PractIcE YoUr PrESEntatIon
“Precision is everything; you cannot cast haphazardly,” explained Gutierrez. “You’ve got to put it in the hole in the canopy, perfectly and quietly. You cannot bomb the fish. You cannot startle the fish. accuracy and stealth are even more important when you’re up shallow; because it is so easy to spook them. Boat movements and the noise you create moving in the boat are all part of being stealth.” His best bet for a bait when he is beatin’ the banks is a two prong approach that includes a Skinny dipper and Sweat Beaver both made by reaction innovations. “The Beaver is versatile as you can cast it and work it like a worm - a profile that appeals to any appetite,” said Gutierrez. He keeps the bait colors simple with green pumpkin type shades in clear water and darkens it up with natural hues like black and red or black and blue in stained water. “i really like the color Spanish Fly; it stands out against the grass real well,” he noted.
gEttIn’ StartED
double G gets his shallow water bass assault started by swimming a Skinny dipper. “That’s what i use when i’m feelin’ for a bite,” stated the tournament pro. “i use it lookin’ for a reaction bite. i may start with big flats with lots of grass, cover a lot of water and look for reactive fish. You can throw this out and fish it like a
swimbait, next to weed lines, in lanes of grass and by ambush points. The odds are - the more casts you make, the more opportunities you have to get a bite. if he finds the fish aren’t going for his first presentation or if he is just “getting nudges” he will slow down and start flippin’ into pockets. “Get that Skinny dipper in between the tule lanes, in the pockets - in the sweet spots,” advised Gutierrez. “When i flip, i flip excruciatingly slow and i flip everything. i will flip a three foot area over and over, reaching every angle until i get it the way they want it. You have to listen to the fish.” a cast every 10- to12-feet may be good enough when you’re covering water; but Gutierrez suggested tightening up may be necessary. He shared he may flip five or 10 times in a 4-foot area; he may run a 20- yard bank flippin it the length of a fish - every 16- to 18-inches. it all depends on what the fish tell him. “if i believe in the bank or a bush, i will put that kind of time into it,” he explained. “i will put the Power Poles down every 5- to 10-feet, around a bush, or a flat or whatever and i will hit every part. i go to the front, then the sides, then the heart and then the back. it is a meticulous process and you want to work your way in, so not to scare off any fish with a big bomb from the start. This will really test your conviction and like i said, you have to believe in your bush or your bank to do it. remember - you’re looking for five big bites.”
Issue 3
June 2012
47