(l-r)Co-host Fish Fishburne looks over the tackle box of professional angler Ken Cook during filming of ''Ultimate Match Fishing'' on Chickamauga Lake. Photo Gallery below.
Ultimate Match Fishing co-hosts, Joe Thomas and Fish Fishburne, discuss Wednesday's match-up on Chickamauga Lake.
Fish Fishburne (right) is, how should we say it... animated!
(l-r) Ultimate Match Fishing Referee Mark Randolph and host Joe Thomas wait to hit the water.
Referee Randolph says "I have a whistle and I'm not afraid to use it."
Fish Fishburne looks over Ken Cook's tackle box. Angles are allowed to carry only a limited amount of tackle.
Cook, also a professional biologist, says he misses the aquatic vegetation that was on Chickamauga Lake the last time he fished here in 1991.
The Ref
Professional angler Mike Worm has to show Fishburne his tackle box as well.
The Coin Toss determines which "quarter" each angler gets to control the boat. Cook won the toss and chose 1st and 3rd quarters.
The anglers no doubt got "antsy" this morning as they were forced to sit and wait for the arrival of a helicopter specially commissioned by the Outdoors Channel to shoot aerials of their "take off."
The chopper arrives...
All of the episodes highlighting "Round One" of Ultimate Match Fishing are being filmed on Chickamauga Lake this week and will provide a tremendous amount of exposure for Chattanooga and Chickamauga Lake.
The chopper and crew disappear across the lake. Who will win Wednesday's match-up? Producers say you'll have to start watching in July to find out.
It looked a little bit like a scene from a James Bond movie... a helicopter screaming along behind a trio of bass boats, all running hell bent for leather across Harrison Bay on Chickamauga Lake. There was no gunfire however... an obvious clue that it wasn't a James Bond movie.
Instead this was a production crew filming the "Ultimate Match Fishing" TV show for the Outdoor Channel.
Photo Gallery at bottom of page
The huge production snuck quietly into Chattanooga this week to set up camp at Island Cove Marina. But through Sunday, they're on the water everyday filming some of the top names in bass fishing going head-to-head in intense competition.
I must profess to having never watched the show that has been on the air for six years. Comcast doesn't provide me with the Outdoor Channel unless I pay a whole lot more extra than I'm already paying. But from what I have learned, it has to be one of the more novel approaches to competition bass fishing on TV today.
This week's co-host Fish Fishburne said, "We take anglers from two tours, Bassmaster and FLW, bring them together at one location and have matches. It is pro against pro."
It is exactly like March Madness... single elimination. You lose, you go home and the winner advances. The final winner takes home $50,000.
The scenario is SO MUCH like March Madness, it comes with an Ultimate Fishing Referee. Mark Randolph is the man with the whistle and says he never hesitates to use it.
"I've had days where I'll blow the whistle on them eight or ten times," said Randolph. "And I've had days I've blown it only once or twice. They take it serious. Sometimes they get upset but you just have to take the flack and move on."
The biggest rule is that anglers can NEVER cast, or land a fish, across the center line of the boat. Hence the man in front on the trolling motor is clearly in charge. The anglers each get two one-and-a-half hour "quarters" to control the boat in each match.
"I fished last year and I got whupped," said Fishburne. "So I'm hosting with Joe this year."
Joe Thomas is a pro angler and the primary host. Ultimate Match Fishing was his brainchild, admittedly fashioned after a similar show produced back in the 1980's.
"The concept is something I'd wanted to do forever," said Thomas. "It's turned into a pretty cool deal. I'm tickled to death to where it's come to."
Local bass guide and tournament angler Jeff Reed helped get the show here. He crossed paths with producers and helped convince them Chickamauga would be a prime location.
Producer Jim Kramer said with on-the-water accommodations, Island Cove Marina makes the perfect "base camp."
"Terry Kelly and the entire staff has welcomed us here," said Kramer. "It really has been perfect. And fishing has been fantastic."
He emphasizes however that the rules of their matches aren't condusive to large sacks of fish like you will see in a regular eight-hour tournament format. Basically each angler only gets three hours of "control." In spite of that winning weights on Chickamauga this week have been between 15 and 20 lbs.
"The anglers in this format get to interact directly with each other," said Kramer. "And personally for me, that's the most enjoyable part."
"Interacting" on Wednesday were professional anglers Ken Cook and Mike Worm.
"It's exciting," said Cook. "It goes really fast when you're in front of the boat and slow when you're in the back. But it's an exciting format. I watch it... and I don't watch fishing shows."
Other anglers in town this week include Denny Brauer, Greg Hackney, Marty Stone, Rich Tauber, Luke Clausen, David Dudley (defending champion), Andy Morgan and several others.
Kramer admits that FLW Pro Andy Morgan who grew up in Rhea County is a bit of a local "ringer." However anglers aren't allowed to fish north of Soddy Creek so that might prevent Morgan from having too much of an advantage.
Cook said the last time he fished on Chickamauga was in 1991 and obviously the lake has changed dramatically since then with the decline in aquatic vegetation.
"It's still a pretty good fishery," said Cook, who is also a professional fisheries biologist. "Obviously the grass would make it better, but even back then it was not a 'big fish' lake, and I don't think it still is... but there's a lot of fish out there."
In the head-to-head format, obviously anglers pretty much know who won without a weigh-in. However the weigh-ins held for TV production purposes, are held every afternoon at Island Cove.
Who's won the matches held so far?
No telling. Kramer says just like any of today's "reality shows," they have strict rules against publicizing winners in advance. You'll just have to watch.
Kramer said the new season of Ultimate Match Fishing will start airing the beginning of July on the Outdoor Channel, Friday nights at 8:30 pm.
A PREVIOUS "COLLEGIATE EDITION" OF ULTIMATE MATCH FISHING