DOTL: Gary Clouse [Summer]
Date: July 25, 2019
Venue: Lake K, a small flatland reservoir
Water: 82 degrees, stained
Weather: Sunny, high of 83 degrees
Pro: Gary Clouse, 59, Winchester, Tenn. Clouse, an Elite Series sophomore, qualified through the Central Opens. He’s president, CEO and founder of Phoenix Boats.
Boat: Phoenix 21 PHX with a 250-horsepower Mercury outboard, Minn Kota trolling motor, Lowrance and Garmin electronics and twin Power-Pole shallow-water anchors
Series sophomore can boast as much high-level tournament fishing and outdoor industry experience as Gary Clouse. The southern Missouri native was mentored in competitive bass fishing by Charlie Campbell, a legendary pro during the formative years of B.A.S.S. Clouse fished his first B.A.S.S. Invitational at Lake of the Ozarks in 1981 and eventually competed in 80 B.A.S.S. events, collecting paychecks in 28 of them. His pro fishing career was sidetracked in the ’80s when he went to work for Stratos Boats in Nashville. When Stratos was sold, Clouse joined another Tennessee boat manufacturer, Triton, then eventually took over the helm at Stratos before forming his own company, Phoenix Boats, in 2007. Throughout his gigs in the bass boat manufacturing industry, Clouse somehow found time to
