Bull Shoals, Spring River seeing big catches

Still plenty of action on the water as colder weather arrives

By Randy Zellers

AGFC Communications

North Arkansas is turning out some impressive smallmouth bass these days, at least from the looks of the photos we’ve seen this month.

Jere Fones (top right) was fishing with Spring River guide Mark Crawford when he caught a nice smallie on a unseasonably mild day on the river. Crawford tell us that the smallmouth bass and spotted bass have been active in the sunny weather and are definitely chasing big streamers and Clouser minnows. They will put up quite a fight.

A little more to the west, at Bull Shoals Lake, Bret Palmer was visiting from Jonesboro and caught this massive smallmouth bass (bottom right) while fishing with guide Del Colvin. That has to be one of the biggest smallies we’ve seen this year.

There’s a big fish waiting for you this winter. If you snag a big one, snap a photo and send it our way! Email it to jim.harris@agfc.com or send it to this newspaper at news@theeveningtimes.com. Around the Boathouse

Around the Boathouse

• The AGFC's Trout Days are making their way around the state this month, and the next big free family event is scheduled for Lake Dieffenbacher in Texarkana (East 50th Street) on Saturday, Dec. 23, from 9 a.m. to noon. Come catch some stocked, readyfor- the-dinner-table rainbow trout and win some prizes.

You'll need to bring your own fishing gear, and if you are 16 or older, you're required to have a valid Arkansas fishing license and a trout permit. Anglers under 16 years old can fish for free. Lunch will be provided while supplies last.

The event is sponsored by the AGFC's Family and Community Fishing Program and the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation. To register, visit www. registered. com/events/view//203189.

• The fishing lure that helped Jeff 'Gussy' Gustafson win the 2023 Bassmaster Classic is being licensed, branded and distributed to anglers everywhere in 2024 through Northland. Soon, anglers will be able to purchase the Smeltina-

See FISH, page A9 FISH

From page A8

tor jighead in 13 colors and four sizes as well as five hook sizes. Northland got Gussy Gustafson and Bass Tactics founder Bryan Gustafson (no relation) to join forces and push product development, production, marketing and sales of the lure. So, the Smeltinator and the Smeltinator Underspin Jig will be sold under the Northland brand name in 2024.

The 2023 Bassmaster Classic wasn’t the first time that Gussy Gustafson stacked big weights and solid limits of smallmouth bass on the Tennessee River out of Knoxville, Tennessee. In March 2021, Gussy first put the “moping” technique to use, sinking Kenora, Ontario-designed Smeltinator Jigs to fill his live well for weigh-in at the 2021 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite. Gussy went wire-to-wire for four days of the event, weighing 63 pounds, besting second place by 7 pounds, winning over $100,000 in the process. Two years later, he used the same techique on suspended smallmouths with the Smeltinator Jig on forward-facing sonar, and went on to claim the $300,000 payout as Bassmaster Classic champion.

In media distributed by Northland, the company says the jig and the “moping” technique have dominated the Canadian tournament scene for a decade. Gussy Gustafson, Northland founder John Peterson, Canadian professional angler Jamie Bruce,and Bass Tactics’ Bryan Gustafson have won many tournaments and cashed big checks at events like the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship and Kenora Bass Invitational using the Smeltinator Jig and the moping technique. In the pic on the left is Gussy Gustafson during his Bassmaster Classic win earlier this year in Tennessee.