WADDINGTON, N.Y. – With each passing tournament season, upstate New Yorker Zach Goutremout wonders how much fishing pressure the St. Lawrence River can take without experiencing some sort of downturn. It hasn’t happened yet. If anything it seems like the mighty smallmouth factory only gets stronger and better.
Sure, some of the bass might be less willing to bite a bait at first sight like in years past, but the brown fish are big and it always takes impressive limits to secure victories.
“Every year I think it is going to get tougher and tougher, but it doesn’t seem to matter how many tournaments we have,” the Chaumont, N.Y. native said. “It is harder to get a bite, but the big ones keep coming and the weights keep going up. I’m not sure how it keeps happening.”
It will surely be the case here this week for the St. Croix Bassmaster Open presented by SEVIIN, the final stop of the Division I slate. A quick scroll through social media feeds of the Opens pros tells you all you need to know about the quality that lives in the river. A look at last week’s major tournament out of Massena – won by Elite Series pro Chris Johnston – could provide some insight on how tight the margins will be between EQ qualification and going home empty-handed.
“It is the best fishery there is,” Baldwinsville, N.Y. native Dante Piraino said. “I would say it’s going to take 25 pounds a day to win.”
Last time the Opens visited Waddington, a good majority of the field made their way west to areas like Cape Vincent and Alexandria Bay, with much of the Top 10 catching their heavy weight bags in those areas. Michigan’s Bo Thomas believes it will be a similar scenario this time too, especially based on how many boats he saw the first two days of practice.
The fishing isn’t necessarily easy, though.
“Historically, it seems like it always gets won down towards Clayton, east or west of there,” Thomas said. “There was quite a lot of boat traffic down there the first two days. On Day 3, the crowd left. Day 3, the crowd left. A lot of guys seemed to be getting big bites here and there, but not putting stuff together.
“It is a gamble running down there,” he continued. “Time is going to be a huge deal. You have to be locked, loaded and dialed to be able to go down there and catch them. Quite a few boats will be down there, but I think it will thin out Day 2 because a lot of guys are going to go down there and realize it’s a lot tougher than they think.”
Two things could possibly hold back the weight totals in this Open, the first being the postspawn nature of the smallmouth right now.
Piraino, who caught a 9-pounder at the St. Lawrence River last August to claim the New York state record smallmouth, caught bass as shallow as 10 feet of water and as deep as 50 feet during the warm-up period and plenty of skinny smallmouth.
“It was a little tougher than I would have liked,” Piraino said. “Pretty much all of them are done spawning and on their way out deep. The big ones I’ve caught this week haven’t fought at all and are skinny. They are definitely in a postspawn transition.”
Goutremout will also be switching depth ranges quite a bit on Day 1. He expected the bass to be more grouped up than they actually are.
“There are fish in all depths,” he said. “It seems like they are fairly scattered. Those big ones don’t seem grouped up, at least for me.”
The second hurdle will, of course, be the weather. A cold front will move through the area before the start of Day 1, ushering cooler temperatures. With highs in the 80s during practice, temperatures will only rise to 72 and 76 the first two days with lows below the 50-degree mark.
It won’t be the temperature change that has the most impact, however. A northeast wind is predicted for Days 1 and 2, which will push against the natural current and make it difficult for anglers trying to dissect the current driven fishery.
Although not the best wind direction, it could play into Goutremout’s hands, as well as other locals who have more experience in these types of conditions.
“The northeast wind is going to come into play. It should play in my favor,” he said. “When it blows against the current, it eliminates the drift. I practiced to do a lot less drifting and more casting. The weights might be a little down just for that reason. You aren’t going to be able to drift like you typically can with a west wind.”
Anglers to watch
Michael Neal
Here are the last 10 finishes from Michael Neal during competition at the St. Lawrence River in various field sizes and formats: 2024, 1st; 2022, 12th, 2021, 11th, 2021; 17th. Save to say, Michael Neal feels plenty comfortable in upstate New York.
Tristan McCormick
McCormick nearly won the 2021 College Series National Championship at the St. Lawrence River as well as a Top 10 finish in a 2022 Toyota Series event. Sitting in a good points position, McCormick certainly could make a run at his third Classic appearance.
Zach Goutremout
As mentioned earlier, Goutremout has the local knowledge to excel this week, and has everything to fish for. The New Yorker is 65th in Division I points and needs a really good showing to advance to the EQ Division.
Casey Smith
Smith has won an Open in his home state before (Oneida in 2022) and won a Toyota Series event at the St. Lawrence last year. He is 32nd in points currently and a good showing would keep him inside the EQ cut.
Lucas Murphy
Murphy is 42nd in points currently heading into smallmouth country where he is plenty comfortable. Now a South Carolina resident, the Michigan native finished fifth at Oneida in the 2021 Open.
Cory Johnston
Obviously.
