Fantasy Fishing: Go with what you know at St. Clair

Written by

Kyle Jessie

Arkansas

With only one true northern smallmouth fishery on the 2025 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series schedule, it’s time to fill your Fantasy Fishing rosters with certified smallmouth hammers. The Elite Series is full of anglers who have proven time and time again that they are experts when fishing for smallmouth, so hopefully you have saved a number of those anglers for Falcon Rods Bassmaster Drain the Lake Challenge.

As for Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing, it’s all about making a calculated risk or two to give yourself a chance to make a jump in the standings with only one event remaining.

The Elites have visited Lake St. Clair a number of times, so making your picks based on history is a solid strategy. With that in mind, don’t overlook the rookie class. In the 2024 St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake St. Clair, all but two of the nine Elite Qualifiers finished inside the Top 50 of that event with Tucker Smith, Emil Wagner and Paul Marks all finishing inside the Top 20.

We also know that St. Clair is the one of the most forward-facing sonar dominated lakes in the country when it comes to tournament bass fishing, so keep that in the back of your mind when you’re making your picks.

Let’s get into some picks!

BUCKET A: PRZEKURAT

Bucket A is absolutely full of smallmouth gurus, but I’ve been sticking with Jay Przekurat in Bucket A for the majority of the season and there’s certainly no reason to change that now. The Wisconsin pro is coming off of his worst finish of the season at Lake Tenkiller, but St. Clair is right in his wheelhouse. He won the Open at St. Clair in 2024 and finished 11th in the 2023 Elite event.

Solid secondary selection: I will admit that it does feel wrong not selecting Chris Johnston in a smallmouth event. This is going to be an awesome event watching Chris Johnston, Jay Przekurat and Trey McKinney battle it out over the last two Elites.

BUCKET B: PALMER

Bucket B is where I’m going to take my risk – at least based on the percentages. It was a little surprising to see that Luke Palmer was sitting at less than a 1% player percentage considering his second-place finish at St. Clair in 2023. The Oklahoma pro has really come on strong as a smallmouth angler in the last few seasons, which makes him a great lower percentage pick in Bucket B.

Solid secondary selection: What makes you feel worse than not picking Chris Johnston in Bucket A? How about not picking Cory Johnston in Bucket B on top of it. I hope I don’t regret it, but I won’t be surprised if I do. Also don’t overlook Cooper Gallant in Bucket B.

BUCKET C: CIFUENTES

There’s no debating that Joey Cifuentes is one of the best smallmouth anglers on tour. Since 2023, the Arkansas pro has eight top 20 finishes in Elite and Opens competition. Of those eight, five of them have come from fishing for northern smallmouth. Also, hard to ignore the fact that he won the Elite event at St. Clair back in 2023.

Solid secondary selection: Alex Redwine is another angler that has been rock solid in smallmouth events since joining the Elites. The Ohio pro has seven top 30 finishes in northern smallmouth events across the Elite and Opens.

BUCKET D: FOUTZ

Jacob Foutz certainly hasn’t had the season he was hoping for after nearly winning the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year title in 2024, but look for him to bounce back at St. Clair. Foutz notched a 6th place finish at St. Clair in 2023 and excels when fishing for smallmouth.

Solid secondary selection: You could justify going a lot of different directions in Bucket D with anglers like former St. Clair Elite Champion Jason Christie, but I wouldn’t overlook Stetson Blaylock. The Arkansas pro has a strong track record in smallmouth events.

BUCKET E: KELLEY

It’s always tricky to predict Bucket E this late in the season, but I’m riding with Jonathan Kelley at just 1.6% player percentage. Kelley has a strong resume on smallmouth fisheries and finished 24th in the 2023 Elite event.

Solid secondary selection: Jeff Gustafson feels like the safe pick in Bucket E considering his expertise in smallmouth fishing. However, his results at St. Clair specifically haven’t been all that great in the past.