(Editor's note: This short piece comes from industry rep Alan McGuckin, who's on site at this week's Wheeler Lake Bassmaster Elite Series.)
At first glance, a weird and slightly disturbing sight suggested that Terry “Big Show” Scroggins had the legs of a scarecrow stored in the back of his Toyota Tundra.
Upon a second glance, Scroggins had stuffed the legs of a pair of dirty blue jeans, but not with straw to scare crows from a cornfield, or an early Halloween decoration, but instead … in preparation for a trip to the laundromat.
Yes, only Scroggins, known for constantly tinkering and modifying everything from fishing rod handles to trolling-motor props, would convert a pair of dirty Carhartt jeans into a laundry bag.
“I used to use pillow cases from hotel rooms out here on the tournament trail for a laundry bag, but a lady that owned one of those little hotels in upstate New York got mad at me, so I had to stop with the pillow-case plan,” he said. “Now I just use a dirty pair of tried and true Carhartt jeans.”
“Heck, I used to carry my spare outboard prop wrapped up in an old pair of blue jeans, but I finally got a protective case to carry it in. And we did a story one time about me stuffing extra pairs of socks in the door pockets of my Tundra to survive 6 straight weeks away from home."
Scroggins’ unique storage and transportation methods don’t end at laundry bags, socks and boat props. He once hauled deep-diving crankbaits in a 5-gallon bucket with a lid on it, claiming “you can carry a lot of crankbaits in a 5-gallon bucket and the lid keeps moisture out, so your treble hooks don’t rust.”
His storage and transportation methods may be unique, but the likeable Florida pro has hauled home nearly $2 million in prize money and qualified for 11 Bassmaster Classics while doing whatever it takes to survive a life on the road – including dirty laundry.
