I live on the outskirts of Nashville, and very near my 'home' lake, Old Hickory Lake.  Last weekend, the WBT tourney was here, and tomorrow the Bassmaster Elite tourney begins here.  Where are all the pros?  Do they hide?

Obviously, I know they are pre-fishing, etc., but I mean they have to stop periodically and put gas in their boats and trucks.  Haven't seen one. What about hotels?  Restaurants? They have to stay somewhere, and even plug in their boats at night, presumably..... but I have not seen any of them.

I was in BPS yesterday, and saw a couple of them.....not super-star guys on TV all the time, but pros nonetheless, and they seemed like they were avoidant of chatting with anyone.  Probably in a hurry, I'd guess.

Just wondering....do the pros tend to seclude and insulate themselves as much as possible (to avoid time consuming idle chatter, etc), or am I reading too much into it?  Not that my feelings are hurt or anything, just curious-

They are all out on the water. No sense in checking the hotels until late. Get on the water and you will find them.

Don't be offended by not seeming like they want to chat but they are under the strict no info rule and are probably afraid they might get DQ'd also.

I know where you can find them tomorrow though  ;D

I drove over the station camp bridge on 31-e this afternoon and saw the co-angler fighting a fish in the blue yamaha boat.  I'm not sure which pro it was but atleast someone was catching fish today while I was working....

Will hit one of the problems right on the head...they will not speak to anyone due to tournament rules which forbid them asking the locals for help.

However, with that said, do you realize that the pros can hire a "guide" to prefish for them and report back?  It is done all the time.

The pros are not there to socialize with the public. They are working and the work is extremely hard, demanding and stressful. So they do not want to speak with you or interact with you in any way.

And fishfordollars is also correct. They are on the water prefishing as per the tournament rules.  They can always check into a motel/hotel via their wife or girlfriend or another person and use that other person's name so you can't find them.

Then, they stay in their rooms double checking maps, fishing plans, equipment and the weather.  They go to sleep early and get up early to head to the ramp.

Then, as if by magic, they all appear.

I remember a tournament when Ike wore one color hat at the ramp and when blasting off, only to change the hat to another color after blast off so no one would know who he was.

It's sort of like NASCAR.  You can't find a driver until the introductions.

Magic, it is magic. ;D