Flipping open my bassmaster magazine, I smiled to see Chris Zaldain in the skeeter ad, followed by a picture of Rich Caro's Henrietta crankbait in the table of contents. When I got to the classic qualified photos further on it struck me how influential a few small clubs in California can be.

For some reason it's most often the enthusiast at the middle levels of fishing who creates the most content and the most influence on the sport. Professional anglers and 99% of tournament fishermen with a boat will never share a spot or a method unless a camera is pointed at them or lying it off would be impractical. But the guy in the tube, kickboat, or kayak is the one who takes time to snap a photo, roll some video and legitimately share it.

Whether that's with the guy who just rowed past, or the internet at large, it's that attitude toward the sport that creates influence and, despite conventional wisdom, so often leads to success. The quality of the anglers who fish, and have fished BnT and SCBBBC is a testament to it.

Fishing BnT shaped my fishing. It shaped this site. Today it shapes bassmaster magazine through the great anglers that have passed through the clubs. I think what I'm trying to say is - float tubers rule.