Fishing with FLW Pro Anglers Greg Gutierrez and Richard Dobyns on Lake Pardee (continued)

Zander and Cal moved their gear over to Richard’s boat and proceeded to head back out and do some sight fishing. With the water at Pardee so crystal clear and the sun overhead it was possible to see 30 plus feet down to the bottom. This was Richard’s very first time ever fishing Pardee so rather than rely on experience he had to focus on his strengths.

Richard shows us his arsenal, Dobyns rods of course

It didn’t take long to see bass cruising around and there were a few times when all three of them let out collective expletives when a giant cruiser would rise out of the depths. Every time one of the guys would toss their lures out the fish would retreat, wanting nothing to do with the baits whatsoever.

Richard patiently fishes a swimbait

The fish were proving to be both shy and elusive and Richard backed off the bank making sure that even when sight fishing they approached silently and cautiously. This approach required longer casts and more patience with a slower retrieve. The strategy worked and it didn’t take long for Cal to hook into a nice fish on a Roman Made Trick Swimbait.

Richard uses a stinger on his Huddleston and it works...

Richard followed suit by getting two hits on a 6” Huddleston slow crawled right on the bottom, unfortunately neither fish stuck. Making sure the next short strike counted he added a stinger hook right in the back of the tail. Within the next five casts he had a 6lbr. In the boat, and sure enough it was stuck with the stinger only.

...landing a 6lb. largemouth

Pardee truly does provide a beautiful setting for anglers

Over the next two hours more fish were boated using the same technique and Richard talked fondly about “his old man” and his love for all things fishing. In addition to fishing professionally for bass he enjoys fly fishing and routinely dives for abalone. He also talked about the family’s rod business and on his boat were numerous prototypes of early Dobyns Extreme rods. In the current lineup the 743 Champion Extreme spinning rod is his favorite due to the rod’s versatility. He uses this rod for fishing everything from Senkos to Texas rigged plastics and working jigs.

Pro Angler Mark Lassagne with a nice fish

Pardee is a serene place to fish and being surrounded by such a pretty backdrop makes it easy to both fish and enjoy conversation. At the same time it can also be a challenging place for bass anglers as the ultra clear water requires either subtle presentations with light line or persistence with big baits. This challenge combined with the opportunity to catch a lunker make this a prime destination for those willing to invest the time to learn the lake’s secrets.

Pro Angler Zack Thompson with a largemouth and smallmouth combo

On this particular day the bite started out tough but as the temperature heated up so did the bite. Double G demonstrated why he is such a force on tour and adapted quickly with a tough bite and worked hard to find the fish. Richard Dobyns demonstrated why competitive fishing runs in the blood and attacked the lake which he had never fished before by first taking the time to study where the fish were holding and making adjustments to the strategy resulting in quality fish going into the livewell.

A moment of silence for fellow anglers that have recently passed

As with many things knowledge pays dividends and those pro anglers that had more experience had the edge when targeting the big fish. At the dock a number of the pros including Mark Lassagne and Zack Thompson also showed us quality fish that they had boated. Spend a minute with any one of these pros and it is clear that they have a passion for the sport.

Pro Anglers Taylor Parsons and Kent Brown show us what it is all about

Kent Brown put it all in perspective when he thanked all the pro anglers and writers that came together yesterday to just simply celebrate the sport that we all love as well as observe a moment of silence for a number of regional standouts in the industry that passed away over the last few months. At the end of the day fishing is so much more than just wetting a line, it can be a hobby, for others it is a job, for some it is a passion, and for all of us it represents the perfect opportunity to spend valuable time with friends or family.

Thanks to Kent Brown and the team at Lake Pardee for bringing the Pros and the Press together for yet another memorable event