Elite

Big bass of St. Lawrence River

Check out the big bass that the Elites brought to the stage at the Minn Kota Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River.

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Photography by
Andy Crawford
Captions by
Mike Suchan
Big things were expected from the Minn Kota Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River, especially after 2022 when it became the first fishery to produce 100-pound, four-day totals of smallmouth. Four B.A.S.S. Century Belts were earned this time, with Patrick Walters averaging 5-4 per fish for his winning total of 105-0.
The 1,307 fish brought to the scales totaled 5,437 pounds, 10 ounces for an average catch just under 4-3. Scott Martin, who needed a great event to “finish family business,” started well with 24-7 on Day 1. Topping 22 pounds the next two days, Martin was the last in the Top 10, but he didn’t get the necessary climb to fifth to qualify for the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic. Martin is the second man out of the top 42 in the Progressive Angler of the Year standings who will fish Grand Lake next March, but there’s some hope of double qualifiers in the final three St. Croix Opens.
Rookie Cole Sands was also on the outside looking in at reaching his first Classic. Standing 47th in the AOY race, Sands caught 22-10 on Day 1, when there were 48 limits over 20 pounds. Ending up 37th at St. Lawrence, Sands totaled 509 points on the season to stand 42nd.  He is currently the last man in, after Walters double qualified via points and his victory. Buy that man a steak, Cole.
Fighting for his Elite life, Matty Wong was thrilled to tie for fifth on Day 1 with 25-10. He slipped a bit but came back with 22-15 on Day 3 to make Championship Sunday, where he busted another 25-2. By taking ninth, Wong gained 12 spots in AOY to 67th, giving himself new life as any angler above 70th requalified. Wong did it by a scant four points.
Canadian Cooper Gallant was among the favorites as he lives on Lake Ontario, where almost all the leaders fished. With a 6-5, Gallant weighed the third-best limit of 26-12 on Day 1. Dropping weights saw him fall to finish 18th, but he recorded a great rookie season, taking 17th in AOY.   
Coming into the event 12 points back of the AOY lead, Brandon Cobb did his job on Day 1, weighing 24-7 to stand 12th and stay in contact with leader Kyle Welcher. Cobb topped 20 pounds the next two days but couldn’t make up any ground. Glad Welcher “caught them,” Cobb said it was less lamenting had it gone down to ounces or a missed fish. With 728 points, Cobb finished  second in AOY, earning its $35,000 paycheck along with four $1,000 checks for leading events.
Kyle Welcher was a man on a mission. Eschewing the safety of the river on a rough Day 1, Welcher traveled far into Ontario, where he caught a 6-9 in his 25-10 bag to stand fifth. It increased his lead over Cobb to 17 points, but it wasn’t over, as a bad day could have seen him plummet.
Paul Mueller, who caught a his personal-best 7-13 smallmouth in taking second to Chris Johnston here in 2020, brought in the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of Day 1, a 6-11 that helped him start ninth with 25-4. Mueller topped 20 pounds the next day then only 19 pounds as he fell to 31st. After a slow start, Mueller climbed from the 70s in the final three events to 41st in AOY, qualifying for his fifth Classic.
Also out on Ontario, Walters had a 6-1 in his Day 1 bag of 24-14 that tied him for ninth. Walters, who has four Bassmaster victories in his young career, started the event fifth in AOY, 39 points back of Welcher.
Always a force on St. Lawrence, Chris Johnston stood second after Day 1 with 28-3, which included a 6-1 and similar friends. Johnston, of Otonabee, Ontario, became the first Canadian Elite winner in 2020 with 97-8 on the St. Lawrence, just shy of a Century Belt.
Rookie Bryan Smith of Roseville, Calif., found the VMC Monster bag of the event on Lake Ontario. His 29-5, which included a 6-9, is the largest limit of smallmouth caught in 56 years of B.A.S.S. competition. Smith, however, didn’t top 20 pounds again and fell to 27th, but the 32-year-old showed he was a force by finishing 13th in AOY to make his first Classic.
Before the northern swing, Darold Gleason was inside the Classic cut at 38th in AOY. Disaster struck at St. Clair and Champlain, changing Gleason’s goal to fighting for Elite requalification. Despite this 5-12 on Day 2, Gleason finished 97th, dropping outside requalification by 20 points at 74th. There were tearful goodbyes from, and for, the likeable pro from Many, La.
Cory Johnston, who won the 2021 Open at St. Lawrence before topping 100 pounds last year when Jay Przekurat took the St. Lawrence title with 102-9, was a disappointing 51st on Day 1 then had 27-4 to jump to 12th. Catching 25-0 on Day 3, Cory reached the final day and finished sixth with 96-0.
Jacob Foutz landed a 6-1 in his Day 2 23-10 limit, moving him up to 24th. Although he slipped to 42nd, Foutz requalified by finishing 68th in AOY, just 3 points above 71st. The northern swing was fruitful for the Charleston, Tenn., pro, who was 97th in AOY after the Sabine River and gained 29 spots in the last three events.
Coming off a victory on Champlain, Kyoya Fujita continued his smallmouth success by weighing 26-15 to move to fifth after starting 11th with 24-10, his only day under 25 pounds. Combined with Joey Cifuentes’ two titles and Will Davis Jr.’s win, rookies accounted for half the victories through eight events.
