LAKE WYLIE -- Like kids, professional anglers often say the darndest things.

Even in moments of complete seriousness, anglers use words that might leave the non-fishing public scratching its head. "Floating a jig," "spinning a frog" and "casting a tube" are just a few phrases that make perfect sense to anglers.

Imagine, though, being deaf. Now imagine someone who may just have a more difficult task than the anglers trolling for fish themselves -- communicating what is being said through sign language.

Cori McChesney and Meg Tucker, translators with Fluent Language Solutions in Charlotte, spent the weekend making the attempt. A small number of hearing-impaired fans attended events at the Bassmaster American, and those fans relied on McChesney and Tucker to communicate hours of dialogue.

Bob Ketner of and John Bradley of Kentucky are both lifetime BASS members who are hearing-impaired. Yet they were at the weigh-in each afternoon watching the hands of their interpreters. BASS actually has a series for hearing-impaired members, McChesney said.

"This is just a great way for everyone to be involved," she said.

The looks on McChesney's and Tucker's faces were a bit comical at times, often when a host would interview an angler who just came off of the lake to weigh in. Lures such as logs, frogs, tubes and jigs were cast into, over the top of, just beside and around boat docks, beds and schools. One angler, who missed out on the top 12 cut by a mere ounce at the time of his weigh-in, was consoled by a BASS host who said the weight may have been enough had the fish not "pooped in the livewell."

"That was a hard one," McChesney said.

Tucker laughed at the phrase, said during her partner's turn at translating. Such phrases and odd grammatical constructions are just part of the job, though.

"We have a word for poop," Tucker said.

The team rotated during the three hour weigh-in Friday evening, a common procedure for long events. Many people think they switch off because signing is physical activity, but moving arms and hands is not the tiring part, Tucker said.

"It's not your hands, it's your brain because you're constantly translating what you're hearing into a different language," she said.

Bass fishing is unique, Tucker said, and presents unique challenges because so many of the words and phrases used in the sport are specific names of lures made by specific companies, certain parts of boats or equipment that are specific to professional fishing. Sign language, on the other hand, is more concept-oriented.

"When they talk about fishing under a dock, in shallow water or deep water or things like that, we have a hard time," Tucker said. "So much of our language is so visual."

Perhaps in the future, especially if the number of hearing-impaired fans grows in the sport, translators will be allowed on the boats with anglers. That way, drawing those visual pictures will be that much easier.

"It would have helped if we had been out on the water and had seen what was going on," Tucker said. "So much of sign language is pictorial, based on concepts rather than actual words. It's not an exact word-for-word translation."

That decision, though, is out of her hands. Instead, the signers continue hearing stories of crankbaits, test lines and wrapped rigs, turning them each into an invaluable picture.