By Bernie Schultz
Anytime the St. Lawrence River makes the Elite Series schedule, I start counting the days. It’s a body of water near and dear to me as I’ve had many strong finishes there.
The St. Lawrence River ranks among the most scenic bass fisheries on the planet.
The river is vast and beautiful, and full of bass — both largemouth and smallmouth. Catching them isn’t usually a problem. It’s finding the right size that’s sometimes tricky.
This year’s event was originally scheduled for Waddington, some 80 miles from Lake Ontario. However, due to the Corona virus and some concerned local officials, B.A.S.S. was forced to relocate to the Town of Clayton, much closer to the lake.
That, and an imposed off-limits on Canadian waters, changed things dramatically. For the first time in years, Lake Ontario (at least the U.S. side) was part of the playing field. I liked the change in boundaries and what it meant for finding untapped schools of bass.
Getting Started
I began practice by visiting some familiar spots near French Creek — site of our event in Clayton. At several stops, I found small numbers of big smallmouth, eager and willing to bite.
As the day wore on, I moved closer to the lake. My lure selection consisted of the usual suspects: a Ned-rigged Yamamoto Senko, 3/8-ounce drop-shot Shad Shape Worm, Rapala Skitter V topwater and Shadow Rap jerkbait, and a Hildebrandt Drum Roller swimbait.
My usual northern smallmouth arsenal, consists of (L-R) a Hildebrandt Drum Roller swimbait, Ned-rig Yamamoto 4-inch Senko, Rapala Shadow Rap and Skitter V, and drop-shot Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm (bottom).
All of these lures produced, but I soon realized the better areas were receiving too much pressure. I knew then that I needed to find something else. So on day two, I traveled to Chippewa Bay and accessed the river there. My first stops were to a series of small islands along the main river channel, then into some backwater bays featuring mats of milfoil.
Several of the islands held numbers of smallmouth, and I discovered a good concentration of largemouth under one particular mat of milfoil.
By day’s end, I knew I had found a good section of the river offering some options.
On day three, I decided to try the lake once more — moving to some areas farther from the river mouth. I fished around Fox and Galloo islands, and a couple of spots near Chaumont Bay. The quality smallmouth were there, too, but what I had found the day before was still in my head.
Tournament Time
Drawing a late number in the take-off sequence, I watched as each boat peeled away from French Creek — some heading west toward the lake, others east toward Alexandria Bay. When my number was called, I headed straight for the islands adjacent to Chippewa Bay.
Morning blast-offs are exhilarating and full of anticipation.
When I arrived, I was shocked to find only one other boat in the area. And he was more than 200 yards from where I wanted to fish. After several hours of plucking decent-sized smallmouth, I decided to try the largemouth nearby.
Idling up to the edge of a large mat, I dropped the Power-Poles and picked up a Terminator Popping Frog. The first cast yielded a nice 3-pounder. The next a four. For the next two hours I caught and culled one largemouth after another, ending with a nice bag weighing more than 17 pounds.
On day two, I decided to start on the mat of milfoil — quickly boating a nice limit of largemouth. They weren’t quite as big as the previous day, but it was still a good start.
From there, I retraced my steps through several smallmouth spots — catching and culling at each stop. By day’s end, I had a solid bag weighing nearly 20 pounds. I knew I was inside the cut, and couldn’t wait for another shot on Saturday.
Fishing on the Weekend
With no worries of making a check, I began the day with far less stress and a much happier disposition. It was now about gaining some points and making a run at the Top 10.
Coming within a pound of the Top-10, I finished in 15th place. Close, but …
Again, I hit the mats of milfoil in Chippewa Bay, fully expecting to fill out a quick limit. But things were different. The wind was now from the north and 10 degrees cooler. Apparently, that slight barometric change killed the largemouth bite. After trying for an hour or so, I finally abandoned the area and committed to smallmouth fishing the rest of the day.
Because it was Saturday with beautiful, crisp weather, pleasure boaters were quickly finding their way onto the water. In just a few hours, the traffic was nearly overwhelming. I stuck with it, however, and tried to work around them.
By alternating with the Shadow Rap and Ned-rig Senko, I put together a solid 19-pound stringer. I knew I was close … perhaps within ounces.
I continued to pound my best areas until it was time to head back, wondering if I had enough.
Dodging every type of watercraft imaginable, I finally reached check-in at French Creek. And when the dust settled, I was just a pound shy of the Top 10.
Although it stung, I accepted the outcome and retreated to the hotel, where I began packing for the 4-hour trip to Lake Champlain — our next stop of two back-to-back Bassmaster Elite Series events.