Bass Fishing Jun - Jul 2022 | Page 54

MASTERS SERIES

flipping

As told by Gary Klein
PHOTOS BY PHOENIX MOORE
IN EVERY CRAFT , THERE IS A MASTER : AN ARTIST , PLAYER OR PERFORMER OF CONSUMMATE SKILL WHOSE WORK SERVES AS A MODEL OR IDEAL …

W hen I was 15 years old , I had a summer job at a marina on Lake Oroville in California . That ’ s where I met Dee Thomas – the man who invented flipping – and where I first saw competitive fishing . Dee took me under his wing and eventually taught me the flipping technique . That set me on a path to a career in tournament fishing , so it ’ s no exaggeration to say that Dee and flipping changed my life . I wouldn ’ t be where I am today or have the career I ’ ve enjoyed without them .

52 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | JUNE-JULY 2022