By Gary Lee Robin
Having recently retired in early 2017, this was the year I was going to Marshal multiple events, starting with the Classic on Lake Conroe near my Houston-area home. Weigh-ins were at Minute Maid Park, home of my favorite team, our somewhat-laughable Houston Astros. Now, I think everyone who signs up to be a Marshal has visions of drawing one of the icons of the sport: a KVD or an Iaconelli or even the master, Rick Clunn. But for this veteran official, the young guns are the most exciting and unpredictable bunch to be with.
The first day of the Classic on Lake Conroe, I drew Jordan Lee as my pro. The first place we went was some point on the north end of the lake. Jordan caught a striper and broke off on something. No keeper bass. By the end of the day, he had three keepers to weigh in, was way down the leaderboard but never hung his head. We all know how that turned out.
The second day of Texas Fest on Sam Rayburn, Jason Williamson was my pro. J-Will had approximately 10 pounds in the box at 1:00 p.m. when I saw him cull all of those swimmers out and rack up 24 pounds inside of one hour. It was one of the most impressive hours of fishing I’d ever seen in my life.
On Lake St. Clair, my second-day pro was Brock Moseley. Who would think a Mississippi boy could put 25 pounds of smallmouth in the boat? The biggest five-fish stringer I had ever personally seen in 54 years of fishing.
For my taste, I will take the young pros every time. From least to beast, last to first, these guys are better than anyone you know. Jordan Lee won the Bassmaster Classic on Lake Conroe fishing the same point we stopped at on the first day. I’ve fished it a couple of times myself since then. He weighed those fish in at the most exciting Classic venue I’ve been to, the home of our beloved Houston Astros, who just so happened to win their first World Series there this year. To rival that, I feel I had my small part in my favorite sport and Bassmaster history as the marshal of a Classic champion. Minute Maid Park and this Bassmaster Elite season was my Field of Dreams for a lifetime.
Sign up to be a 2018 Bassmaster Marshal.