Fantasy Fishing: Pick your poison

Written by

Pete Robbins

As the 2023 Bassmaster Elite Series season – which seems like it just started – nears its conclusion, anglers know that there’s likely no way to win the finale at the St. Lawrence River fishing largemouth. It’ll be “brown town” for sure. The upcoming Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain, however, offers no such certainty. Some years the big events there are won on smallmouth, sometimes it’s largemouth and sometimes it’s a down-the-middle mixture.

When anglers do well there once, it’s often because they’re specialists, or because they gamble on the right color fish. But consistency on this monstrous pond requires an ability to assess the relative strength of either or both, and then lean heavily into that assessment. Lean in, that is, until a factor changes, or the wind prevents you from getting to your fish, at which point it becomes a matter of scrapping everything and starting fresh. The ones who understand the moods of the “Sixth Great Lake” somehow always manage to turn a bad deal into a good finish.

It’s an exceptionally fertile fishery where you can expect limits up and down the line, so bet on big-fish gamblers who have always seem to have a Plan B when push comes to shove. Here are my picks.

BUCKET A: COX

Gut pick: During his years with FLW, and now B.A.S.S., and no doubt whatever Tuesday and Wednesday nighters he can jackpot, John Cox has fished Lake Champlain numerous times. With the exception of a clunker in a 2020 Elite he’s generally been at the top. If largemouth prove to be the dominant paradigm, and especially if it doesn’t require a long run, expect him to put a Berkley General in his hand, keep it simple and pick off green fish after green fish bigger than many locals have ever caught.

Savvy backup: If you don’t think largemouth will play, or be competitive, go with Jay Przekurat, a young sniper of a smallmouth expert. He’s in seventh place in Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year, and if he can move up a few spots before the St. Lawrence River Elite he could make a run at the title.

BUCKET B: IACONELLI

Gut pick: Mike Iaconelli is in 23rd in the AOY race, positioned to qualify for his first Classic since 2019, and the tour’s headed to his part of the country, to the lake he calls his favorite. Oddly enough, his record has been all over the map there, but it was the site of his first major win (1999) and third- and seventh-place finishes in Opens. Expect him to contend – a nice segue to his Hall of Fame induction the following month.

Savvy backup: Champlain sets up perfectly for Seth Feider, a smallmouth hammer who loves to flip grass for green fish with a big weight, like he does on Minnetonka. He was fourth here in 2021, second in 2022 and second in 2017.

BUCKET C: HARTMAN

Gut pick: Early in his career, Jamie Hartman seemed destined to be a superstar, but after making three Classics in four years, he’s missed the last two. Now he’s outside the cut by a dozen or so places with two tournaments in his home state left to go. I’m betting the Hartman who finished third in 2020 will show up, not the one who finished 73rd in 2021.

Savvy backup: Another semi-local, and one of Hartman’s running buddies, is Jonathan Kelley. He’s five spots behind Hartman, and while he’s never competed in a B.A.S.S. professional event on Champlain, he’s certainly spent ample time in the vicinity. It’s the region that propelled him to the Elites in the first place.

BUCKET D: COMBS

Gut pick: Once again, Keith Combs finds himself needing a late-season push to make it back to the Classic, a spot he salvaged last year with an Open victory. While he’s typically thought of as an offshore cranking freak, he’s equally good in grass (think Rayburn) or with a jerkbait for smallmouth, and he finished second at Champlain in 2021.

Savvy backup: As with Combs, you might not think Louisianan Caleb Sumrall would do well on Champlain, and once again you’d be wrong. He was ninth here in 2021 and just missed the cut to Day 3 in 2020. While the Classic is a long shot, it’s not mathematically impossible.

BUCKET E: FRAZIER

Gut pick: Anyone in Bucket E at this point in the season is having a rough go of it. Some are past their prime and some will never have a prime, but Micah Frazier doesn’t fall into either of those camps. He’s finished in the money the last two times the Elites visited Champlain, including a 13th-place finish in 2020, along with a fifth-place finish here in a 2014 Open. He has serious smallmouth chops, with a win and a fifth-place finish at the St. Lawrence River, but don’t expect him to look past this one as he tries to salvage a rougher-than-usual season.

Savvy backup: Ed Loughran knows that he’s fighting for his Elite Series life, and with a 13th-place finish at St. Clair he gained some critical points. At 88th in AOY, the Classic is likely out of reach on a points basis, but requalification is not. He’s been fishing Champlain since some of his competitors were in diapers and may have a few tricks up his sleeve.