Greg Gutierrez was disqualified from the Smith Mt. Bassmaster Elite Series in Virginia this morning because he fished with a non-competitor during practice who'd been on the tournament waters during the 30-day off-limits period.

On Monday, Gutierrez fished with fellow Californian Dave Meza, who works with Toyota's promotions department at Elite Series events. Meza had been staying on a houseboat at Smith Mt. since his arrival from the American Major in North Carolina, and thus had been on the competition venue during the cutoff time.

BassFan received the following statement from a BASS communications official via email: "Greg Gutierrez was disqualified today from the Blue Ridge Brawl presented by Advance Parts for violation of Rule 3 (ii). The applicable part of the rule states, "During the official practice, a competitor may not have the advice or assistance of anyone for the purposes of locating or catching bass, nor enter the tournament waters with anyone who has been on the tournament waters during the off-limits period unless they are a competitor in the tournament."



Meza, a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, has fished three Elite Series events as a co-angler over the past 2 years – both tournaments at Amistad and the 2006 event at Grand Lake. He's registered for this year's event at the Potomac River, but is unsure whether he'll be able to compete due to his schedule.

He said he was on the houseboat with three other people for 7 days. He fished once – for about 4 hours – and caught one keeper.

"I was just out there to relax, have fun, play some cards and enjoy myself," he said. "I knew that the fishing was tough, and I didn't really want to fish. Even if I'd wanted to, I couldn't have helped Greg whatsoever."

He said he was "shocked" when he heard of the fate that had befallen Gutierrez.

"I thought it was unfair. It's hard to swallow when you consider how much money these guys are putting out. If I was in this tournament, it would have been okay for him to fish with me. I really don't see what the difference is."

Morning Jolt

Gutierrez said he was approached by Weldon just before blast-off this morning and asked whether he'd fished with Meza during practice. When he confirmed that he had, Weldon informed him that he was DQd.

"It completely blew me away," he said. "I'd met Dave last year at Amistad, and he's just a great, easy-going guy. When we were at the American, I asked him if he'd be interested in going out and running around with me for a day (at Smith Mt.).

"I knew they were getting a houseboat, but I didn't think anything of it."

He said another competitor must have reported the incident to Weldon, because he didn't hear a word about it between Monday night and Thursday morning.

"I'm not sure why somebody would boo-hoo about it, but when there's this much money on the line, it's every man for himself," Gutierrez said. "I don't agree with (the ruling), but I have to abide by it. I'm usually a stickler for things where there could possibly be any gray area, but I guess I'm going to have to go back and read everything again."

A Costly Mistake

For the 45-year-old Gutierrez, who fishes the Elite Series around his job as a full-time firefighter, the ramifications of the DQ are huge. He came to Smith Mt. in 34th place in the Angler of the Year (AOY) race, and the Top 37 earn spots in the 2008 Bassmaster Classic.

"This probably shoots down any chance I had at the Classic," he said. "And I certainly can't afford to throw away $6,500 (the $5,000 entry fee, plus travel expenses).

"But maybe the worst part is getting labeled with a cheater's sign on my back. I can't believe how badly I've let down my sponsors and my friends. I also put Trip in a bad position – he doesn't want to have to do this kind of stuff.

"It's really an unfortunate mistake."

Notable

> The DQ is the first in the Elite Series this year. In 2006, Kevin VanDam, Alton Jones and Randy Howell were DQd for violation of the rule against having others operate their boats while they looked for bedding bass from the front deck. That rule had been modified to include practice prior to the 2005 season.

> Gutierrez was driving to St. Louis this morning. He'll store his boat and truck there and catch a flight home to California.

> No co-anglers were affected by the DQ. The BASS official said the field was short one co-angler to begin with, and an observer was to have been sent out in Darrin Schwenkbeck's boat. Gutierrez's co-angler is now fishing with Schwenkbeck. The official said he was unsure what would have occurred had there been an even split between pros and co-anglers, but that such situations would be dealt with "on a case-by-case basis."

> Elton Luce Jr. is also out of action this week due to what the official termed "a family issue."