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When Scott and I showed up here at the marina on Friday we just missed the weigh-in, but all the pros were still hanging around. We went around and talked to some of them and they were all eager to talk about how their day went on the lake. After all that was over we were told to stop by a barbecue at a firehouse down the road, so we went.
We didn't have any idea what to expect, but when we got there we soon found out that it was just the pros and their families and friends. Talk about cool. We were so excited we didn't know what to do for the first hour. Star struck!
One of the pros there was Chris Lane, currently sitting in 10th here at Smith Mountain Lake.
Talk about a small world. Just two months ago, I was at my cousin's wedding in Florida, and Chris Lane was at Clarks Hill sitting in first place.
A bunch of the guys at the wedding knew him, and my cousin is friends with Chris. So I casually walked up to Chris and offered a handshake and told him, "I'm Charlie Machek, and JP is my cousin."
He was so excited to hear that, and we talked to him for just about the rest of the night, asking as many questions as we could think up.
Half the time we just sat around listening to him talk to pros like Preston Clark, and Keith Alan was also at the table. We asked him everything. What he's been fishing here and where? Where he's going Saturday?
Getting pointers on how to go about getting our names out there and searching for sponsors. He was happy to answer everything we threw at him. That is quite possibly the coolest thing that has ever happened to me. We have been putting some of the things he told us to use here on Saturday. Talking to people from ESPN, BASS, Costa Del Mar, Advance Auto, and the list goes on.
This has been such a cool experience, and we haven't even been here 24 hours yet. Right now I am sitting in the production truck as watching the guys edit tape or something. It's AWESOME.
We are definitely coming along here. We have met some people that are going to get us into contact with some students at VT who could possibly join our club. I am seeing my dreams come true right in front of me.
—Charlie Machek
