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Walking down to the docks, just after the pros had blasted off for their third day of fishing in the Blue Ridge Brawl, a little 12-inch bass caught my eye as he sat suspended in the water right off a dock piling.
I called the rest of the guys in the club over to look at the bass and try to learn a bit about why he might be where he was. Our commotion struck the curiosity of a pro (or maybe a semi-pro) angler named Jim Hayden standing nearby. He came over, noticed our Virginia Tech Team gear and introduced himself and immediately asked us what we would use to catch this fish if given one bait to use.
I responded by saying I would use a jig, another guy said finesse worm, and one said something else. Wrong! The correct answer was a drop shot rig. We all knew very well the reputation of a drop shot rig when used in the right situation, so we didn't argue.
I was unfamiliar with this sort of fishing technique and had never used it so I challenged the pro to see if he could catch the fish right in front of us. He said that it would be simple as he ran to his boat to grab a rod and the rig essentials.
He took the time to show us how to fish the rig and how to flip it properly. Completely out of nowhere, this pro took the time to pass off the tricks of the trade.
Did he catch the fish? No, but it didn't matter! As fisherman, we had just added another weapon to the arsenal.
—Scott Wiley
