Kyle Schutta is Back
From a cameraman’s perspective, something was missing in the 2023 Champions Tour Season. We had the inevitable, Schultz winning a Skeeter Boat. Rookie success, with both Willert and Krampitz coming home with victories. And finally, we had the breakthrough, with Novak finally getting a long overdue win, and Arnold Helgerson bringing home the Angler of the Year trophy.
The only thing missing? We didn’t have the constant buzz and commotion of Kyle Schutta tearing around every square inch of a body of water at a record pace.
In 2024, we have that back.
Winning the first Champions Tour event he ever fished in in 2020 on Lake Vermilion, Kyle Schutta has developed a reputation on the Champions Tour. That reputation? Turn and Burn. “I like to fish fast,” Schutta commented.
Now, like mentioned above, Schutta did step away in 2023 after a very successful Toyota Series Season he was invited to compete in the TackleWarehouse Invitationals so he had to take the bid.
“I knew exactly how I was going to feel.” Schutta commented about his departure in 2023. “I missed it a lot.”
However, he has no regrets from missing the past season. Fishing the TackleWarehouse Invitationals was a bucket list experience for him, as he got to check off fishing on a Full Time Professional Tour. Looking at coming back for the 2024 Champions Tour season, when asked what he likes most about it, Schutta exclaimed, “It’s just plain old fun and I’m excited to be back.”
Heading into 2024, Schutta is looking to build on his success from previous seasons. Taking a Brandon Palaniuk like approach to the season, he says “I want to win every tournament, angler of the year, the boat. All of it.” And based on his previous success in the Champions Tour, it’s hard to argue that he couldn’t do it.
Schutta has amassed several Top-10 finishes over his years on the Champions Tour, and always seems to be right there in the Angler of the Year race. But that trophy has eluded him all of these years. As mentioned above, Schutta has developed a “Turn and Burn” reputation that has linked him to shallow water.
However, he said, “I’ve been pegged as a shallow water guy. Whether it’s been on film or not, I’ve used all water columns.”
Referencing that he typically runs one of two programs for his best tournaments. He’s either running one pattern, and maximizing it to its fullest potential. Or he’s going to run 50 spots and burn it down. Speaking from cameraman experience, either way, Schutta seems to like to fish a lot of water each day.
Looking at the 2024 Season, Schutta doesn’t particularly care where we fish. He just wants to have his hat tossed in the ring. With two brand new places on the schedule this year, he’s thrilled at the opportunity to fish new water, having never fished either.
“The goal is to stay versatile, stay open minded, fish fast, and win Angler of the Year,” Schutta ended.
Based off previous finishes and experience covering Schutta, I’d like to think he will have his hat thrown in that ring in 2024.
