Fish Tales or Holy Mackerel!

Jim Baugh called me a few weeks ago and said that he was filming a show in West Palm Beach with the Suzuki Tournament Team and did I want to shoot camera. My history with Jim goes back several years ago. I started shooting camera for Jim's TV show in 1991 when he had a show on Channel 12 in Richmond, called "Fishing in Virginia. We would shoot 26 shows a year and Jim tenaciously marketed his show to big sponsors. We had a 6:00 camera call every morning and shot all day - drank heavily at night as we previewed the footage, charged batteries, cleaned lenses, and planed the next day's events. We traveled all over Virginia in his old Suburban with over 100,000 miles, trailering his 21 foot Procraft fishing boat. I shot camera for Jim throughout the '90's. In recent years, I found full-time employment and only shot camera every now and then on special shows in Hampton. Jim's show turned into Jim Baugh Outdoors as he syndicated with New England Sports channel, The Outdoor Channel, Outdoor Life channel and other cable sports channels. Suzuki, Berkley Trileen, Pursuit Boats, Abu Garcia, among others lined up to sponsor his show. Now he shoots 11 shows a year, and enjoys his spot among the National Fishing Shows on TV. Well, Jim drove down in his cherry red Corvette with license plates that read JBO TV, and when I caught up with him at a local marina, he was talking to the captain of the OUTRAGEOUS boat that we would be shooting on Saturday morning. The boat was a $250,000 +, Contender, with 3 - 300 HP, 4 stroke engines. Basically, 1,000 HP on a 33 foot boat. NASCAR on the water. Nothing was spared on this vessel in terms of bait wells, power, or electronics. The boat had three cameras - one on the bow, one on the stern, and one underwater on the bottom of the boat. The captain and crew would fish today for King Mackerel. They will fish to win a $20,000 purse. These boys were serious. The Captain, Ron Mitchell paid the $2,500 entry fee, filled the 4 gas tanks with 100 gallons each of fuel at $4.30 per gallon, picked up $300 in bait and made their way to the starting line. It was like old times for me and Jim. Suzuki wanted Jim to do a show with their team in the Ocean catching the really big fish - the technology has changed since Jim and I started almost 20 years ago - cameras are smaller and better equipped for shooting and play back - they are lighter and that is good, since I am older and not the strong dude I was in the early '90's. The engines started -very silent ( 4-stroke technology) the 6 speakers on the boat start blasting Heavy Metal tunes. It was very surreal! I felt like I was in a movie like Top Gun. It's six in the morning and this boat is lit up like a Christmas tree. The guy on the helm told us to find a secure place and hold on. He wasn't kidding. The 68 boats leap into the Ocean from the cut at Singer Island and speed off toward one of the small fish icons on the GPS computer display on the console. Each captain has his special special spot marked and they speed off to fish as much as possible before the 5 P.M. weigh in. Traveling at 60 mph on the water, the boat barely hitting the water, props whizzing loudly as the boat leaves the water, we hit the first mark. It was a hot, long day. Jim and I talked about old times in between the sudden sound of the reel spinning out of control and the captain yelling, "Fish On" - crew scrambling, I'm trying to find the best angle for the shoot, trying to see the line, hoping to catch a shot of the fish glinting in the deep blue of the Gulf Stream water. It was like old times - Thanks, Jimmy. Old men need adventures.