Press Room
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Larry Whitely
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Jenna Kendall
417-873-5059
2500 E. Kearney
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04/01/2008
NITRO Pro Greg Gutierrez Battles Blazes and Bass
Capturing four Pro/Am titles, 20 plus team and special event victories, some angler of the year titles, and qualifying for the Elite Series has gained Gutierrez the respect of his fishing peers.Remember that first toy firetruck, how cool it was to wear your hat, hook on the trailer, and raise the hook and ladder to rescue people or maybe save your sister’s barbie doll? As a young boy, one has these grandiose dreams of becoming a heroic fireman. What about catching your first big bass after it broke the surface of the water, jumped and tried to throw the hook? This time you had dreams of life as a bass pro, fishing for thousands of dollars. Well, Greg Gutierrez lives both of those dreams. Not only is he a Cal Fire Captain, he is one of only a few California pro bass anglers that has qualified to tour the BASS Elite Series and still holds a fulltime job.
As a youngster, Gutierrez’s mother got him interested in fishing and when the fishing was hot, his mother signed him out of school to go fishing. They fished ponds, lakes and rivers for whatever was on the bite at the time. At one time he owned three different boats to cover the spectrum of salmon, steelhead, striper, and bass fishing.
After he got a little older and started driving, he and his brother-in-law got hooked on bass fishing at the local dredger ponds near Beale Air Force Base. “So you think you’re going to be a bass pro some day,” his brother-in-law would say in a kidding voice. The young angler would reply with a big smile, “Yeah, some day I’m going to be good enough to do it.”
As time passed, he became a fireman, but never lost his desire to fish as a bass pro. One of the chiefs of the fire department took Gutierrez to a Redding Basser’s club tournament as a guest and he fell in love with the competition and started fishing the club tournaments for the next three years. He spun off from the club tournaments and started fishing the West Coast Bass and WON BASS draw circuits as Steve Kline’s non-boater for the next five years. In 1996 he turned pro and moved from the south end of the boat to the front seat and the rest is history.
Capturing four Pro/Am titles, 20 plus team and special event victories, some angler of the year titles, and qualifying for the Elite Series has gained Gutierrez the respect of his fishing peers, not to say you will never see him on the water or at a weigh-in without a smile on his face.
When it comes to his favorite lakes, Clear Lake, Shasta, and the Delta are at the top of the list. His least favorite lake is Lake Mead. “Lake Mead always gives me trouble; it doesn’t have any fish in the lake.” Both topwater and flipp’n are his favorite fishing techniques and crank’n is his least favorite technique.
His favorite food is ice cream and he enjoys listening to all types of music. “Band of Brothers” was his favorite movie.
Hunting for pheasants with his German Shorthair pointer is his other big passion when he is not fishing. Gutierrez enjoys spending time with his family when not practicing or fishing a tournament. Fishing skill must be in the gene pool, since his son Greg, Jr. fishes some of the team and special events with him and is a very good angler. The young man is a fourtime Bass Master Casting Kids Junior California State Champion and has the IGFA certified Junior World Record for peacock bass at 26 pounds and just missed the all tackle 27-pound world record.
Gutierrez is always giving back to the sport and the local communities, both on the tournament trail and at home. When he is on the road, he contacts the local community fire fighter agencies and sets up a demonstration for fire safety awareness. He sets up an event with equipment and fire trucks on Friday nights when the Elite Series has the dinner for the anglers. He hands out wrist bands for the kids that say, “I fight fish and fires,” he also hands out trading cards of him in his boat and tries to get the local Smokey the Bear to be on hand for the kids. “Children are the future of our sport and it’s important to get them involved in the outdoors,” says the firefighter/bass pro. “If I can use bass fishing to teach children and their parents fire safety it’s a great tool.” He is also involved with the Special Olympics bass fishing tournament in the Lake Shasta area. He gathers raffle prizes and has the Elite Series anglers sign hats for auctions at the event.
