Elite

Dock Talk at Lake St. Clair

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Photography by
Andy Crawford
Captions by
Craig Lamb
The 2025 Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair returns to Brandenburg Park after Joey Cifuentes won the 2023 event with 91 pounds 8 ounces. Photo: Craig Lamb
Cifuentes shunned the crowds in Anchor Bay, finding the winning catch elsewhere. More recently, Elite pro Jay Przekurat weighed a three-day total of 75-5 to win the 2024 St. Croix Bassmaster Open presented by SEVIIN, doing so in Anchor Bay, a vast area covering 90 square miles. Photo: Craig Lamb
Przekurat also leads a tight Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year race with two events remaining. This week much is up for grabs. The AOY race to determine qualifiers for the 2026 Elite Series and the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour. 
That’s the setup. There are two options, the first is joining the crowd in Anchor Bay, a prolific producer of sustainable four-day catches, or venture off alone and find a diamond in the rough elsewhere in Lake Huron, Erie or the rivers. We report and you decide. Is it truth or just dock talk? 
Caleb Kuphall
Can this derby be won anywhere else but Anchor Bay? (Laughs) “Probably not,” Kuphall said.
“There is an 80 percent chance it’ll be won there,” Kuphall said. “Anchor Bay is just full of aquatic life, food.
“The size of the smallmouth are just so much bigger there, thicker and heavier. In 2023 there was more bait there, but the key is the shallower area of Anchor Bay produces more vegetation because of that factor.” 
Brian New
Can this be won anywhere else other than Anchor Bay? “Absolutely and it could be won in another lake,” New said. 
“From what I’ve seen about Anchor Bay there are only a couple of specific areas where the quality fish will be caught, and they are getting heavily pressured, so it’ll fish smaller than in the past.
“There are no secrets there, no secret baits either with all the minnow and fuzzy dice baits. Everyone has it and we all have the same technology to find and see the fish.
“There will be a lot of luck involved on this one.”
Chris Zaldain
Can it be won someplace beside Anchor Bay? (Laughs) “There is a diamond in the rough somewhere else, but I didn’t find it,” Zaldain said. “I’ve seen this lake undergo lots of changes since 2012 and that’s happening here now. The water is extremely clear in some of the areas where I’ve caught quality fish in the past where it was colored. 
“As a result, those areas have more light penetration in the water column, fewer baitfish, less vegetation and fewer quality smallmouth. In Anchor Bay the water is shallower, there’s more vegetation, less light penetration for bass and bait to hide. And you have current flow. The bottom line is this will be an Anchor Bay tournament.”
Lee Livesay
(Editor’s note: I’m trying a different question.) Where will this tournament be won? “It’s going to be won in Anchor Bay,” Livesay said. “The bass are healthier, bigger in size, there’s more vegetation and bait, and there are plenty to go around.”
How do you manage your water or get into a rotation? “There’s no managing anything out there. You just must get lucky and be in the right place at the right time.”
“What that means is you could be trolling around and come up on a school of four pounders, or get to another spot and there’s nothing, or another might be loaded with two pounders.” 
Jake Whitaker
“Sure, it absolutely can be won somewhere else outside of Anchor Bay,” Whitaker said. 
“There are winning catches in Lake Huron, Lake Erie, the rivers but for whatever reason Anchor Bay is just the low hanging fruit being nearby the weigh-in and loaded with smallmouth.
“Here’s the thing about Anchor Bay. In Great Lakes terms it’s not a bay at all considering the size of it. (Anchor Bay covers 90 square miles). So, you have almost more of an area the size of a small lake.”
Kenta Kimura
“What’s different since 2023 is the tournament could be won in Huron or Erie,” Kimura said. 
“I think half of the field wills stay in Anchor Bay and the others will go elsewhere. That’s because Anchor Bay can be hit or miss.
“I’m not going to Anchor Bay for that reason. I’m looking for a series of areas and a pattern where I can move around based on the wind direction and how I can set up on them.”
Tyler Williams
Can this tournament be won on anything beside a Green Fish Tackle Little Rubber Jig? “Probably not, at least not for me,” Williams said. 
“But the shocker is I’m not going to fish in Anchor Bay. I don’t like to fish around crowds, and you must waste time sorting through numbers of fish to reach the four-plus pound per fish weight you need to be competitive. 
“In my position in points I just want to go out, catch fish and have fun on Lake St. Clair.”
JT Thompkins
How do you win this in Anchor Bay? “By doing your due diligence in practice and understanding the direction that you are going, the depth range you are staying in and really keeping your waypoints very organized and understand what is going on in the lake.
“It’s all about waypoint management. Whenever you catch a five pounder you don’t just mark that fish. Instead, you number those fish collectively by and weight. You must stay in tune and not just mark a waypoint every time you catch a fish. 
“You must know the conditions of why to mark the waypoint as it relates to the conditions like sand, vegetation, wind direction. Where it all comes together is when you’ve got a string of good waypoints in a perfect row that indicate something no one else is seeing, such as a current seam.”

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