Arizona’s Clifford Pirch got tired of seeing his pro angling buddies Josh Bertrand and Roy Hawk cashing Bonus Bucks checks from Toyota while he was towing with another brand.
“I was running a diesel, while Josh and Roy were cashing-in on the Toyota Bonus Bucks Program. So I went and bought a Tundra, and now I’m getting paid too,” says Pirch. “And I’ve never once regretted getting rid of the diesel because the towing power of this Tundra is awesome, and it’s a super comfortable ride too.”
Pirch earned the bonus by showcasing his angling talents at the famed St. Johns River Bassmaster Elite Series event, especially on Day 3, when he brought a monster limit to the scales that weighed 34 pounds.
“About half the fish I weighed-in this week were spawners that fell for a Big Bite Baits finesse wacky worm, and the other half chased a vibrating blade jig,” says Pirch, who is nearly as passionate about hunting elk antler sheds in Arizona each spring as he is bass fishing.
Hunting elk antler sheds will keep Pirch busy during what little time he’s home in March and April, but for now he’s happy to be picking up a bonus from Toyota as he rolls out of Florida.
You don’t have to be a full time pro like Bassmaster Elite Series anglers Clifford Pirch or John Crews to be eligible to win Toyota Bonus Bucks, you just have to drive a 2015 or newer Toyota Truck, sign up Free for Bonus Bucks, and be the highest finishing registered participant in one of the dozens of tournaments supported by the program.
To learn more, please visit www.toyotafishing.com, or call (918) 742-6424 and ask for Kendell or Jarrett and they will help you get signed-up.
Amid a fishing trip on the bass-starved Ohio River in the summer of 1987, Alan McGuckin’s Dad told a then 16-year-old “Guck” — “I don’t care what you do for a living, just promise me you’ll do something you love.”
Originally from Pittsburgh, McGuckin considers himself a blue-collar kid, who has been richly blessed to live-out the best piece of advice his dad ever gave him for many years now in the Tulsa area.
After earning a degree in ecology at Juniata College in Pennsylvania, where he placed radio transmitters in largemouth bass to track their habitat preferences, he moved his life to Oklahoma in 1992, where he earned a Masters in Zoology and Fisheries under the direction of Gene Gilliland at the University of Oklahoma, before then embarking on what’s now a nearly three decade long career as a marketing and media veteran in the fishing industry.
His career spans 28 years of wisdom-rich marketing experience working to strengthen brands and increase sales for Lowrance, Terminator Lures, Toyota, Yamaha Outboards, Boat U.S., Carhartt, Costa, Quantum, Vexus Boats, and Zebco.
- Member of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame voting committee, as well as a Board of Directors member for Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful
- Co-piloted the Terminator brand of premium lures from its birth to more than 10 Million pieces sold between 1997-2006.
- Has authored and published more than 800 stories on Bassmaster.com, along with several other popular bass fishing websites.
- He has generated $3 Million dollars’ worth of branded digital media since 2020, as a content creator.
- Serves as emcee for hundreds of guests at the annual Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners event.
- Avid angler, who fishes nearly every weekend when not on the road working.
- 13,000 followers on Instagram @GuckFishing.
“Guck” lives just north of Tulsa, OK at Lake Skiatook with wife Sherrie, an elementary school principal who also loves her job, and has a genuine passion for slinging a Rapala Brat crankbait on shallow points and habitat-laden flats.
