No pre-fish for Gutierrez
California's Greg Gutierrez remained in the Golden State this week while most of his fellow Bassmaster Classic qualifiers were participating in the pre-fish period at Lake Toho. Gutierrez, a captain with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF), was undergoing recertification training.
"We have to recertify every year, and the department decided that January and February would be those months this year and there would be no opportunity for vacation," he said. "They do it this way so everybody can be trained at the same level."
He was recertified as an emergency medical technician (EMT) and a hazardous materials technician (HMT). He also received training on several types of breathing apparatus.
He's been with CDF since he graduated from high school in 1980. "I've invested so much time with the fire department, it's not like I can just quit," he said. "There might be some more opportunities out there for me if I could say I was a full-time fisherman, but let's face it, I'm a firefighter. I still love it."
He'll leave for Florida tomorrow and will arrive in time to participate in the Junior Bassmaster World Championship. He'll be limited to just one day of Classic practice – the day before the tournament begins.
"Looking at the weather, I'm not sure that'll hinder me that much, outside of not seeing the lake and being able to run around it," he said. "From when I was down there last time, I have an idea of where I'll best be able to use my time. I'll stick to a few specific areas and try to work out some things."
He finished 28th in last year's Classic at the Three Rivers in Pittsburgh. He was 144th at the 2005 Toho Bassmaster.
"I liked (Toho), but I made some errors in execution," he said. "I was around fish and I had the right things going, but I didn't save enough time to flip my way out of trouble. I was swinging big, thinking I needed to do that, rather than going for the points when I had the time."
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