Jeff "Gussy" Gustafson takes over Best On Tour (Issue 310)

Issue #310

PRESENTED BY: Sunline

Lund Boats Champion’s Club Tournament Contingency

I have fished my entire career out of a Lund boat and I’m proud to share a new contingency program they have available for Lund owners for 2025. Contingency payouts will be available for around 100 bass and walleye tournaments in both Canada and the USA. There is a $100 entry fee and payouts range from $500 up to $10,000 for winning or being the highest placing finisher in the sanctioned events. Check out the link for all of the details. https://www.lundboats.com/champions-club.html

We have some awesome bass tournaments in my part of the World (Northern Ontario), where I got my start and several of these are included in this program, including Bassin’ For Bucks, the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship and the Kenora Bass International. These are all community-run, three-day events with excellent payouts. I don’t always get to make all of them every year because they will occasionally conflict with our Elite Series schedule, but if I can make them, I absolutely live for fishing in these tournaments on Lake of the Woods and Rainy Lake.

On The Road

Since I jumped into the FLW Tour in 2013, then the Elite Series in 2019, I have had several great roommates and travel partners who have become lifelong friends. For the past three years, my wife Shelby (who usually travels with me) and I have stayed with Jason and Shana Christie. We will typically rent a house for the week of the tournament, and it’s been a really good arrangement. While we love what we do, life on the road is not always as glamourous as it might seem so having our wives travel with us makes life so much better. We eat well, they mostly look after the places to stay and they both help us big time with our social media activities. They really help us out in so many ways and are a big part of the team.

Bagging Barramundi Down Under

Three years ago, my good friend Carl Jocumsen invited me over to Australia to fish for Barramundi and compete on the ABT Barra Tour. We fished four events over a ten-day period and just had the best time. They have become my favourite fish to catch because they fight so hard and they are just fun to fish for. Most of these fish run between 15 and 25 pounds but they can get a lot bigger as well. I have now been back three years in a row to fish the tournaments and I have truly had the time of my life each year. This year we finally got a win in one of these tournaments and got to bring a trophy back home to North America. It’s a project to get over to Australia but it’s a beautiful country and I love the people over there. If you ever get a chance to go over there, go for it! And go catch a barramundi while you’re there…you’ll thank me later!

Northland Fishing Tackle has been a top-notch sponsor for me for over 20 years and over the past couple of years we have put together an awesome assortment of tournament quality bass jigs that are all built on Gamakatsu hooks. This Elite Series line-up includes the Smeltinator, Nedster and Finesse Football, amongst others. We have some good stuff coming down the pipe later in 2025 as well! The Smeltinator Jig, matched up with a Z-Man Scented Jerk ShadZ has been responsible for the two biggest wins of my career, the 2021 Elite Series at the Tennessee River and the 2023 Bassmaster Classic at the same venue. The jig has also been responsible for a few wins around home as well! It is legit! Check out the full selection of products here.

PRESENTED BY: Gamakatsu

Every single day during the Elite Series season is stressful…the competition is so good, if you just have an average day, you’re going to find yourself in like 80^th place probably. You have to catch’em every day if you want to have a shot at making the Bassmaster Classic. Have a look at a practice day from the final event of the 2024 season at the St. Lawrence River where I had to have a good event to make the 2025 Classic. See how I did here.

PRESENTED BY: Denali

Jeff Gustafson

Bassmaster Elite Series pro Jeff Gustafson’s sponsors include Northland Tackle, Shimano, Lund Boats, Costa, G-Loomis, Gamakatsu, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Simms, and Z-Man Fishing Products just to name a few.

Fishing With The Finest

I feel really lucky that I get to fish with G. Loomis NRX+ fishing rods. These are some of the finest fishing rods you’ll ever pick up. They are very high end but trust me when I tell you, they are a pleasure to fish with. If you were going to get one, try to pick one that you can use for your favorite techniques.

For me, I’m a huge fan of the NRX+ 842 SJR. This is a medium action stick that is really good for my favorite techniques – a Ned rig, minnow, small swimmer and other similar spinning rod techniques. On the baitcasting side, the 893 JWR is my favorite, a medium heavy rod that I will use for football jigs, fishing docks, hair jigs and several other techniques. If you really want to spoil yourself, put a Shimano Stella on one of those spinning rods.

PRESENTED BY: AFTCO

A Dream Come True

Winning the Bassmaster Classic is obviously the highlight of my fishing career. Almost two years later, I still can’t believe it actually happened. For anyone that fishes tournaments, winning the Classic is the dream. It was a roller coaster event because the first couple of days went really well and then the final day was almost a nightmare. I was catching smallmouths on the Tennessee River and they had to be 18” to keep. On the final day I caught several nice smallmouths but they did not quite meet the size minimum and had to be released. That hour ride back to Knoxville to weigh-in with only two keepers in my boat was brutal but luckily I had just enough weight with those two fish to hoist the trophy. The best part of winning was the celebration after the tournament on Sunday night. BASS hosts a Champion’s Toast event and it’s a really special period of time. As long as I attend the Classic, I’ll always make sure to make an appearance there to congratulate the winner, it’s a special tradition.

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Issue #310

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