There were several compelling storylines at the season-opening Walmart FLW Tour event on Lake Okeechobee – from Roland Martin's impressive return to Brandon McMillan's emotional fifth-place finish just weeks after his father's passing. Randall Tharp, of course, garnered the most attention by breaking through and notching his first Tour win on his favorite lake.
Amid the hectic tournament news cycle, there was one story that didn't receive the coverage it deserved. A 29-year-old Canadian angler drove 37 hours to south Florida to compete in his pro debut. Sounds like a donator, a recipe for disaster, right? For most fishermen, it would be. But not for Jeff "Gussy" Gustafson.
A native of Kenora, Ontario, Gustafson is well known in the North Country as a smallmouth stick. He's been fishing tournaments since he was 10-years-old when he received a paid entry fee as a Christmas present. Since then, he's claimed the area's most prestigious events – the Kenora Bass International and the International Falls Bass Championship.
"I grew up on the Canadian side of Lake of the Woods and I've been fortunate enough to make a living within the fishing industry most of my life," said Gustafson, who guides and writes in addition to competing in tournaments. "I'm just a fish-head; I live and breathe for bass fishing."
Gustafson has always had the itch to test his skills against the best in the sport. He never had the chance until Kruger Farms president and CEO Don Nelson approached him with a sponsorship opportunity.
"Last fall Don basically offered to help me out on the four Opens. This has always been a lifelong dream and Don made it a reality."
Gustafson had fished Okeechobee exactly once before the 2012 opener and was limited to sampling the rim canal due to low lake levels. With that lack of experience in mind, he traveled to Florida early to sample the nearby lakes while Okeechobee was off-limits.
"I spent a few days on Toho, Kissimmee and Istokpoga just fishing with family and friends. What I learned about Florida fishing is that you go a long time without getting a bite and then all of a sudden you'd find one of these stretches that held fish. So when the official Okeechobee practice started, I decided that's what I wanted to find."
Flipping turned out to be the dominant pattern for most, but Gustafson was able to coax some quality largemouths into chasing a bait.
"I used a new a prototype swimbait from Trigger X called the Slop Hopper. It's a Skinny Dipper-type bait. It's funny because I don't ever fish that way back home. But everywhere I went in Florida I could make it work.
"The other thing I learned during that practice time was that you were only going to get two cracks a day at catching those really big Okeechobee bass. There just wasn't a lot of 3- and 4-pounders. So the whole key to doing well was capitalizing on those two big cracks."
Gustafson executed his game plan flawlessly – catching limits of 15-2 and 19-2 the first two days and squeaking into the top-20 cutoff. His pattern consisted of throwing the Slop Hopper along a 1-mile stretch of small dollar-sized lily pads. Ironically, he started the first day within sight of several of the tournament leaders who were flipping mats on the northwest side of the lake. Even then, Gustafson had the confidence to stick with his buzzing strategy.
"Coming in, I didn't have lofty goals. I just wanted to make the top 50 and take home one of the big checks. But I was so happy when I made the cut. The best part was going to the mandatory meeting after weigh-in. It was so surreal being there with guys like Randall Tharp, Bryan Thrift and Jay Yelas. That was just wild."What happened the third day can best be described as a media frenzy. Shortly after takeoff, FLW's On-The-Water coverage page blew up with innumerable requests for updates on "Gussy." The user comments ranged from the simple "Gussy! Gussy! Gussy!" to the more patriotic "Gussy Nation out in full force today. Great representation for Canada."
Likewise, the social media world got Gussy Fever. Keep in mind this was a rookie pro who hadn't previously competed in a single FLW or BASS tournament. Before the event started, one member (who will go unnamed) of the On-The-Water coverage team didn't even know who Gustafson was. Others simply knew him as the guy fishing out of the tin boat. Rest assured, everyone knows "Gussy" now.
Ultimately his pattern died and he failed to make the top-10 cutoff. But 20th place out of 160 pros is an impressive feat nonetheless. Since the tournament, Gustafson has returned to the glacial lakes that line the Minnesota-Canada border. Instead of flip flops and Florida sun, he's back to his normal routine of drilling holes through 20-plus inches of ice in search of slab crappies.
In his personal life, he's proud to announce his recent engagement to longtime girlfriend August Collison. Other than that, Gustafson simply can't wait to fish the next FLW Tour Open, slated for the Detroit River in August.
"Now that the Majors are starting next week it is absolutely killing me to watch from the sideline; I wish I was fishing. I just hope that everything goes all right at the four Opens this year and if it does, I'm going to try and make a run at fishing all the events next year."
If Okeechobee was any indication, Gustafson has what it takes to compete full time. However, FLW's computer system, which runs the On-The-Water page, might not be able to handle a full dose of Gussy Fever.
