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BASS Elite professional Jeff \u201cGussy\u201d Gustafson<\/strong><\/a> provided a moderately Canadian comparability after successful the Super Bowl of bass fishing.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is my Stanley Cup,\u201d the Kenora resident and OOD contributor<\/strong><\/a> mentioned on Sunday, March 26 after receiving the trophy for the weekend\u2019s 2023 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster<\/a> <\/strong>Classic held on Fort Loudoun Reservoir and Tellico Lake in east Tennessee.<\/p>\n With 12 smallmouth bass amounting to 42 kilos, 7 ounces, Gustafson gained $307,000 US and edged Bryan Schmitt, who landed 15 bass including as much as 40 kilos, 14 ounces. <\/p>\n \u201c<\/strong>O Canada! You have a Bassmaster Classic champion! For the first time in history, Canada has a classic champion,\u201d mentioned an emotional Dave Mercer, BASS Emcee and fellow Canadian.<\/p>\n Gussy took the lead after day one, with 18 kilos, 8 ounces. A day two haul of 17 kilos, 3 ounces gave him a five-pound cushion on second-place John Cox.<\/p>\n Championship Sunday was a battle because the bass didn’t chew for the highest 25 anglers. Gussy cycled by a number of key areas and at last landed his first keeper mid morning. His second keeper smallmouth and final fish got here within the early afternoon.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was one of the hardest days of my life. Since 6 a.m. my heart has been pounding,\u201d he mentioned. \u201cI must have saw 100 fish on my Mega Live (sonar) and only got two.\u201d<\/p>\n At the outset, Gustafson mentioned he wanted 15 bass to win, however solely wanted 12. Many rivals dismissed smallmouth and vowed that the climate circumstances, time of yr, and added fishing stress made the species irrelevant.<\/p>\n Gustafson bucked conference, patrolling deep flats together with his forward-facing Humminbird Mega Live and hovering a Smeltinator jighead paired with a Z-man Jerk ShadZ simply above deep smallmouth \u2014 a method generally known as moping. The Achilles heel to solely concentrating on smallmouth is the state\u2019s minimal 18-inch dimension requirement. Gustafson needed to launch a number of 17 \u215e-inch bass on every day of competitors.<\/p>\n The win is Gustafson\u2019s second BASS victory on Fort Loudoun Reservoir and Tellico Lake. He has led every of the seven days of competitors to this point with the identical bait and method. His first victory got here in 2021.<\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n The Toyota<\/strong><\/a>-sponsored basic noticed a document 4 Canadians competing. Peterborough brothers Cory and Chris Johnston and Bowmanville\u2019s Cooper Gallant completed in eleventh, thirty first, and 52nd<\/sup> place, respectively.<\/p>\n For extra bass fishing, click on right here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nBassmaster Classic weekend to win<\/h3>\n
Tenacity paid off<\/h3>\n