Elite

A look at St. Lawrence River 2026

Close races on tap along with potential of biggest weight at smallmouth fishery

Posted on
Written by
Mike Suchan
Captions by
Mike Suchan
The pressure amplifies for those needing great outings in this week’s season finale, the Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River. The season-long races, Classic berths and requalifying are all at stake on the fishery that has produced Century Club belts in the past three Elite visits.
In the final event of 2026, 98 Elites will take off Thursday from Clayton, N.Y., with many venturing out into Lake Ontario where giant smallmouth await. After two days, the anglers with the top 50 weights advance to Semifinal Saturday when the field will be cut to 10 for Championship Sunday. The winner will earn the $100,000, a coveted blue trophy and a berth into the 2027 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic.
The St. Lawrence River, including the eastern section of Lake Ontario, ranks third in Bassmaster Magazine’s Top 10 Best Lakes of 2026 and has been a popular venue with 28 pro events, 10 Elites. Anglers have topped 100 pounds to earn B.A.S.S. Century Belts in the past three Elite visits, and Jay Przekurat, the first to do it, said this could be the best year.
Daily takeoffs are set for 7 a.m. ET at Clayton Harbor Municipal Marina, 301 Webb Street, with weigh-ins there each day at 3 p.m. “I’m expecting huge weights. Possibly the most we’ve ever seen in a four-day event from this place,” Przekurat said. “Hopefully the wind is decent for us.”
The anglers began practice on Sunday with storms passing through Monday with the highest winds for the week. Some morning showers could hit on the first two days of competition, but winds appear manageable through the weekend.
The hot topic of discussion is the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. Trey McKinney, runner-up the past two years to Canada’s Chris Johnston, leads the season-long standings with 635 points. Georgia’s Drew Cook is one point back with 634 and Johnston’s older brother, Cory, is third with 633 points. Fourth-place Bob Downey is 65 points back of McKinney.
Cory Johnston of Peterborough, Ontario, has the benefit of fishing on his home waters. In nine Bassmaster tournaments on the fishery, he has been runner-up twice and won three times, including the 2021 Open at 1000 Islands and 2025 St. Lawrence Open.
In the 2024 St. Lawrence Elite, Cory Johnston made a long run from Waddington and battled a rough Lake Ontario. Despite a Bassmaster LIVE camera capturing him getting seasick, he rallied past leader Robert Gee to win with 102-0. Gee also earned a belt with 100-7.
In the same event, Chris Johnston rallied on Day 3 with 29-5, tying the best limit on the fishery, to earn the first AOY for Canada. Johnston was in 31st after two days, 16 points behind Jacob Foutz in the AOY race, but his monster bag put him fourth while Foutz dropped from ninth to 35th.
McKinney, who improved from 88th in the 2023 St. Lawrence Open to third in the 2024 Elite, spent time before the off limits scouting the fishery. At 21, he could become the youngest AOY winner, eclipsing Kevin VanDam, who was 24 when he won his first of seven titles in 1992.
Despite a faux pas at Lake Champlain, Caleb Hudson leads Fisher Anaya in the Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Rookie of the Year race. Hudson has 538 points to 526 for Anaya, who was 91 points back three events ago. After mistaking his check-in time at Champlain, Hudson suffered a 4-pound penalty for being four minutes late, which translated to 17 lost points.
Shane LeHew is on the bubble as he shoots for eight consecutive Classic berths. He made up 11 spots at Champlain to stand 45th in points, which is currently the last spot to qualify for the Classic. LeHew is tied with the Johnstons, Cook and Patrick Walters (13th), who have made every Classic since joining the Elites in 2019.
After his pre-practice, Przekurat said the bass seemed bigger but getting bites was harder. “The days of 50, 60 and 70 fish are kind of over in the summer when they get beat on pretty hard,” he said.
“Current is a huge factor, too. It looks like we’ll have a good bit of wind from the West which will speed up the current and that should get the bass into position to feed,” he said. “I expect to see fish caught in 25 to 50 feet of water. You’ll see Top 10s 30 miles apart from each other on the lake.”
Ontario should rule unless winds force anglers to the river. “It can always be won out of the river, but I don’t know if it can hold up for four days,” Przekurat said. “Personally, I think some of the biggest smallmouth live in the river.”
“I expect the winning weight to be between 104 to 107 pounds,” Przekurat said. “If a guy catches 30 one day and then backs it up with 25s and 26s, he could touch that 107 mark. It’s going to take a special week to do that, don’t get me wrong, but the bass are huge out there.”
St. Lawrence events have been site to record-setting crowds, and there will be more to see than launches, expo and weigh-ins. On Monday, the Bassmaster Randy Moss Pro Football Hall of Fame Pro-Am presented by Lippert will be held. Pro Football Hall of Famers will compete with Elites. Takeoff is at 8 a.m. ET and weigh-in at 1 p.m., with an autograph session from 2-3 p.m.
Bassmaster LIVE coverage starts at 8 a.m. ET on Bassmaster.com and continues until 3 p.m. on Days 1 and 2. FS1 will carry LIVE on Saturday and Sunday from 8-11 a.m. before coverage moves to Bassmaster.com in the afternoon. 

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