Fantasy Fishing: So much on the line

Written by

Rich Lindgren

Minnesota

Regardless of your feelings on smallmouth fishing in these northern events, there are so many storylines to follow in this event. We have one of the most exciting Angler of the Year races in recent memory going into this final event. It kind of feels like a three horse race between the reigning Bassmaster Classic Champion Justin Hamner, Canadian Chris Johnston and Jacob Foutz who is having a great turnaround season after a controversial off season on YouTube.

On top of that, roommates JT Thompkins and Trey McKinney will battle it out for ROY with Thompkins leading by a single point, but don’t count out John Garrett and Wesley Gore who only trail by 12 and 13 points respectively. Further down the AOY list around the 40th position, there will be several anglers battling to stay in or move up into 2025 Bassmaster Classic qualification.

While we don’t have requalification lines in Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing, in the real world of the Bassmaster Elite Series we have 9 hungry Bassmater Open Pros ready to move up to the Elite Series which means there are several anglers fighting to requalify for 2025.

Lastly, many of you reading this are battling for bragging rights in your local Fantasy Fishing groups and some even still are within striking distance of winning some great prizes from Rapala, so make sure you stack your team with smallmouth experts.

With this year’s finale moving back to Waddington, NY anglers will be faced with a much tougher decision on whether to stay and fish the river or try to make the run to Lake Ontario. Run times will definitely factor into angler’s decision making much more this year than in 2023. On top of that, the shortened practice may nullify what some of the anglers found last year when they practiced 70 miles closer to the lake. This shortened practice may play into the hands of anglers that have been fishing the Bassmaster Elites for years.

BUCKET A: JOHNSTON

Chris Johhston has numerous Top 10s on this system and his lone win was here out of Clayton. Johnston needs a Top 10 and a slight slip from Hamner to be the first Canadian to win a Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Year title. This pick is not without risk, because Johnston will almost certainly be making the long run to the lake and anything could happen.

Don’t make it complicated

If you don’t want to pick Chris, then you should pick Cory Johnston. They probably will both make the Top 10. These two are always a threat to win on this fishery.

BUCKET B: ITO

Last time the Bassmaster Elites visited Waddington, NY, Taku Ito hoisted his first blue trophy and coined Smallmouth Disneyland. He has a stellar record on both ends of this river and I would not be shocked to see him get his second win of the 2024 season.

2021 Runner Up

Justin Atkins almost won in 2021 out of Waddington. This time Atkins seemingly is comfortably inside the cut for the 2025 Bassmaster Classic, which could make him dangerous on the river.

BUCKET C: FELIX

After a rough start to the year, Austin Felix has slowly clawed his way into a position where he can make the Bassmaster Classic with a good finish. He needs to make up 40 points, so he probably needs to plan to be fishing on Sunday. In four visits, Felix has never been worse than 25th at the St. Lawrence.

Llama Watch

Seth Feider has a pretty strong record when the Bassmaster Elites launch out of Waddington. His favorite way for catching smallmouth definitely fits the river more than the lake. Like Felix, Seth can make the Classic with a strong event.

BUCKET D: WENDLANDT

Clark Wendlandt does not come without some risk. Wendlandt has plenty of Top 10s on Ontario and the river, but he also has some missed cuts. Wendlandt doesn’t really have a shot at making the Classic based on points, so I expect him to run to the lake and shoot for the win.

Go Big?

Last year Bryant Smith caught the biggest bag of smallmouth in Elite history, but couldn’t hold the pace. If you are looking for a dark horse with high end potential, maybe the Californian is worth a look for your season ending roster?

BUCKET E: SCHULTZ

Bernie Schultz has had a brutal season, but he always seems to turn it around at the St Lawrence River especially when they go out of Waddington, he should have a few tricks up his sleeve for this final event. This pick feels a little risky based on the points, but I need to catch Pete Robbins this week.

Cowboy with nothing to lose

After a dominant rookie season, Joey Cifuentes has been struggling all season until last week at Lake Champlain. Cifuentes has plenty of experience on both ends of this river and a win to make the 2025 Bassmaster Classic could make this season a huge success.