At first thought, I would have expected last year’s St. Lawrence River tournament out of Clayton to have produced higher overall numbers than this year’s out of Waddington. The main reason for that being the closer access to Lake Ontario at Clayton. Both Paul Mueller and Chris Johnston were on a 100-pounds-of-smallmouth pace after two calm days on Lake Ontario with totals of 52-2 and 51-12, respectively.
However, in comparing the Day 2 totals from last year at Clayton and this year at Waddington, they’re nearly a match. Take Mueller’s and Johnston’s totals off the top and Bernie Schultz’s first place Day 2 weight this year – 47-14 – is almost identical to Clark Wendlandt’s third-place total of 47-13 last year. The number of 20-pound bags caught on Day 2 last year and this year was identical as well – 14. And, as you’ll see below, the further you go down the standings, this year’s tournament out of Waddington is producing heavier weights than last year’s out of Clayton:
| Day 2 | 7/24/20 – Clayton | 7/16/21 – Waddington |
| 5th place | 44-2 | 44-4 |
| 10th place | 40-7 | 41-1 |
| 15th place | 39-1 | 38-14 |
| 20th place | 38-8 | 38-3 |
| 25th place | 36-5 | 36-14 |
| 30th place | 34-7 | 36-6 |
| 35th place | 33-11 | 35-7 |
| 40th place | 33-0 | 34-13 |
| 45th place | 31-14 | 33-4 |
| 50th place | 30-15 | 32-13 |
| 75th place | 25-7 | 29-10 |