendly and approachable and treated my wife with respect and talked to her as if she was out there all day also. He made a fan out of her.

     I rode on Day 2 with Jami Fralick. At the end of Day 1 Skeet and I were one of the last boats in and Jami was one of the first. So he didn’t have to wait around he got my phone number from BASS and talked to my wife before I was even at the dock. I never saw him before Day 2. He called later that evening and told me where he was staying. (Wasn’t hard to find in the mobile home park with three rigs parked outside – Matt Reed and Brian Snowden were there also.) We met at the house and he was super friendly. We got the truck and went to launch the boat – that is when he realized he left his rods at the house. I was already turning to back him down. He got back out of the boat, winched it up and said lets go. I questioned as to why. He said, “I left my rods at the house.” I kind of laughed and he jokingly said “I suppose you wonder what I do for a living?” We got the rods and headed back to another launch a little bit closer. I launched him, parked the truck, jumped in and we were off to Diablo – two minutes away. His motor quit once on plane – power head. He dropped the trolling motor and back we went about 700 yards back to the truck at Black Brush. While he battled the waves and trolled he threw me his phone and I called both Trip and Chuck to alert them of the issues. He also called the Nitro boat guy – the only manufacturer with a spare at the event- to let him know the deal. We trailered, drove around to Diablo and by 8:30 he had his gear in the other boat. Happy from Nitro was Johnny-on-the-Spot. Checked out with BASS at the dock and only 15 minutes were lost since he was in the last flight. What a morning. 

     The thing of it is that Jami never once lost his cool. “These things happen.” He was not frantic about getting in the boat or speeding over to get into the water. He was very collected about it. I grew up in Iowa, although not quite as cold as South Dakota we were two Yankees that talked up a storm. He let me know without asking what he was looking for, what was in the water he was fishing, and how he rigged the set ups he was throwing. One of which I had not seen before. Side note – the front electronics on the spare boat quit working so he was running to the back to check his position and depth. He fished an area where other anglers were, talking shop on the water and being very polite about sharing an area. Again, he is a genuine guy like Skeet, but comes from a slightly different school of thought. A check means more to the guys like Jami than it might to the super stars of the sport. No one likes to lose but no one likes to go home without a check either. After he landed what he thought would get him in the money he said “I’m getting paid” in a calm voice but I could tell it was a relief. 

     We talked about tournaments past, including his Classic experience, our families, travel, how he got started, sponsorship, travel, and odd jobs he does outside of fishing for a little extra income. Jami is really a good person and more outgoing than people may think because he is not the loudest or flashiest guy out there – he conducts his business very well and quietly. 

     What I took from my experience is that the guys – whether I rode with them or not- are for the most part nice guys. They love to fish and know that their livelihood depends on how they do but they have values too. Sure they are competitive and it is not all roses on tour but these guys conduct themselves well. It takes all types of people, whether it is in an office like mine or on a professional fishing circuit or an MLB locker room. All of the anglers were cordial with fans seeking a picture or autograph whether it was a big name like Swindle or some one not as known like Jami.

     The media that travels with them, the BASS staff and the families of the anglers probably already know about the fraternity but to the person that reads it on the internet or watches BASS on ESPN it is hard to capture the parts and pieces off the water or a conversation in the boat. I am not one to be star struck but I will say that once I started putting personalities with names and faces it became clear that the pros are good people. There are lovers quarrels and some guys don’t go out of their way to speak to folks they may not like as well, but they are one of one hundred on the tour. They are sharing 80,000 acres of water and if they really don’t want to be in the same area as “that guy” then they do not have to be. If they don’t want to have dock talk with “that guy” most of them choose to avoid it. In the eye of the public observer I saw nothing that would even spark a confrontation. Boyd Duckett and Skeet shared an area talking it out prior to fishing it. Jami, Snowden, Chris Lane, Rick Clunn, Grant Goldbeck, Takahiro Omori, and a few others were within shouting distance at times but no one got bent out of shape.