Barksdale gone fishing: Airmen participate in 2009 ESPN Bassmaster Classic

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Alliosn Boehm
  • 2d Bomb Wing
BARKSDALE AFB La. --  The 2009 ESPN Bassmaster Classic allowed several Barksdale Airmen to reel-in a piece of the action Feb. 20 - 22.

Several bass enthusiasts and the Barksdale Hawgherders bass club participated in the classic, which brought 137,700 people to the Shreveport area for what is referred to as the Super Bowl of fishing.

On the afternoon of Feb. 20, 20 Airmen arrived to the Bossier City, La., CenturyTel Center to represent the armed forces during the opening of the weigh-in. To their surprise, they were included in the televised ceremony and asked to march onstage as the Barksdale Honor Guard presented the colors.

"Having the audience roar as we march in to CenturyTel Center was awesome," said Capt. Jason Simmons, 608th Air Force Network Operations Center, chief of operation training. "I really felt proud to be leading in Airmen from Barksdale. Afterwards, we stuck around and watched weigh-ins and even my wife, Maj. Melissa Simmons, started getting excited as each angler put his bounty of five fish on to the scales"

As the servicemembers marched onto the arena floor, the entire stadium, filled with nearly 8,000 people, jumped to their feet for a standing ovation. The Honor Guard then followed and Senior Airman Chonte Walker, 2d Civil Engineer Squadron, sang the National Anthem.

"(The Barksdale) team marching into the CenturyTel Center stadium was a welcome surprise. They did a masterful job, looked great, stood tall and I was very proud to see everyone there," said Lt. Col. (Ret.) Jim Kientz, Ray Scott Outdoors, executive director. "Senior Airman Walker was a 'home run' with her national anthem and everyone was bragging about her, me in particular, all weekend."

Airman Walker sang every morning at the launch site on the bank of the Red River, despite the blistering cold, at 7:13 am. She also sang on Friday and Sunday afternoons for the weigh-ins.

"My favorite part was just being able to use my gift to pay tribute to the flag and the United States at a nationally known tournament in front of thousands of people," she said.

Members from ESPN along with a group of their distinguished visitors had also expressed interest in visiting Barksdale and the Airmen while in town. They spent Feb. 21 at the Red Chute Shotgun Sports Club on base, coordinated by Paul Williamson, 2d Force Support Squadron outdoor recreation manager, and had the opportunity to both shoot and talk with Airmen from various squadrons on base.

"Many Americans forget that Airmen too carry arms in combat, as many are doing today," said Captain Simmons, who came out to the range to meet the group. "A group of avid Airmen shooters, focused on Shotgun shooting, joined the ESPN crews and gave them tips as we showed some first time shooters the tricks of the trade. It was fun teaching them as well as shooting down some clays myself."

After a few hours at the range, ESPN and their DVs braved the pouring rain to see a static of a B-52 provided by the 917th Wing. Capt. Jerry Reynolds, 93rd Bomb Squadron, B-52 instructor aircraft commander, and a couple crew chiefs went over the capabilities of the Stratofortress and answered questions.

The Hawgherders also participated in all three days of the tournament.

Master Sgt. Brian Nelson, 20th Aircraft Maintenance Unit assistant weapons flight chief and Hawgherders president, contacted the Shreveport Regional Sports Authority as soon as he found out the classic would be held in the local area and requested the opportunity to do some volunteer work.

"For the 2009 classic, seven of our members volunteered to be camera or media boat operators," said Sergeant Nelson. "All seven were selected."

While volunteering for the tournament, the Hawgherders were positioned in various locations with some being able to go out on a boat with a professional angler to serve as an official observer. Several of the volunteers also provided their own boats to be on the Red River, where the tournament was held.

"Camera boat drivers supplied their own boat and were paired with a cameraman from JM Production Company hired by ESPN," said Sergeant Nelson. "Camera boat drivers and cameramen worked together all week and followed different anglers throughout the weekend.

" Camera boat operators followed the anglers down to their favorite fishing areas as far away as 60 miles south on the Red River, a very cold run with morning temperatures below freezing," he added.

The members who volunteered as camera boat operators were also able to shadow the professional fisherman.

"Camera boat drivers had to be very knowledgeable about how to navigate on the Red River and of course be very familiar with all the oxbows and hidden lakes so we could find our professionals on the water if separated," said Sergeant Nelson.

The Airmen were given very prestigious and much desired positions being able to follow the professional fisherman.

"I followed Kota Kiriyama, Aaron Martens and Dave Wolak and of course saw dozens others on the water. On day two, Steve Reneau covered Kim Bain-Moore, the first woman to ever fish the Classic. Skeet Reese, Mike Iaconelli, Edwin Evers, Brian Snowden, Kelly Jordan, Jamie Fralick and many others were all filmed from our boats."

Master Sgt. Gregory Korkose, 2d Bomb Wing Safety, superintendent weapons safety and Hawgherders secretary, was a camera boat operator for the tournament was and also able to follow a professional fisherman each day

"As the cameraman got good footage, I would ensure the tapes made it to a tape runner in a timely manner," he said. "This ensured ESPN had almost real time video throughout the tournament."

Although the volunteering Hawgherders arrived around 5:15 a.m. each morning and left around 5 p.m., they were able to take something away from the experience.

"The overall best part was being able to meet all the professionals and learning from them," said Sergeant Korkoske. "My favorite part of the event was during the launch. All the pros were tied up to the docks and I had access to talk to my favorites as they geared up prior to take off. I was able to get autographs from all of my favorite professionals."

Sergeant Nelson echoed his sentiments, calling it an experience of a lifetime.

"As a fan of bass fishing and BASS, this was an incredible experience," he said. "It is incomprehensible how much goes into to producing an event of this magnitude. It is truly the Super Bowl of bass fishing."

For volunteering in the tournament, the Hawgherders volunteers received jackets and hats from BASS and ESPN, breakfast and lunch every day and media passes to the weigh-in at CenturyTel Center where they were able to see Skeet Reese win the classic with his catch over three days totally 54 pounds and 13 ounces.