CLAYTON, N.Y. —High winds during the three-day practice period made it tough for Elite Series anglers to explore Lake Ontario, but some did it anyway. And the St. Lawrence River was no picnic either. Now comes a weather forecast of light winds during the next four days when the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at the St. Lawrence River begins Thursday.
“This is always the biggest psychological event we fish all year,” said Gerald Swindle. “You can go out there and put a lot of wear and tear on yourself and your equipment. There’s a lot more strategy that goes into this tournament than what people think.”
Swindle noted that he went by the boat service yard Wednesday, a day off the water for the anglers, and, “It looked like NASCAR had held a drunk driving course.” Bodies and boats needed that day off Wednesday for rest and repair.
The last time the Elite Series headquartered on the St. Lawrence River at Clayton instead of Waddington, Canada’s Chris Johnston won it with 97 pounds, 8 ounces. The significance of Clayton is that it’s much closer to Lake Ontario than Waddington. This location creates a scenario where an angler can do both – fish both the river and the lake, or concentrate on either one and adjust day to day.
Further adding to the intrigue this week is the fact that Canadian waters are open too. They’ve been off-limit the last two years because of Covid restrictions.
So, is this the perfect scenario for someone to weigh 20 smallmouth bass over the next four days that total over 100 pounds?
“I don’t think it will be as good,” said Bernie Schultz, who led after two days last year at Waddington with 47-14 before finishing eighth. “I think fishing pressure has taken a toll. It seems like every time we come here the schools are smaller and smaller. But I didn’t fish deep (in practice), so I may not have an accurate gauge of the deep fish.
“There are still plenty of big fish here. And it’s no secret that the bigger than average fish are in the lake. I think it’s possible the winner of this tournament doesn’t know where his winning fish are yet.”
Swindle thinks the winning weight will be more in the 86- to 90-pounds range, but he thinks it may take as much as a 19-pound average to make the Day 2 cut.
“I weighed some of the fish I caught in practice, just to make sure I wasn’t big-eyeing them,” he said. “If it looked like it weighed 3-10, it weighed 4-2. You get five of those and you’ve got 20 pounds.”
Paul Mueller finished second to Johnston in 2020 with a total of 95-14. He weighed a five-bass limit of 27-1 on Day 1 that included a 7-pound, 13-ounce smallmouth.
“This is hands down the best smallmouth fishery I’ve ever seen,” Mueller said. “But comparing it to the year when I finished second, I don’t think it’s fishing as good this year.”
However, it’s still awfully good.
“If you’re going to have a chance to win here, your smallest fish has got to be 4 ½ pounds,” Mueller said. “You won’t win here with heavy 3s and low 4s. You’re wasting your time. I hope I don’t see a 3-pounder all week.”
The overwhelming favorites to win this week are brothers Chris and Cory Johnston, especially with the Canadian waters being open again. Their track record here is phenomenal.
“Honestly, if somebody beats those two, I’ll be surprised,” said fellow Canadian Jeff Gustafson. “The last two years they haven’t been able to fish their home waters in Canada, and now they can.”
For the record, Chris finished first and Cory was seventh in 2020 at Clayton. Last year at Waddington, Cory was fourth and Chris finished fifth. There’s also the fact that Cory won a Northern Open on the St. Lawrence last September.
Taku Ito beat the Johnston brothers and everyone else in winning at the St. Lawrence with 90-0 last year. There are no certainties in bass fishing, especially this week, after a windy practice and the forecast of calm for the tournament.
“It’s going to be a normal St. Lawrence tournament,” said David Mullins, who finished seventh last year. “A helluva lot of fish are going to be caught.”
