Agetec's Virtual Bass Fishing Report

Somewhere on the California delta lies a small, out-of-the way camping resort called Snug Harbor (so out of the way that we had trouble finding it). Located on a small island with few road signs, Snug Harbor is nice and secluded, making it the ideal spot to kick back and catch a few fish. Virtual fish, that is.

Here's how it went: Starting on Friday night, five other editors and I piled into a van rented by Agetec and were driven to Snug Harbor. When we arrived, though, kids from the town mobbed us. They had heard game editors were coming, and they wanted to come meet us. And taunt us. You see, these kids were ready for some virtual bass-fishing action - we were to play against them in the Virtual Bass Fishing Tournament for the PlayStation the next day. Agetec had sent up Bass Landing units earlier in the week so that these kids could hone their fishing skills. And believe me, from the sound of it, these kids had really spent some time practicing. We were in trouble.

So after a night of intense practicing and marshmallow roasting, we settled down and got some much-deserved sleep. The next day, we awoke only to be greeted to a spectacular sunny day - perfect for some real fishing.

That afternoon, the Virtual Bass Tournament began. In the spacious living room of the Agetec cabin were six TVs and PlayStations, with Bass Landing loaded on them. The premise was simple: Agetec was giving the kids of the town a chance to play against the guys who play games for a living. Which team would grab the heaviest bass? It was Team Snug Harbor vs. The Editors. We would show them no mercy.

The tournament began, and the upper hand kept shifting between the two teams. First, they got a good two-pounder, which we then beat with a nice three-and-a-half pounder. About 20 minutes into the tournament, one of the kids - a pro fisherman in real life - managed to grab a hefty six-pound bass. It looked like we were in some serious trouble. However, with about 15 minutes left in the tourney, one of our guys grabbed a monster eight-and-a-half pounder and clenched the win for us. However, Agetec still gave a trophy, a copy of Bass Landing, and the latest issue of EGM to Daniel Dell from the Snug Harbor team, as he lead them with the heaviest bass. Everyone had a lot of fun, and it worked out well - we showed them why we get paid to do this.

That night we had another Virtual Fishing Tournament. This time it was just the editors. We had an hour to prove ourselves, and emotions were running high. I had picked out a pretty good fishing spot and was getting a few good bites. But it didn't help that one of the editors managed to grab a nice ten pounder (eleven pounds is the highest Agetec has ever seen) on his first cast. Actually, we basically knew it was over right then, but we kept on fishing. And with a few minutes to go before the clock ran out, I got a good bite - this fish was really putting up a good struggle. It had me going for quite some time - in fact, the clock ran out, and I was still working on it (as long as we had a fish on the line we could keep going). My arm tired from all the fishing that day, and it felt like the fish was going to fall off - but I didn't give up. Everyone in the room crowded around - this was a big one. Finally - after a good ten-minute fight - I brought the fish in. Everything was silent as the loading screen came up. The announcer on the game said, "This looks like a big one folks." This couldn't have been any more exciting. The fisherman holding the fish screen finally loaded up... and it wasn't a bass! All of this work for nothing. (You needed a bass to win). Shucks.

After another night of sitting by the campfire and toasting marshmallows, we woke up, watched some of the 49ers game, and headed down to the town's Columbus Day parade. Agetec landed a spot in the parade's announcement stand to deliver the results of the Virtual Bass Fishing Tournament and to hand over a large trophy to the winner, Pooch. We then handed out fake bass fishes to people in the crowd, while Pooch walked around grabbing photos with town folk.

I think we all had a blast this weekend. Commendations go out to Agetec for putting together this great little fishing trip. In any case, if you're interested in seeing any of the intense fishing that went on this weekend, check out the movies and pictures we grabbed.