Lake Champlain is arguably the most storied New York bass tournament venue and as far back as tournament records go, so does the question on whether Largemouth or Smallmouth will win the event.
With this event being in early August, smallmouth should be in their summer pattern and putting on a little more weight each day that passes. On the flip side, in the recent B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier in July, the three day event was won with 62 pounds of largemouth and the runner up had a mixed bag, not to mention several 6-pound plus largemouth crossed the stage over the three day event. Tournament history shows that a hybrid approach is normally a viable option, but in 2023 the Champlain Elite Series event was dominated by smallmouth.
With two events left to go, if you are near the top, it might be time to play it safe with a few calculated risks. If you are below 90%, it is time to take some serious gambles and go big or go home with some risk-taking on lower percentage anglers. That being said, I am going to keep picking the way I have all season but will give you a couple sneaky anglers to consider if you feel like you need to take some low percentage gambles. I definitely think building your team around smallmouth scoping specialists is the safer play, but if you need a big move, maybe a largemouth guy or two will surprise us.
BUCKET A: HUFF
After a Top 10 at Smith Lake, Cody Huff finds himself in the top 3 of the AOY race going into the final two events. Huff was in the mix to win Champlain last August and seems to be fishing very well at the right time of the year. Huff definitely could be considered an OG Scoper, and he has done it everywhere from northern smallmouth, to Alabama spots to Texas largemouth.
Where are they now
After fighting to requalify for the 2024 Bassmaster Elite series in the northern swing last year, Jacob Foutz has positioned himself to be in the conversation for the AOY as well, sitting in 5th. In a recent YouTube video following up on his much discussed offseason video, he asked where are the haters now that I am fishing well? Foutz is motivated, hungry and had a Top 10 at Champlain in 2023.
BUCKET B: REDWINE
Alex Redwine was another angler on the brink of not re-qualifying for this season before going on an absolute smallmouth tear on the northern swing. This year Redwine finds himself fairly comfortably within the Bassmaster Classic cut and should have the freedom to swing for the win in the final two events.
Similar Story
Much like Foutz and Redwine, Justin Atkins needed a strong finish last year and that is exactly what he did and was runner up at Champlain. Atkins is pretty good value pick and is flying under the radar with Fantasy players for Champlain at less than 3%.
BUCKET C: FELIX
Austin Felix has some work to do if he wants to be fishing in Fort Worth, Texas next March. Felix has had an uncharacteristically inconsistent season. The Minnesota pro is coming off a nice smallmouth tune up event finishing 17th at the St. Clair Bassmaster Open a few weeks back. Felix has had strong Champlain finishes, so expect the Sleepy Assassin to be fishing on Sunday.
Mixed Bag Balance
Last year in the smallmouth dominated event, Bryan Schmitt still notched a top 20 and he won the trip before on Champlain leveraging both largemouth and smallmouth. Schmitt consistently delivers on Champlain while also giving you a shot at picking a winner.
BUCKET D: SMITH
Coming off the momentum of a solid Smith Lake event, I look for Bryant Smith to return to the form where he had a top 5 finish at Lake Champlain last August. This California angler seems to thrive when he can focus on spots or smallmouth.
Slump Buster
I have always felt that Seth Feider was going to get his first regular season Bassmaster Elite Series win on Lake Champlain. Is this the week that Seth returns to AOY form and puts up a Win? Even though last year he vowed to never try for green fish again on Champlain, does the uptick of big largemouth this summer make it a perfect storm for Feider?
BUCKET E: CIFUENTES
Joey Cifuentes could seemingly do no wrong last season and this year he finds himself near the bottom of AOY. On a positive note, Smith Lake was his best finish of the season. I think he bounces back and at minimum makes the Day 3 cut in the final two events which is good value in Bucket E.
On’Em again?
Matt Robertson made his first Day 3 cut at Smith Lake and had a Top 10 last August on Champlain. Maybe the cooler temps and change in scenery will keep Matty rolling like he finished strong last summer.
Falcon Rods Bassmaster Drain the Lake Challenge
– Bryant Smith
– Jacob Foutz
– Kyoya Fujita
– Alex Redwine
– Seth Feider
– Justin Atkins
– Tim Dube
– Jay Przekurat
