Bagley is proud to announce that Kenora, Ontario-based bass pro Jeff “Gussy” Gustafson is officially a member of its pro staff for the upcoming 2021 season.
“I’m very excited to be part of the Bagley Bait Company pro staff. They have a long history and for me part of the excitement is just going to be the resurgence that Bagley is going to have in the coming years as part of Northland Fishing Tackle. I’ve been with Northland for years now and it’s been a very good relationship. I look forward to the same with Bagley,” says Gussy.
In terms of his affinity for the Bagley product, Gussy has been a fan for some time, using the baits prior to this official relationship.
“I’ve used the topwater baits, the muskie trolling baits and a lot of the crankbaits. I played with the Pro Sunny B a lot this summer and a couple hundred smallmouths later from Lake of the Woods it really proved itself as a bait that’s going to be part of my arsenal. It’s going to be like a Ned Rig-one of those baits that’s always going to be tied on and in my rod locker.
“On the Elite Series we’re fishing all over the country on different bodies of water. Looking ahead, you never know what kind of conditions you’re going to be faced with but one thing I do know, when a crankbait bite is happening there’s no way to beat Bagley baits.
“Every year there are a few tournaments that are big crankbait bites. Looking forward to the Bassmaster Classic there’s a good chance that the Bagley squarebill-style crankbaits will be players. Obviously, some of the topwater lures will come into play-one of my favorites is the Bang-o-Lure Twin Spin Tail. On the Tennessee River we’re fishing Pickwick and Guntersville in the spring and there’s a good chance those will be crankbait tournaments.
“In the summer we’ve got a couple solo events and then I’ll be fishing back home; hopefully I won’t be away for the whole summer. The Pro Sunny B was a really good crankbait on Lake of the Woods and yeah, just excited to learn more about some of the baits I haven’t gotten to use yet and I know the guys at Northland are going to be pretty open about new bait designs. I’ve got some ideas there. That’s pretty exciting for me.”
Kyle Waterman, Northland Marketing Manager, is thrilled to have Gussy on the team.
“I’m very excited about the upcoming year and the addition of Gussy to Team Bagley. Not only is Gussy a good fisherman, but a stand-up guy and friend. Being from the Northland, it will be a perfect fit to have him represent us alongside Drew Benton, Scott Canterbury and Matt Becker.”
“Gussy obviously has a great national reputation as a professional bass angler, but he is also a local legend in our markets as a multi-species expert,” said Northland President and CEO Gregg Wollner. “We are all extremely excited to have him on our team to develop and promote new products.”
