What else will play into factor is the lock schedule at the Iroquois Dam. There is none. Last year, high water closed the gates that run the entire length of the dam. This time the gates are open, and boaters have access to one pass-through gate at idle speed. That is huge for the anglers traveling to the western border of the tournament waters at the entrance to Lake Ontario. Without the downtime of a lengthy two-way lock passage there will be more time to fish.
In fact, Tournament Director Trip Weldon only announced the news yesterday at the tournament briefing. There was applause. So you’ve got to wonder if strategies changed with the news. That direction holds a much larger population of viable smallmouth, and especially near the notorious community holes around Wolf Island. It’s where the smallmouth are in transition, with activity happening in a hodgepodge of depths. Shallow, medium or deep.