Bass Caddy Blog

Well, well what a tournament we had. Terri placed 25th overall, and only a slight injury. Maybe in the Rock we can get by with no issues at all.  HA!!!!!!!

Terri thanked everyone in Monroe so all I can do is Caddy Curse  the folks who weren’t quite as helpful as the ones Terri mentioned. First, for the 6 people who pulled out in front of me, while I was pulling a 2500 lb. boat. Yes I have brakes, but that doesn’t make up for your lack of brains or eye-sight.  My ability to stop is hindered by my total disdain for you knotheads.  Second, for the gas station that stays open 24 hrs. a day, but was closed at 3 in the morning when I needed to fill the boat prior to a tournament day.  (Shut-up Steven, I know a good caddy would have done that the day before).   When you say 24 you should mean 24.  Third, on our 5th anniversary the Mexican Resturant that charged us $51.00 for a not-so-good meal - and bad service.  No it wasn’t Taco Bell smarties. Fourth, the prilgrim who walked his pony-size dog around the boat ramp where caddies wear flipflops and open toed shoes. May that dog leave a surprise in your wife’s favorite  night shoes and then see who laughs. And finally. to all those folks , both coming and going, who feel like the fast lane is just a place to keep pace with the guy in the slow lane. Or as I like to call them TRAFFIC CONTROL MONITERS. Kinda scary when you look in that mirror and see a pick up pulling a huge boat coming at you at 90 ain’t it?  MOVE YOU’RE D.A. over.

Remember, its tough being a caddy. We get stressed well in advance and stay that way well after each event so if you can, try to be understanding and make life a little less difficult. Our pros are depending on us to be the rock. You know - like when we get them out of the water we remember to put all the straps and the motor-toter on.  Huh, Steven?

For today.

I quit

As a bass caddy, I have learned much in my first tourney. One item is marking spots. You would think this would be simple, buy a map and a pen. Nope - that’s for wussies, not caddies. As a cadd, you have to take a much more literal, and physical view of marking spots for your angler.   I have found that as a caddy, you drink large amounts of coffee and tea and must use the facilities. However, when marking spots for your angler, you return to the basics of nature. As a dog would do, you literally “scent mark” all spots to be fished.  The reason that the bass caddy must perform this duty is they do not have to urinate in a plastic coffee can first.  Should you follow that strategy, it leaves a scent in the water of plastic baits being used by another angler.  As you go from spot to spot, you must insure that the scent you are dispensing can be well-recognized by the other pro bass caddys.  This will keep your angler from fishing in a “top secret” spot marked by another anglers’ caddy.  You must also be careful that you do not pick up an old scent from previous tournament practices.  The caddy’s responsibility is to insure that the scent that they pick up is fresh and meant for the particular tournament that your angler is fishing.  Should you become confused by the numerous scents that will be on each spot that you look at, always check around for fresh cigarette butts floating in the water.  This is also a good indicator that another caddy has marked that particular spot for their angler. 

As a final note on this particular subject, do not wake up in the middle of the night and use the restroom as this will cause a tremendous strain on your bladder during the next days’ practice.

On a serious note, I would like to thank all of the folks in Gadsden, Alabama who helped us out with all of the problems that I was unprepared for.  If you’ve read my wife’s blog (Terri Talks), you know all of the problems that happened.  These were all issues that I did not address prior to the tournament.  However, who woulda thunk that brand-new batteries would crap out in such a short period of time?  Also, it never occurred to me to try to stop the power company from lowering the river to its lowest level in ten years.  Even though my name is Rod, not God, I also feel responsible for the rainy weather we had during the tournament.  In this next tournament in West Monroe, LA, we have all new batteries, all new raingear, new charger, new JumpStarter, new Navionics chip for our electronics, and new maps.  The only thing left to chance is the weather.  Here again, the name is Rod, not God, but maybe he’ll give us a break this go around. 

For today I quit.