By Casey Shedd
With the AFTCO Bass Bus now back home in Missouri, and the lights having finally dimmed on the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods, I’ve had some time to reflect on the most remarkable thing I learned at this year’s Classic: a seldom talked about trapdoor and the ensuing behind the scenes journey it sent me on.
On day two of the Bassmaster Classic Expo presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods, a B.A.S.S. Nation volunteer shared a video with me. Initially underneath the muffled music and roar of the crowds, all you could see was the underbelly of the Classic stage, but then a door in the floor opened to flashing lights, a descending sack of fish and the chain reaction that kicked off a human transport line.
If the Bassmaster Classic is the Superbowl of bass fishing, then the stage itself is bass fishing’s Grand Ole Opry. And here was a trapdoor, cut right smack dab in the center, like it was built for a David Copperfield primetime magic show. I was so impressed, I just had to learn more. So on day three, I was invited by B.A.S.S. Conservation Director Gene Gilliland and a group of B.A.S.S. Nation volunteers to be a part of the action. I quickly discovered that the trapdoor was only the tip of the iceberg. I couldn’t believe the level of care, science, attention, ingenuity and man hours that went into fish care behind the scenes.
For 10 years B.A.S.S. has used a custom-built trapdoor to get the fish from Tournament Director Trip Weldon’s weigh-in scales back into the water as fast as humanly possible. As a spectator from the stands, all I’ve ever seen are Micah Frazier, Rick Clunn, The Golden Ram and the rest of my favorite Bassmaster Elite Series anglers pulling their sack onto the stage, holding up their two biggest for the audience to appreciate, and putting them back into the sack to be weighed. I hadn’t thought for a second about what happens next, or the need to quickly get them back into the water, and into the hands of a Fish Care Specialist.
What I learned is that mere seconds after the fish are weighed, Trip then passes them through the trapdoor, where a chain of five or six B.A.S.S. Nation Fish Care Specialists spring into action. At this year’s Classic, the process was overseen and finally executed by the trained professionals at the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA). For the final stage of the journey, the TWRA carefully places the bass into temperature and oxygen-controlled tanks where they are finally transported by truck to be released back into open water.
With Gene’s guidance I filled in for a few volunteers to help transport the fish to TWRA officials. The above video highlights the journey for Bassmaster Elite angler Cliff Pirch’s fish. While not a stranger to the general fish care process from my experience with the AFTCO Bass Bus, there were three things that stuck out to me.
The first thing was what a well-oiled machine Gene Gilliland has put together. The fuel for that machine is the volunteer time of B.A.S.S Nation volunteers that travel from all over the country to be there, donating their time, expenses and trained skills. They do so simply because they care that much about bass fishing and the health of future fisheries.
The second thing I spotted was the collective sense of urgency to get the fish back into the water, coupled with honest science and expertise; from the trapdoors, to biologists, and perfectly regulated tanks to get the job done.
The third thing that stood out to me was the buy-in to the process from the anglers, especially many of this year’s Elite Series rookies. A great example of this was Garrett Paquette, who fished his first Classic this year. At 24 years of age and having recently graduated from the collegiate ranks, and the Opens, to the Elite Series, he spent a lot of his conversations with me explaining his enthusiasm for spreading the conservation message, and why it mattered from his perspective.
Currently there’s a debate going on in the broader bass fishing community around the best way to run tournaments. While my guess is that there are a lot of great ways to run a tournament, depending on the resources available, type of event, etc., what I do know for sure is that the bass that come across the stage at every Bassmaster Classic are in great hands.
