The St. Lawrence River was a story of close calls for my Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing team. My team wasn’t bad at all and some parts of my team did very well. Four of my five picks made the Top 50, which is always nice, but my misses could’ve given me one of the best teams of my 2015 season.
Chris Zaldain and David Walker didn’t disappoint in buckets A and B. Meanwhile, John Murray did well in C, but I also advised Mark Davis as a choice, which would’ve been huge for my team. Bucket D was my whiff as I picked Todd Faircloth and almost chose Seth Feider over him in my story; Feider notched his first Top 12. Then in the final bucket, Nate Wellman did well for my team, but Paul Mueller would’ve bolstered my team even higher.
I’m very happy with my team and season, but these next events are where I’m going to make my late-season run. Like the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year title, numerous Fantasy Fishing leagues will see a battle to the bitter end.
Here are the Chesapeake Bay bruisers I certainly want on my team.
Bucket A: Crews
Conservative pick: Powroznik
No doubt about it, Jacob Powroznik should be a player in the Chesapeake Bay Elite Series event. Powroznik is one of the best no matter where he fishes, but this time he is only four hours from home. I honestly believe that his experience with grass fisheries and even the Potomac River in particular can help Powroznik succeed on the Bay. It’s also worth noting that Powroznik is tied for fourth in Angler of the Year with Edwin Evers and is only 76 points from Aaron Martens, a margin that is achievable with three events left.
Dark horse pick: Crews
My under-the-radar pick will be the always-consistent John Crews. Crews, like Powroznik, is a Virginia angler and is good on grass fisheries. His only Elite Series win is on the California Delta, where grass and tide play a factor. Crews has been steady this season, but normally he has multiple high finishes in a season, and to this point, Lake Guntersville is his most notable. I expect Crews to put in work on the Chesapeake and gain valuable points in the AOY standings.
I expect Powroznik to garner a high percentage of picks for this event, so I’m going to maximize my chances of gaining points on the field by taking Crews in Bucket A.
Bucket B: Lowen
Conservative pick: Lowen
If you ask around the Elite Series, many pros will say that Bill Lowen is one of the best river/grass fishermen in the field, if not the best on any given week. The Chesapeake isn’t a river system, but with the moving water and tidal situations, it could set up like one. If you are going to pick Lowen for any of these final events, this is the one.
Dark horse pick: Swindle
Gerald Swindle had one of those tournaments that anglers look back at and just shake their head because it just didn’t happen for them. The St. Lawrence wasn’t nice to Swindle, and as a result he plummeted in the AOY standings. He gives it his all every event and that won’t change here. I fully expect a bounce-back effort for the Alabama pro as he makes an attempt to get back inside of the Classic cut line.
I’m going conservative on this one and pick Lowen, but there is no doubt that Swindle will find his groove to finish the season.
Bucket C: Coulter
Conservative pick: Morgenthaler
In the last few years, Chad Morgenthaler may have made a stake at being one of the most underrated grass anglers in the field. With wins on Lake Okeechobee and Lake Toho in various events, the guy knows grass. You don’t get lucky in B.A.S.S. events that last at least three days; you have to know your stuff. I like Morgenthaler in this one as well because he hasn’t had an outstanding finish in his last two outings. He’s due.
Dark horse pick: Coulter
Brandon Coulter lives in Knoxville, Tenn., but many don’t know that he is from the Chesapeake Bay region. Coulter is a part of this year’s great rookie class and has held his own so far this year. The self-proclaimed gray-bearded rookie has cashed three checks in six events this season. Two of those checks came on the Sabine River and the California Delta. Why not make it 3-for-3 on tidal fisheries?
Coulter could be a valuable pick in this bucket given his ownership percentage and with how competitive Bucket C is.
Bucket D: Poche
Conservative pick(s): B. Hite, Tharp, Omori
Man, there are so many good flippers and grass anglers in Bucket D. With Brett Hite, Randall Tharp and Takahiro Omori, there are three guys you could spend the next week debating about. All are in need of a good finish at this point in the season, and one Top 12 could bolster any one of them into Top 50 contention for the AOY Championship.
Dark Horse pick: Poche
Two checks in 2015 on two tidal/grass fisheries. Keith Poche actually owns a Top 12 finish this season, and he got it on the Sabine River to open the year. With how incredibly stacked Bucket D is right now, Poche could serve as a substitute to those highly owned anglers. The tidal swing shouldn’t sway too much compared to the Delaware River last year, but rather about 2 1/2 to 3 feet a day, if I can correctly read a tide chart.
I like how off the wall Poche is here. This could make or break my team right here, but with how others in this bucket have fared this year, so could they.
Bucket E: Short
Conservative pick: Short
Wow, at the time of this writing, 52 percent of Fantasy Fishing players are picking Paul Mueller. That is way too high of a percentage for me to buy in. It is hard to have a conservative pick in a bucket where fishing has been tough for most of these anglers, but as we have seen before, Kevin Short is one heck of an angler when it comes to rivers and even tidal situations. The Delaware River sticks out in my mind from last year where Short found his own water, doing what it takes to get there and grinding out the necessary weight. No, the Chesapeake isn’t the Delaware, but I wouldn’t put it past Short to do well.
Dark horse pick: Crochet
Frogging and flipping grass just sounds like Cliff Crochet. I do think finding the right type of grass and subtle structure will be important, but Crochet needs this tournament badly, and I think he can come through after a rough couple of tournaments during the middle stretch of the season.
I’ve got to take Short this event. He is low in AOY — like everyone else in Bucket E — but he has made three cuts and three bad finishes. I’m hedging my bet that this turns into a good event for Short because he has shown it at times this year.