By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor
Jim Tutt did absolutely zero fishing last fall and over the winter – by choice.
Imagine living on a 4,000-acre private lake in Texas, as Tutt does, and not slipping out for at least a couple hours at some point. Instead, Tutt wrapped himself up in a house-flipping project that consumed most of his offseason. While he may not have realized it at the time, it gave him a chance to recharge his fishing batteries after another so-so FLW Tour season.
“Normally in the fall, I fish every day at home because it’s so good, but I didn’t fish at all until I went to Florida (in February),” he said. “In the back of my mind, I think that got me refreshed and refocused.”
It appears to have worked. Already this season, he’s collected more winnings than in any of the three previous full Tour seasons and appears to be on track to make his sixth career appearance in the Forrest Wood Cup.
A 20th-place finish at Lake Okeechobee marked the first time he’d made the weekend in a Tour event since the Tour Open at Sam Rayburn Reservoir in October 2012. He tacked on a 22nd at Lake Hartwell, his best finish in four events there, and sits comfortably in 9th place in the Angler of the Year points chase one third of the way into the season.
Aside from being rested, Tutt pointed to a renewed trust in his equipment and hitting it off with a new travel and practice partner as other reasons for his early-season surge. What’s more is he had a hunch good things were going to happen before making a cast.
“You know what’s crazy? I knew way before the season started that my mindset was different and I had a hunch that I would do well,” he said. “I was talking to Scott Martin and told him I felt like I could win one this season. I’m just feeling confident.
“I just hope I can keep it going. I don’t want to jinx anything, but I have a shot at Angler of the Year. I know that’s a lofty goal because there are some hellacious fishermen up there, but if everything goes perfect, it could happen.”
More Relaxed
So far, everything has gone well for Tutt this season and based on history, when he gets off to a good start, he typically carries that momentum through the rest of the season.
In 2012, the last time he qualified for the Cup, he cashed checks at the first two tournaments. In the 3 years since, when it came to the first two events on the schedule, he made the money cut just once.
“That’s exactly the case,” he said. “I’ve said that many times, including this year. I don’t know why that happens.”
He was quick to credit new travel partner Mark Mowery, a Longview resident who’s competing as a co-angler this season. Mowery fished the Texas Division of the FLW Series as a co-angler last year (he finished 2nd in points) and told Tutt he was considering stepping up to the Tour. Last July, the two traveled to Lake Champlain for the Northern FLW Series to give the arrangement a try.
“He wanted to go up and catch some smallmouth,” Tutt said. “I figured if I can drive 31 hours with him to New York, maybe we could travel together this season. He offered to split gas and lodging expenses and it’s worked out great.”
Tutt has noticed an immediate difference in his performance and he thinks it stems from having Mowery around to practice with and bounce ideas off of.
“I haven’t changed how I practice, but I’m able to cover twice as much water now,” Tutt added. “Maybe it’s a little relief, but at the end of the day, it takes a bit of the pressure off. He’s really been a help.
“It’s not that it’s any more fun than it used to be and it’s not that it’s become fun again because it wasn’t ever not fun, but Mark traveling with me has a lot to do with it. Those small things have allowed me to relax. I couldn’t have planned it to have anybody better.”
He also more faith in his equipment this season after mechanical and electrical issues led to a frustrating 2015 campaign. On his third cast on day 1 at Lake Okeechobee this year, he boated a 7-pounder.
“That’s about as good as I could ask for,” he said. “What’s happened this year is I’m fishing a lot more relaxed. It’s probably tied back to my equipment. Being more relaxed has allowed me to make more changes, whether it’s locations or a bait or go over there to try to catch one fish.”
Tried Something Different
Hartwell has always been good to Tutt, but this year he wound up playing a hunch and had it work out in his favor. While a lot of competitors were focused on spawning fish, Tutt hung around docks and big houseboats.
“Practice was incredible, but I tried to do something off the wall and that ended up being how I caught three or four of my biggest fish,” he said. “It’s something I normally wouldn’t have done.”
That something was casting jerkbaits alongside houseboats that were moored over 50 to 60 feet of water.
“I’d been practicing with a shakey head and a tube around docks and was getting a ton of bites,” he said. “On the second day of practice, I figured I’d try something different. I picked up the jerkbait and caught a 6-pound largemouth on my second cast. My partner then caught a 3 1/2. I went back there on the last day and made two casts and caught a 4.”
He wound up racking up a 4 1/2-pounder and a 5 1/2-pounder in the same area on the same bait during the tournament.
“It was gin-clear with no wind and bright sun,” he said. "They were like 10 feet off the boat, too. It would’ve made more sense if I were scraping the paint off those things.”
While at Hartwell, Tutt got a kick out of following Rick Clunn’s return to the winner’s circle at the St. Johns River.
“He’s a fishing hero of mine and a friend of mine,” he said. “It was neat to see him win. I don’t think he’s lost his skills, but he’s been so set in his ways and mindset and hasn’t changed for a while. That just tells me there’s hope for me.”