Gutierrez still fishes the WON BASS tour events when possible, including the first 2008 tournament on Lake Shasta. “I came to the WON BASS Shasta Pro/AM to promote and answer any questions anglers may have about Nitro Boats,” said Gutierrez. “They build a quality affordable boat and some of the country’s top pro anglers like Rick Clunn, Kevin Van Dam and Stacy Kane, would not be on their pro staff if they did not build a quality product. They are a great company to represent and work for.” Gutierrez is sponsored by Nitro Boats, Mercury Marine, MotorGuide, Abu Garcia, Berkley, Fenwick, Bass Wax , Reaction Innovations and Guest battery chargers.
As a youngster, Gutierrez’s mother got him interested in fishing and when the fishing was hot, his mother signed him out of school to go fishing. They fished ponds, lakes and rivers for whatever was on the bite at the time. At one time he owned three different boats to cover the spectrum of salmon, steelhead, striper, and bass fishing.
After he got a little older and started driving, he and his brother-in-law got hooked on bass fishing at the local dredger ponds near Beale Air Force Base. “So you think you’re going to be a bass pro some day,” his brother-in-law would say in a kidding voice. The young angler would reply with a big smile, “Yeah, some day I’m going to be good enough to do it.”
As time passed, he became a fireman, but never lost his desire to fish as a bass pro. One of the chiefs of the fire department took Gutierrez to a Redding Basser’s club tournament as a guest and he fell in love with the competition and started fishing the club tournaments for the next three years. He spun off from the club tournaments and started fishing the West Coast Bass and WON BASS draw circuits as Steve Kline’s non-boater for the next five years. In 1996 he turned pro and moved from the south end of the boat to the front seat and the rest is history.
Capturing four Pro/Am titles, 20 plus team and special event victories, some angler of the year titles, and qualifying for the Elite Series has gained Gutierrez the respect of his fishing peers, not to say you will never see him on the water or at a weigh-in without a smile on his face.
When it comes to his favorite lakes, Clear Lake, Shasta, and the Delta are at the top of the list. His least favorite lake is Lake Mead. “Lake Mead always gives me trouble; it doesn’t have any fish in the lake.” Both topwater and flipp’n are his favorite fishing techniques and crank’n is his least favorite technique.
His favorite food is ice cream and he enjoys listening to all types of music. “Band of Brothers” was his favorite movie.
Hunting for pheasants with his German Shorthair pointer is his other big passion when he is not fishing. Gutierrez enjoys spending time with his family when not practicing or fishing a tournament. Fishing skill must be in the gene pool, since his son Greg, Jr. fishes some of the team and special events with him and is a very good angler. The young man is a fourtime Bass Master Casting Kids Junior California State Champion and has the IGFA certified Junior World Record for peacock bass at 26 pounds and just missed the all tackle 27-pound world record.
Gutierrez is always giving back to the sport and the local communities, both on the tournament trail and at home. When he is on the road, he contacts the local community fire fighter agencies and sets up a demonstration for fire safety awareness. He sets up an event with equipment and fire trucks on Friday nights when the Elite Series has the dinner for the anglers. He hands out wrist bands for the kids that say, “I fight fish and fires,” he also hands out trading cards of him in his boat and tries to get the local Smokey the Bear to be on hand for the kids. “Children are the future of our sport and it’s important to get them involved in the outdoors,” says the firefighter/bass pro. “If I can use bass fishing to teach children and their parents fire safety it’s a great tool.” He is also involved with the Special Olympics bass fishing tournament in the Lake Shasta area. He gathers raffle prizes and has the Elite Series anglers sign hats for auctions at the event.
Gutierrez still fishes the WON BASS tour events when possible, including the first 2008 tournament on Lake Shasta. “I came to the WON BASS Shasta Pro/AM to promote and answer any questions anglers may have about Nitro Boats,” said Gutierrez. “They build a quality affordable boat and some of the country’s top pro anglers like Rick Clunn, Kevin Van Dam and Stacy Kane, would not be on their pro staff if they did not build a quality product. They are a great company to represent and work for.” Gutierrez is sponsored by Nitro Boats, Mercury Marine, MotorGuide, Abu Garcia, Berkley, Fenwick, Bass Wax , Reaction Innovations and Guest battery chargers.
View 415_WON Bass. Greg Gutierrez article2.pdf