KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Yesterday I wrote that Jeff Gustafson, who’d led both Day 1 and Day 2 of the 2023 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota, seemed like he was running downhill and escaping from the trailing pack.
Today he appeared at times to be wearing lead ankle weights.
Nothing seemed to work for Gussy, but he eked out enough to win. Remember that late in the day cull on Day 2 that jumped him up 12 ounces? That, plus today’s second and final keeper – caught after noon – lifted him to his winning margin of 1 pound, 9 ounces.
“Unreal,” he said as he realized he’d done it.
“Unreal,” he repeated, as if he wasn’t sure it would stick.
As Dave Mercer began to fete Gustafson, the stereotypically polite Canadian Elite Series pro stepped out of character, asking-bordering-on-demanding the trophy. He apparently wasn’t going to be happy until the thing was handcuffed to his wrist.
It was a great Classic, chock full of stories. Here’s what I think I saw, learned and felt on an unexpectedly dramatic Day 3:
Things tightened up – How tough was it out there today? On both of the first two days the 55-man field produced 24 limits. On Day One, 21 of anglers weighed in 10 pounds or more. On Day 2, 17 of them reached double digits. Today, the 25 remaining anglers, assumedly the ones who were on the best or biggest populations of bass, produced only eight limits. Only five anglers caught more than 10 pounds today. Had it been a one-day tournament, Brandon Cobb would have won with 12-7. That would have tied for 11th on Day 1.
No, it was really tough – Bryan Schmitt (second), Scott Canterbury (third), Jay Przekurat (seventh), Brandon Cobb (eighth) and Jacob Powroznik (ninth) were the only five anglers who weighed in three five-bass limits.
Out-of-Towners – In a sport historically dominated by southern pros, 10 of today’s 25 final day qualifiers came from states or provinces considered to be in the north, including two of the four Canadians. No one from another hemisphere, to include Kenta Kimura, Taku Ito or Carl Jocumsen, competed on Day 3.
Buzzed – On the two days he weighed in over 12 pounds – Friday and Sunday – Brandon Cobb put a Greenfish buzzbait with a Zoom Horny Toad to good use. It produced three bass the first day, and his two best fish the third day. He had it on the deck and picked it up when instinct struck. “It’s almost impossible to describe what I’m looking for,” he said. “I’m going down the bank and I see certain conditions, certain cover, and I know it’s the right place for it. They won’t come up far to hit it right now, so it has to be very shallow.”
Up, Up and Away – Gustafson is the first winner from the north since Kevin VanDam won back-to-back Classics in 2010 and 2011 at Lay Lake and the Louisiana Delta, respectively. Beeswax Creek and Cataouatche became household names (at least in households where bass fishing is taken seriously). Will Gustafson’s winning zone get a descriptive nickname?
The power of adrenaline – As I reported earlier in the week, Brandon Card is still suffering from partial facial paralysis as the result of Bell’s Palsy in the wake of a case of viral meningitis, but once the tournament began, he was all business: “I feel like on the competition days my eye didn’t burn as bad,” he said.
Getting away from it all – Schmitt credited his success to finding isolated wood that couldn’t be easily seen. “Everything that looks good has been fished by 10 people,” he said. Sounds simple, but a Classic tidal water pattern applied to a non-tidal river.
Five Canadians who are still more famous than Gussy – Jim Carrey, Celine Deion, Mike Myers, Wayne Gretzky, Drake. [Note: I don’t recall ever seeing any of them in plaid.]
New World Man – Gustafson was born on Sept. 19, 1982, ten days after the release of Canadian rock band Rush’s ninth studio album “Signals.”
From one champion to another – Jason Christie, on what Gussy can expect over the next week: “He’ll be on the phone every minute he’s awake. It was pretty cool in the beginning, but everyone asks the same questions. After a few days (my fiancée) Shana said she could do the interviews for me.
Big Fish – Luke Palmer’s Day 2 lunker weighed 5 pounds, 13 ounces. If any of the top four anglers behind Gustafson, two of whom failed to weigh in a limit, had added that to their bag today, they would be celebrating the win instead of him.
This marks the end of my 18th Classic as a part of the Classic media corps, and my 13th working the event for Bassmaster. It never gets old. Some people claim that the written word is dead, but this opportunity breathes new life into me every time I press “send.”
See you all at Grand Lake.
Keep on moping.
