Steve Rizza
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Yeah the headline in the local paper today got my attention also..
Here's the clip from the paper,I cut out the middle part about all the other guys.
Greg Gutierrez averted disaster Wednesday.
One of the 47 anglers who will be fishing in the Bassmaster Classic, Gutierrez was on the rivers yesterday, the last day competitors could practice before the actual tournament. He had cast out to a fishy-looking spot when a carp he estimated at 20 pounds hit his "secret" bait.
"It was pretty comical, but I couldn't afford to cut him off," Gutierrez, of Red Bluff, Calif., said with a laugh. "You're only allowed to bring so much equipment, and that was my secret bait. That's why I had to fight him all the way back to the boat. I had to get it back."
The good news is Gutierrez got his lure back. The bad news is that bass -- the species of fish Classic anglers are really looking for -- proved scarce again. Several anglers said the fishing, tough when they last practiced here the final week of June, continues to be challenging.
Gutierrez, for example, said most of the bass he caught were legal-sized. There just weren't many of them.
Gutierrez, one of the few non-pros in the field, said something as dramatic as a Classic victory could allow him to leave his job as a firefighter and become a full-time angler. That's his dream, and what he will be aiming for.
"If I can keep rolling with what I've got, I feel I can do well," Gutierrez said. "I don't know about winning. I don't put myself as the favorite certainly.
"But I think my odds are as good as a lot of people's. You're going to see one smilin' son of a gun if I do win, I'll guarantee that."
Here's the clip from the paper,I cut out the middle part about all the other guys.
Greg Gutierrez averted disaster Wednesday.
One of the 47 anglers who will be fishing in the Bassmaster Classic, Gutierrez was on the rivers yesterday, the last day competitors could practice before the actual tournament. He had cast out to a fishy-looking spot when a carp he estimated at 20 pounds hit his "secret" bait.
"It was pretty comical, but I couldn't afford to cut him off," Gutierrez, of Red Bluff, Calif., said with a laugh. "You're only allowed to bring so much equipment, and that was my secret bait. That's why I had to fight him all the way back to the boat. I had to get it back."
The good news is Gutierrez got his lure back. The bad news is that bass -- the species of fish Classic anglers are really looking for -- proved scarce again. Several anglers said the fishing, tough when they last practiced here the final week of June, continues to be challenging.
Gutierrez, for example, said most of the bass he caught were legal-sized. There just weren't many of them.
Gutierrez, one of the few non-pros in the field, said something as dramatic as a Classic victory could allow him to leave his job as a firefighter and become a full-time angler. That's his dream, and what he will be aiming for.
"If I can keep rolling with what I've got, I feel I can do well," Gutierrez said. "I don't know about winning. I don't put myself as the favorite certainly.
"But I think my odds are as good as a lot of people's. You're going to see one smilin' son of a gun if I do win, I'll guarantee that."
