I was 37th in the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings when I headed north for the final two Elite Series tournaments of the season. If I bombed in either event, I would probably drop below 40th place, the cutline for the 2025 Bassmaster Classic.
I liked my chances for success because Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River are my favorite northern fisheries. But being on the bubble for the Classic had me feeling a little uneasy.
I nearly blew it on the first day at Champlain. I caught a bunch of smallmouth, but they weren’t the quality I needed. I sacked 16 pounds. That landed me down near 90th place.
On Day 2, I fished a different area and caught close to 19 pounds. It wasn’t enough to fish another day, but it earned me 40 more very crucial AOY points.
After Champlain I was pretty much tied with three or four other pros who were on the Classic cutline. Failure at the final event was not an option.
Most of the top finishers in past tournaments on the St. Lawrence River fished Lake Ontario. This year the tournament took place out of Waddington, which is 80 miles from the mouth of Lake Ontario. If I made that run and the weather turned sour, it could cost me big time.
Because the second day at Champlain had been postponed due to severe weather, we had only two practice days at the St. Lawrence. I fished the first practice day on Lake Ontario and the next on the river close to Waddington. I caught bigger smallmouth on Lake Ontario, but did I want to risk making that long run?
I have always been an angler who likes to play it safe and fish close to the takeoff. I won an Elite tournament at Winyah Bay fishing close while 80% of the field made a long run to the Cooper River.
On the night before the St. Lawrence tournament, I talked about whether or not to make the run to Ontario with my travel partner Marc Frazier. I woke up the next morning still not sure. As I drove to the ramp, I realized that if I stayed close and didn’t make the Classic I would look back and wonder if I should have made the run.
I decided to risk it. I ran about 170 miles round trip on all three days I fished the tournament. Even though I was above the Classic cut after Day 2, there were still pros close enough in the points to overtake me. It all came down to Day 3.
The next morning weather forecasts predicted 30-mph wind gusts. I was leaning toward not fishing Ontario. I parked next to Clark Wendlandt and saw him strapping down the gear in his boat. I asked if he was making the run to Ontario. He just looked at me and smiled.
If one of the best bass fishermen in the country was going to make the run, I knew I had no choice but to go.
I followed Clark up the river to the lake. When we got there the waves were so big I would have turned around had it not been for Clark. He slowed down and continued out over those huge swells. That encouraged me to do the same.
I was able to fish for more than three hours that day and caught 23 pounds of smallmouth — my biggest bag of the tournament. I knew all I had to do was get back to the weigh-in and I would be fishing the Classic in 2025. I had full confidence in my BassCat and Mercury.
I took my time and made a smooth two-hour run back. I finished in 18th place for the tournament and 31st in the AOY standings. I couldn’t be more pleased that I ended the season on such a positive note.
