Elite

A look at Mississippi River

Posted on
Captions by
Mike Suchan
After a rousing event on South Dakota’s Lake Oahe, the top series of B.A.S.S. heads about 600 miles east for the season finale, the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Mississippi River. The ninth stop of the series will be competed Friday through Monday.
It is the fifth Elite tournament on the fishery that runs along the border between Wisconsin and Minnesota, and down into Iowa. The host is Explore La Crosse. With a population of more than 52,000, La Crosse serves as the county seat and is the state’s largest city on its western border.
The 90 anglers can fish Pools 7, 8 and 9 this week, searching for five bass measuring 14 inches or more. This stretch of the Upper Mississippi ranked 16th in the Central region of the Bassmaster 100 Best Bass Lakes.
Veterans Freedom Park at Clinton Street is site of the 7 a.m. takeoffs, where fans are welcome free of charge. The 3 p.m. CT weigh-ins are right across from the launch site at Copeland Park in the La Crosse Loggers baseball stadium. The park will also host the Expo, which opens at noon on Saturday and Sunday.
The winner receives a career-affirming title with a $100,000 payout, 100 Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year points and a berth to the 2023 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic. An AOY and Falcon Rods Bassmaster Rookie of the Year will be crowned in La Crosse, and points will be finalized for AOY payouts and berths to the Classic.
While the Elites will mostly be targeting largemouth on the fishery, some smallmouth will be brought in, and a few anglers will figure out fish in the main river channel.
But it’s the extensive backwaters where anglers are more likely to concentrate. Wisconsin’s Bob Downey said the fishing might be tougher than most anticipate because of pressure and low water. Around 15 pounds a day has won past events here, but Downey said it could be a touch stingier and tougher than most events this year.
“It’s a change of mindset from some places that we go,” Downey said. “It’s a great fishery, it has a lot of good numbers, but 3-pounders are gold. High 3-pounders and 4-pounders are your kicker fish.”
As the last event, Downey said there should be more anglers going for broke. “If a guy is way down in the points and they’re fighting to win to get into the Bassmaster Classic, they might take more risks and run all the way down to the bottom end of Pool 9,” he said. “But if a guy’s on the Classic bubble, or if he’s in the Classic, you might see them take fewer risks. This makes it an interesting place to hold the last tournament.”
The weather, always important in anglers’ planning for every event, should provide stable temperatures through practices Tuesday-Thursday, but anglers might have to dodge rain on Semifinal Sunday and Championship Monday.
There are around a dozen Elites above and below the Classic cutline who will be sweating that accomplishment this week, and Brandon Palaniuk (left) will have added pressure as he vies for his second AOY title. The 2017 AOY champ has 647 points, 37 ahead of Brandon Lester and 46 up on Chris Johnston. Jay Przekurat (right) holds a 64-point lead over Cody Huff in the ROY race.
Bassmaster LIVE gets under way at 8 a.m. ET Friday. Full coverage from all four days at the Mississippi River will be available on Bassmaster.com and the FOX Sports digital platforms. FS1 will also broadcast live with the tournament leaders on Saturday and Sunday beginning at 8 a.m. ET.

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