Elite

A look at Lake St. Clair 2025

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Captions by
Mike Suchan
The Northern Swing begins this week with the Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair, Thursday through Sunday. It will be the 14th pro level B.A.S.S. event and sixth Elite tournament on the fishery that some considered the sixth Great Lake.
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Lake St. Clair is a famed smallmouth fishery in the middle of the world’s largest freshwater system. The heart-shaped lake covers about 430 square miles and is relatively shallow with an average depth of 11 feet. Anglers may venture into Canadian waters as well as Lake Huron to the north and western parts of Lake Erie pursuing bass 14 inches or longer.
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Tournament central is Brandenburg Park at 50050 Jefferson Ave. in Chesterfield Township, Mich. The 101 Elites will launch at 7 a.m. ET each day with weigh-ins scheduled for 3 p.m. ET. All B.A.S.S. events are free to attend, including the amped-up Expo that opens at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. The Cheers to Chesterfield Festival, with food trucks, beer service, vendor booths and kids activities, offers live music after the Days 1-3 weigh-ins and fireworks on Friday night.
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There should be plenty of fireworks on the water. In the most recent Elite here in late July of 2023, every angler caught five-fish limits over the four days. While he finished third, Taku Ito had the superlatives of a 6-pound, 2-ounce bass to take Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the event and the CrushCity Monster Bag 0f 25-8.
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While many fished in Anchor Bay, Arkansas’ Joey Cifuentes ventured into Canadian waters. Using forward-facing sonar, the rookie started fifth with 22-10 behind a 5-6 and moved to second after 24-0. After a bouncy Day 3 when he weighed 21-1, Cifuentes made up his 12-ounce deficit in the morning with three 5-pounders, including this one that literally jumped into his boat.
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Cifuentes, who had won at Lake Seminole earlier in his Rookie of the Year campaign, finished with 23-13 for the winning total of 91-8, the top four-day weight there. The average fish on the week weighed 3-13, it took 38-7 to make the Top 50 cut and eight of the 10 finalists caught more than 20 pounds each day.
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In the most recent Bassmaster pro level event on St. Clair, Wisconsin’s Jay Przekurat totaled 75-5 in the three-day St. Croix Open last July. The big bag was Trevor McKinney’s 27-12 on Day 1, and Jamie Bruce climbed into contention with 26-14 on Day 3. Przekurat closed with 26-1 to win by 3-9 over Aaron Jagdfeld.
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Przekurat goes into St. Clair leading the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year race by three points over 2024 AOY Chris Johnston and is 13 ahead of 2024 runner-up Trey McKinney in a race that should to go down to the wire. Before his Open win last year, Przekurat finished 11th in the 2023 St. Clair Elite while Johnston took 26th. In the 2020 St. Clair Elite, Johnston was sixth.  
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In the Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Rookie of the Year race, Paul Marks has pulled 63 points ahead of road roommate Tucker Smith. Marks has had success at the two final venues, posting an 11th in last year’s St. Clair Open then 10th at the Mississippi River out of La Crosse, Wis., where the Elites close the season Aug. 21-24. Smith was 15th at St. Clair and 19th at La Crosse last year.
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Weather, specifically wind, is key to fishing on St. Clair. A cool front hits before the Elites begin practice Monday, then the temperatures stabilize with a chance of showers on Day 1. There will be a warm-up, yet winds never topping much more than 10 mph should allow decent fishing.
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The featureless nature of St. Clair makes running into groups of larger bass hit and miss. Seth Feider said the only time he’s found smallmouth schooled up on particular spot was during his 2019 AOY Championship victory, a late September event. With a big of 6-12, Feider was on pace for a Century Club belt with 77-15 over three days. Although Przekurat averaged 25 pounds last year, earning a belt would require a remarkable and steady performance over four days.
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There is certainly a potential for big fish. The first double-digit smallmouth in the Great Lakes was caught on Lake Erie in the fall of 2022. Grant Gallagher holds the behemoth, a 10.15-pounder that ranks as the fifth-largest smallmouth, caught by his father, Gregg.
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Conditions are ripe for a catchfest and perhaps the best weights in a St. Clair Elite, said Opens angler Aaron Jagdfeld of Rochester Hills, Mich. “These bass are swinging into summer patterns and a lot more fish are getting grouped up. They are getting fatter. … It wouldn’t surprise me if someone put together a total somewhere in the high 90s and close to the 100-pound mark.”
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While much of the field should stay close to takeoff and do well in Anchor Bay, Jagdfeld said an angler duplicating Cifuentes’ winning tack might take the trophy and $100,000 first-place prize. “I think Canada will be a big player … ” said Jagdfeld, who was second in last year’s Open here, “and if someone can do that this time, that is a ticket to winning this tournament.”
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Bassmaster LIVE airs on Bassmaster.com Thursday and Friday beginning at 8 a.m. ET and running until 3 p.m. Roku also has  coverage on Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and noon to 3 p.m. Coverage on Saturday and Sunday will be available on FS1 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. before moving to Bassmaster.com from noon to 3 p.m. Mark Zona be on-site for analysis.
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