Tied for ninth after Day 1, Takumi Ito said “Smallmouth Disneyland” was under construction after 27-7 propelled him to third, just 1-1 from the lead. After a slow start to the year, Ito needed a great finish if he hoped to jump from 55th in AOY to Classic contention.
There was no slip in Welcher’s game on Day 2. The fourth-year pro from Opelika, Ala., landed a 6-9 in his 27-12 – the biggest bag of the day — that gave him the two-day lead. He extended his AOY lead to 36 points as he threatened to double up on $100,000 checks with the AOY title and tournament win. Welcher dropped to second on Day 3 yet was awarded the AOY trophy at the weigh-in. He finished with 752 points, 24 ahead of Cobb.
Walters was in the general vicinity of Welcher and also on the big bite. He had 27-3 to pull into fourth, 2-5 off the leading pace.
Jacob Powroznik came in the final tournament 45th in AOY, but he went the wrong way on Day 1 with a 61st. He made the Top 50 cut with 22-15 but was still on the Classic bubble. With 23-6 on Day 3, the pro from North Prince George, Va., did himself a solid as he jumped to 31st in the event to finish 34th in AOY, just 15 points inside the cut. Powroznik qualified for his eighth Classic, and he’s one of five from the 2016 Grand Lake Classic who will make their return next March, 22-24.
Although Josh Douglas might have lost hope to requalify after equipment malfunction at Champlain, he went out with a bang. The longtime Opens pro and second-year Elite from Isle, Minn., proudly shows off a 6-1 he caught in one of Day 3’s best bags, 25-7. Douglas finished 22nd in the event, but a disastrous 101st at Champlain, when he needed a top 30, sealed his fate, putting him 83rd in AOY, some 70 points outside requalification and too far back to climb.
On Day 3, Missouri’s Cody Huff continued his smallmouth assault with a 6-10 in a limit of 26-4 that jumped him 29 spots to finish 14th. Huff, who just three events before was 69th in AOY, finished 30th to qualify for his third Classic, the first of which came as College Bracket champ.
Standing 22nd after two days, Justin Hamner of Northport, Ala., made a move into the Top 10 with 25-5 on Semifinal Saturday. Hamner, 70th after the first three events in 2023, finished the season strong, climbing 30 AOY spots in the last three tournaments to take 21st in AOY and qualify for his second Classic.
Tyler Rivet flexed some at St. Lawrence with 24-1 and 23-12, then some more with this 6-6, almost a third of his slower Day 3 of 20-2. He fell five spots to 16th but moved back inside the Top 10 in AOY at ninth, earning Progressive’s $15,000 AOY bonus. Rivet had a fantastic season, winning the season opener on Lake Okeechobee and staying in the top 4 in AOY until Champlain.
Kenta Kimura dropped 10 spots from fourth (25-12) after a slow Day 2 (21-4), but he bound into Championship Sunday with 27-9, the second-best bag of Day 3 that included the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the event at 7-0. Kimura, who finished seventh after 21-1, qualified for his second Classic by taking 23rd in AOY.
Walters took over the lead with the biggest bag of Semifinal Saturday, 28-5. With a total of 80-6, Walters led five anglers on pace to eclipse 100 pounds. Welcher trailed by 1-1 and Chris Johnston was 2-6 back. Fujita had 76-9 and Ito had 75-2.
Weighing in fifth on Championship Sunday, Ito took the Yeti hot seat. His limit of 26-5, the best on the day, gave him the first Century Belt with 101-7. Ito, who struggled early in the year and stood 81st in AOY after the Sabine, made a major move with smallmouth. His fourth at St. Lawrence catapulted him from 55th to 36th in AOY and sent him to his fourth Classic.
Fujita was the next to hit the mark, his bag of 25-12 helping earn a Century Belt with 102-5. Fujita, who had the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the day at 6-2, took third to earn $30,000 in his fifth Top 10 of the year. He added another $19,000 by taking seventh in AOY with 697 points, just missing the $10,000 bonus for Dakota Lithium Rookie of the Year that went to Joey Cifuentes, who had 698 points.
Chris Johnston came in with 25-12 to become the third topping 100 pounds. His 103-12 was just 1-5 back of winning his second title at St. Lawrence. Finishing below 60th in three Elites in 2023, Johnston stayed inside Classic contention all season, ending up 18th to make his fifth consecutive championship
After watching Welcher, whose fishing time was cut as he had to borrow Justin Atkins’ boat, weigh 20-7 to fall 4 ounces short of a belt and fall to fifth, Walters weighed in 24-10 to win at the St. Lawrence with 105-0. It was the fifth Bassmaster title for the fifth-year pro from Eutawville, S.C., putting him into a tie for seventh among active Elites.
But the gifts kept coming. It was the third Century Belt that Walters has won, the first two coming at Lake Fork. It was a point of pride for Walters that he is the only pro to earn belts with both smallmouth and largemouth. Walters earned $100,000 for the win and $30,000 for moving up two spots to finish third in AOY, putting him just $15,000 from joining the millionaire’s club with B.A.S.S., impressive since his 29th birthday came days later on Aug. 30.

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