Quote Originally Posted by Fast View Post
Grassrat,
I will be a marshal at the Ky Lake tournament. Have any suggestions on what to take with me. My goal is to learn a minimum of 5 things per fisherman. My understanding is that I will ride with 2 different fisherman . Thanks! Ed
Fast,

You are apt to have the time of your life but it's mostly up to you. Here are some random thoughts:

Do take a pen and notebook and a map. Do not take a handheld GPS. It will be an offshore tournament for the most part. If you truly want to learn you'll take a map and figure out what they are fishing by looking at the map and not just marking the spots. Spend alot of time watching their back GPS unit (if they leave it on) and focusing on why they are fishing what they are fishing and not just where they are fishing. Forget about the where and you'll learn to find stuff on your own.

Take plenty of water as it will be hot and humid. You might even want to take your own ice and small cooler as last year one pro, who shall remain nameless (but he was the bachelor), wouldn't let me use his cooler or any of his compartments for that matter. He said they were full and he needed access to them all. Do bring a rainsuit. Don't bring a baseball bat as you could be tempted to use it if you draw a guy like that.

Depending on the pro, as some can be very quiet, you might take an ipod. Dean Rojas said four words in eight hours - "I needed that one", was all he said the entire day. I stopped after catching five and watched him the rest of the day. Quite an entertaining day watching him throw that frog and an honor as well. But I learned nothing.

Feel your pro out to see how they are going to be. Some guys are extroverts anyway and you can't shut them up. Some guys are introverts and prefer to focus. Some guys will be talkative for awhile and then you can tell they are getting into a zone. Leave them alone at that point and you might see something special. You don't want to be offputting right off the bat. I think the quieter you are at first the more open they will be later. Blowhard marshalls probably learn nothing. Guys who deal out their "resumes" to the pros probably get tuned out. Humble guys truly wanting to enjoy the day in the boat and learn will find most of these guys extrememly outgoing, thoughtful and great teachers.

Hope you have a great time and learn a ton.

GrassRat
aka Brian