Professional Net Man shirt from The Bass Tank

In 2013, I flew down to South Florida to fish a few days on Okeechobee with Chad Morgenthaler, who was spending the majority of the winter nearby. On our final day there was an open “Bass Busters” team tournament going on, so we ponied up our entry fee and made our way up the lake. I caught plenty of fish early, mostly on a swim jig but a few on a Senko, but every fish that old vacuum boy caught seemed to go in the livewell while mine went back in the drink.

That difference became even more pronounced when we picked up the big sticks and went flipping. Chad pretty quickly figured out a pattern and could call his shots. Since it was a team tournament, that was ok with me. I wanted him to get the boat in the perfect position and not be rushed. At one point he flipped into a group of folded-over reeds, got a bite and missed it. I was so sure that he was going to catch it that I put down my rod, picked up the net, and got ready for his next flip – that 4-pounder helped us cull.

Late in the day, I flipped my creature bait into some hydrilla, felt it get whacked on the way down, and after a brief struggle brought one about 3 pounds into the boat that helped us cull one last time. Of the five we weighed that day, it was the only one I had caught. It also helped us eke out the victory.

At dinner that night, Chad mentioned that final fish, and I replied how happy I was to have caught it. “I didn’t want to just be your net bitch,” I said. He still brings it up when I see him. I’m just glad that he hasn’t seen the pictured shirt from our friends at The Bass Tank. He’d probably make me wear it every time we fish together.