Most Bassmaster venues, particularly the lakes and reservoirs, stem from the flooding of large areas of land to form water sources and power plants for surrounding counties, cities and states. The St Lawrence River however, located far up north in New York State, is at its essence a natural water course flowing from America's Great Lakes. That's not to say mankind has not had its say however. In 1959 the St Lawrence Seaway was completed allowing shipping along this busy and varying stretch of river and making for a complex landscape.

A unique challenge of fishing St Lawrence River is that it crosses the border between Canada and the USA. Seperate licenses are required for both nations, obtained from Ontario and New York authorities for the area that has hosted Bassmaster® events in the past. During the 2021 Bassmaster® Elite on the river, anglers were only able to fish within New York waters meaning those with knowledge of spots on the USA side had an advantage when hunting down bass.

This year Smallmouth Bass are expected to play a big part, as they have done in previous years. Though Largemouth are present in the stretch between Waddington and Lake Ontario, Smallmouth are in greater numbers and form most of the competitive catches here. This year the venue moves down to Clayton, NY where two founding members of the band Blue Oyster Cult hail from and where a number of anglers headed for their own spots to fish in last year's event.

Edwin Evers won the first Elite Series™ event here in 2015 and since then, the trophy has changed hands a number of times with KVD, Josh Bertrand, Micah Frazier and Chris Johnston taking the top step between 2017 and 2020. But last year, in 2021, it was Taku Time! Takumi 'Taku' Ito, from Japan, jumped up and up the leaderboard on consecutive days to finish the event in first place! His first Elite Series™ win was a popular one, no doubt giving him confidence for this year's tournament.

How's your confidence going into the online event? With action on the real and virtual waters this July it will be fascinating to see how the anglers get on in Bassmaster's northern reaches!

Want to know more about the St. Lawrence Online Elite Event? Check out our article here