Stacey Gaston caught this flathead on the Alabama River. It weighed 65 pounds.
BY CA R O LY N D R I N KA R D
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tacey Gaston has been catfishing all his life, just like his daddy and granddaddy did before him. “I have always loved to fish,” he said. “I grew up hunting and fishing. It was just part of my heritage. “ About 12 years ago, he set his sights on using rods and reels to catch trophy catfish. The challenge was first to find the big cats and then bring them into his boat. Many thought this couldn’t be done. When he started to catch 40-50-pound cats, he took pictures of these trophies, but some skeptics still did not believe him. To prove that he could use a rod and reel to catch these big cats, he used his cellphone to record his catches, and then he posted the videos to YouTube. That’s when viewers started to take notice. While fishing on the Tennessee River, Stacey learned about going live on Facebook. Each time he snagged a big fish, he went live and yelled, “Smackdown!” His exclamation caught on and soon became his signature!
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Cooperative Farming News
“I’m just a redneck with a cellphone,” he laughed, “but people started watching and ‘smackdown’ caught on!” Now, most of his thousands of fans even call him “SmackDown.” With his fishing partner, Joey Kirby, Stacey started a weekly Facebook live show, called “SmackDown Catfishing.” His goal was to help anyone else getting into this sport. The show airs each Tuesday night at 7 p.m. on Facebook and YouTube. Thousands follow to comment, ask questions and even win prizes, of-
