Clifford Pirch FLW National Guard Pro Angler - Go Guard

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Pirch Junked With Right Stuff At Right Time

Junk-fishing is a general term that means an angler didn't fish a specific pattern. It's characterized by several rods on the deck and a willingness to throw at any cover that might hold a bass.

But there are junk patterns, and then there are junk patterns, and the best of the junk fishermen seem to have a feel for the what, where and when each day.

Andy Morgan's one name who comes immediately to mind when junkin's the order of the day. But in the west, Cliff Pirch might very well top the list.

Pirch bagged his second WON Bass U.S. Open title in just 4 years this week at Lake Mead near Las Vegas, Nev. He bested nearly all the west's top sticks, as well as tour pros like Rick Clunn, Morizo Shimizu and others.

Pirch said he junk-fished and caught fish on five or six different baits, but he refined his approach and fished the right bait in the right spots at the right times.

Here's a look at how he did it. Complete Story

Cliff Wins US OPEN Again!

Bill Mays-WonBass

BassFan.com - Pirch, one of just a few Arizona anglers to ever sustain a career at the pro level, remains most successful in the west, with now two U.S. Open victories and a Western FLW Series win to his credit.

His previous U.S. Open win came in 2007.

"It's just exciting," Pirch said shortly after the unofficial results were posted. "Coming in today, I didn't even really expect to win. But boy, what a blessing.

"To the western guys, the U.S. Open is like the Super Bowl of the West. It's a big deal for us western guys. There's this big divide between Texas and the West, where guys either stay to the east or west. This event is the western guys and like I said, I'm pretty excited. It hasn't even really hit me yet. I thought I'd probably move up a few spots, but I really didn't expect to win."

The U.S. Open features a shared-weight format where the co-angler and pro combine their five best. Pirch got help from his co-angler today, he said, and there wasn't a single fish or moment he can point to that clinched it for him. Instead, "every fish really counted," he said.

"I caught a big one pretty early, but really I was just trying to make what I could out of it. I had several things go wrong with losing some fish over the last couple of days, and I thought, 'Well, that'll probably be the difference.' I'm amazed that (11 pounds) held out today."

Interestingly, Pirch said his focus leading up to this week had been on the Forrest Wood Cup. He fishes the FLW Outdoors National Guard team, and the Cup offers a $500,000-plus payout.

But that changed when he arrived in Las Vegas for the U.S. Open, which he noted had always been a good event for him. "When you're from the West, you can't miss the U.S. Open. I always come out and try to support it. I want to be here and support it."

He described his pattern as "total junk-fishing." He caught fish on a worm, topwater, crankbait, spinnerbait, jig and Texas-rig. He yanked a few fish out of the Vegas Wash, but concentrated mainly on the lower basin. "I was just kind of running around and finding grass pockets and rock shade," he said.

He was awarded $40,000 cash plus a fully rigged Nitro boat. full details of his winning pattern will be posted soon.

Pirch wins Walmart FLW Series event on Clear Lake

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Team National Guard pro Clifford Pirch of Payson, Ariz., caught a Western Division record-breaking five-bass catch weighing 37 pounds, 8 ounces Saturday to win $105,820 in the Walmart FLW Series National Guard Western Division tournament on Clear Lake with a four-day stringer of 20 bass weighing 97-8.

The catch gave him the win by a solid 10-pound, 14-ounce margin over Randy Mcabee, Jr., who caught a total of 20 bass weighing 86-10 and earned $40,410.

Pirch beat the previous Western Division heaviest bag record by 1 pound 12 ounces which was held by Sean Stafford. Stafford weighed in a 35 pound, 12 ounce bag that he caught at the California Delta in 2008.

“I just had an incredible day,” said Pirch, whose biggest pro bag to date was about 27 pounds. “I don’t know what they were . . .” Read More

Pirch pounds ‘em on Clear Lake

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – When the first fish out of the bag makes the crowd go “Wow!” – you know you’re about to see something special. For Clifford Pirch, “special” just doesn’t even come close to what he accomplished at the final Walmart FLW Series event of the regular season in the National Guard Western Division.

Dispensing with any formalities, let’s just look at the numbers. On the tournament’s final day, Pirch caught five bass that weighed 37 pounds, 8 ounces and topped the pro field with 97 pounds, 8 ounces over four days – 10-14 more than his nearest competitor. His massive limit set a new record for a single-day catch in an FLW Series Western Division event. For his efforts, Pirch won $105,000. Read More

Pirch finishes strong, moves to second

Despite his inherent advantage of local knowledge, Pirch admitted that he had a tough tournament for the same reason as everyone else. The cold front that pushed into the area a day before the tournament torched many of the plans established during practice.

“I really had to scratch around,” he said. “That cold front changed things for me. I expected to be able to sight-fish all week. I was looking at some big fish (in practice), but it just never happened.” Read More

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