FINE TUNING YOUR ICE FISHING For the past eleven years I have been lucky to pursue my dream of fishing competitive bass tournaments in the U.S. I’m made some good friendships with the anglers that I compete against, many of whom are from the south and have never experienced ice fishing or even ice on their lakes. Ice fishing is a topic that comes up quite frequently and most of these guys can’t fathom how drilling a hole in the ice and waiting for a fish to bite could possibly be fun. Yet, for those of us who live in…
Author: Jeff Gustafson
Jeff Gustafson
Jeff Gustafson, known in the fishing world as "Gussy", grew up on the shores of Lake of the Woods in Kenora, Ontario. He took out his first guide trip at age 14 on Lake of the Woods and has made his living in the fishing/outdoor industry ever since. A graduate of the University of Manitoba, Gussy has always been self-employed as a fishing guide, outdoor writer and photographer as well as fishing promoter. Today his fishes the Bassmaster Elite Pro bass circuit and as many local bass tournaments as he can find the time to enter. You can find him online through his website at www.gussyoutdoors.com.
Hitting the rocks for pike I’ve mentioned the great fall pike fishing that we have several times in recent years and my approach to catching these toothy critters but I have so much fun with it, we’re going to hit it again. A couple falls ago, while filming an episode of the Lund Ultimate Fishing Experience TV show with my wife Shelby, we had an incredible couple of hours on Lake of the Woods, using suspending jerkbaits to catch pike after pike. These were all big fish as well, we had fun. When most anglers think about catching pike, they…
BOAT EFFICIENCY FROM THE MASTER EDITORS NOTE: Over the years I have fished with a number of top level professional anglers, many who are very successful on the various tournament circuits. I have never met anyone as efficient as Gussy. Everything is geared to SPEED on the water, because time costs money. We just had Jeff at our 15th Anniversary Celebration and those that fished with him were blown away. So if you want to be a better angler hear how the Bassmaster Champion gets it done. We all carry a bunch of stuff in our boats to make our…
ANOTHER SEASON ON THE ELITE CIRCUIT EDITOR’S NOTE: Gussy is currently on the road to the southern U.S and his first Bassmaster Elite event. Every year he gets his new boat ready for the long road ahead. For the past eleven years I have travelled south in January to start my fishing season in the US, competing in professional bass tournaments. I’m fortunate that Lund is a great supporter and helps me get into a new boat each season. Usually, I’ll get my boat in December and have a few weeks to get it rigged up the way that I…
NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO We’re spoiled here in Sunset Country in that we have so many great options for fish to catch under the ice. Similar to Manitoba, walleye, lake trout, crappie, perch and pike get most of the attention but there are some other species out there that are great to eat, fun to catch and can save the day when our target species doesn’t cooperate. WHITEFISH The first thing you need to know about whitefish is they are plentiful in many of our lakes, especially the ones that are deeper than average, but maybe not quite as deep as the…
CHANGING HOW I FISH I was very happy and excited to get in a summer of fishing around home in 2021. I’ve been on the water as much as ever, fishing some tournaments on the weekends, guiding a few days here and there during the week and putting in a lot of time learning the new Humminbird Mega Live technology that I have installed on my boat. It is forward facing sonar, similar to what Garmin and Lowrance have had available for the past couple of years, but with some added features. It’s been a lot of fun to play…
TRICKS LEARNED FROM THE TOURNAMENT TRAIL As a kid growing up there were many weekend mornings where if I wasn’t out fishing or playing hockey, I was probably watching fishing shows on TV. In fact, I used to record them on VHS tapes that I’m sure my parents still have sitting in a box. BASSMASTERS THE FAVOURITE Bob Izumi’s Real Fishing Show was one of my favourites, so was the In-Fisherman but The Bassmasters TV show, which would feature a tournament somewhere across the U.S. was the one I liked the most. Most of the fishing techniques I learned as…
FALL FISHING SUCCESS There are some things about fall fishing that I really love – the fishing is top-notch for most species; the shoreline colours are spectacular, and I enjoy the cool weather. Every year since I was a little kid, I have spent many days in the boat right up until freeze-up and I’ve countless good memories. Many of my biggest Sunset Country fish have been landed in the fall. My best musky, largemouth, smallmouth and crappie were all caught between Labour Day and freeze up. Here are a few of my top fall fishing tips to hopefully help you…
SUMMER TACKLE YOU NEED IN YOUR BOX! Fishing is a big focus my life so in addition to absorbing every bit of information and knowledge that I can from media, friends and whoever I share the boat with, I’m a tackle junkie and am always looking to feed fish the best bait for each scenario that I’m faced with. In my garage, I have a bunch of tackle for all of the species we have to chase here around home on Lake of the Woods. Most of my “tinkered” baits are for bass, because they are the species I catch…
FASTEST GROWING SEGMENT OF THE FISHING INDUSTRY There was a quote that I heard back in 2005 when I first attended the St. Paul Ice Fishing Show that still resonates with me today. “Ice fishing is the fastest growing segment of the fishing industry”. Back then, shelters, augers, underwater cameras and flashers were all improving greatly, making it more pleasant to be on the ice and improving our success. Today, these products continue to improve every year. The ice fishing market continues to grow as more products become available to help us catch more fish and be more comfortable on…