The Classic victory cemented Gustafson’s spot at next year’s event in Tulsa, Okla. Gustafson also had to resume his Elite Series schedule following the Classic, with tournaments in South Carolina (Lake Murray and Santee Cooper), Alabama (Lay Lake) and Texas (Sabine River).
He’s just one of those guys who’ll take an interest in whatever is going on in your life and whatever you want to talk about. I’ve talked to him about fishing wherever we’ve been but I’ve also talked to him about life. “Rick is 76 years old and still competing on the Elite Series and that’s truly inspiring. “Kevin Van Dam and Rick Clunn have both won it four times and in my book they’re the two greatest of all time. “I can’t begin to explain that,” he said. Gustafson said he’s humbled whenever he reads the names of past champions that adorn the Ray Scott Bassmaster Classic trophy. “They’ll say, ‘We were pulling for you, that last day was hard,’ or, ‘My wife has never watched a minute of fishing on TV before and she watched the whole final day.’ That’s been cool.” “I still run into people I haven’t seen for a while or don’t even know and they’re offering congratulations. Gustafson said the magnitude of his accomplishment only recently set in. “But again, something great happened and much of it is opportunity from that.” “I also booked a bit of guiding earlier in the winter so between that and the other activities and requests, it’s been busy. “I have a hard time saying no to anything,” Gustafson said. Each time he used the same moping technique - presenting a plastic shad bait on a jig just above smallmouths. In March 2021, Gustafson went wire-to-wire on the same fishery for his first Elite Series win. Not long ago, you felt, ‘Oh, it’s spring, I have so much to look forward to now for the next few months,’ and already we’re into July.” “The part that’s a bit of a downer is our summers here are short and fly by so quickly. “Many more people want some time and overall that’s been good but it’s been busy. but it’s a pretty cool opportunity,” Gustafson said. “I don’t know if it (Japan trip) will work out this year.
0 kommentar(er)
