FantasyFishing.com Insider: Everything you need to know for the Detroit River
Decisions, decisions.
When the final event of the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals season blasts off from Elizabeth Park on the Detroit River Friday, the field will have no shortage of choices to consider. With the Detroit River, St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie all in play, there’s quite literally hundreds of miles of fishy habitat to explore. Given the Great Lakes’ mercurial weather and the nomadic nature of its smallmouth, committing to the wrong spot could be costly — especially with the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year, Polaris Rookie of the Year and five Bass Pro Tour invitations up for grabs.
The decisions don’t get a whole lot easier for Phoenix Boats Fantasy Fishing players. Once again, the field for this event is loaded. Deciding between proven performers, local experts and national touring pros who hopped into this event won’t be easy. Plus, with this being the final event to make a run at one of the prize packages on offer from Tackle Warehouse, there’s a lot at stake for you, too.
That’s where we come in. Here’s everything you need to know to sort through the field and assemble a winning roster.
Ride the hot hands
Nothing has been able to derail the top few anglers in the points standings this season. While those anglers will probably have to deal with more variables at this event than any other, it still feels like a safe bet that they’ll close the season strong.
Angler of the Year leader Jake Lawrence is averaging about a ninth-place finish through the first five events, which is insane. He hasn’t spent much time on northern smallmouth waters, but that didn’t slow him down at Lake Champlain, where he finished 10th. Wherever he decides to set up shop at this event, he should be able to lean on his LiveScope skills.
Lawrence will have to catch ‘em to maintain his points lead, because Alec Morrison, Marshall Hughes and Colby Miller have been just about as consistent. Morrison already has three Top 10s on the year and is one of the hottest smallmouth anglers going. Hughes hasn’t finished worse than 19th on the season. Miller has three top-five finishes on the year, and while he stumbled a tad at Champlain (if you can really call finishing 31st a stumble), he has some smallmouth success on his resume. Add in Jacob Walker, who just won on Champlain and sits sixth in the points, and it would be hard to fault someone who builds a lineup around the anglers who have gotten it done all year.
Local hammers
Every region has its experts, but it seems like few are as consistently strong when national events come to their home waters as Great Lakes smallmouth anglers. Scott Dobson is one of the premier names among that group. Dobson has racked up seven wins on either the Detroit River or Lake St. Clair during a career that’s seen him amass more than $770,000 in winnings. One of the only things missing from his resume is a national win, and you can bet Dobson will be gunning for it this week.
Troy Stokes and Robby Lefere are other Michigan natives to watch. Stokes has notched eight Top 10s on the Detroit River, St. Clair or Erie during his career. He’s fishing solidly this season, too, sitting 18th in the points. Lefere has five Top 10s to his name on the bodies of water that make up this playing field.
Top-level pros with proven smallmouth success
If, like me, you picked Jacob Wheeler for your roster at West Point Lake, you’re probably still a little bitter about him not weighing a fish. Wheeler is the biggest name among a sizable stable of top-level pros competing this week, and his West Point performance illustrates the dangers of picking anglers who aren’t fishing for points (although I’d argue doing so is less risky at this event because outside of the top 10 or so in the points, everyone else should be fishing to win). That said, you can’t leave Wheeler off a fantasy lineup, especially in smallmouth country. Here are his finishes in his last nine events on northern smallmouth waters dating back to the Lake Erie Super Tournament in 2020: second, first, first, fifth, second, 11th, third, third, eighth. Enough said.
Right there with Wheeler in terms of their northern track records are Matt Becker and Cory Johnston. Becker, who grew up fishing Lake Erie, won on the Great Lakes last year at Saginaw Bay and has become a shoo-in to make the cut on smallmouth waters. Johnston’s list of smallmouth accolades might be the best of the bunch, and while he’s best known for his dominance on Lake Ontario, it also includes four Top 10s on Lake St. Clair or the Detroit River.
Sneakier names to consider
There are plenty more anglers who probably deserved to be mentioned in this piece, but we only get five picks from each group. That said, if you’re looking for an edge on your buddies, here are a few names that might be flying a bit under the radar.
Flight One:
Brett Carnright — It’s hard to call a 12th-place finish underwhelming, but Carnright’s showing on Lake Champlain during Stop 5 might qualify considering it’s his home lake and he won a Toyota Series event on the fishery in June of 2023. However, Carnright is more than just a Champlain local, as he’s proven this year with made cuts at West Point and Kentucky Lake and a sixth-place finish in the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American. Perhaps he can pull a Lawrence and use a slightly disappointing finish on his home water to fuel a win at the next event.
Chase Serafin — Serafin hasn’t fished the Invitationals the past two years, but he’s hardly missed when competing on the fisheries near his White Lake, Michigan, home. Serafin has three Toyota Series Top 10s to his credit on Erie and the Detroit River. He’s fishing well of late, too, currently sitting second in the Toyota Series Northern Division points standings.
Flight Two:
Kyle Cortiana — Cortiana has devoted a lot of time to targeting northern smallmouth in recent years. It paid off with his first career win in the recent Toyota Series event on Lake Champlain. He should be confident heading to Michigan.
Angel Rosario/Pat Upthagrove — The Phoenix Bass Fishing League Michigan Division competes on the fisheries that are in play at this event, and Rosario and Upthragrove have both been stalwarts near the top of the standings in recent years. Rosario has a win and four other Top 10s to his credit in the past five years, while Upthagrove has racked up 14 Top 10s during his career.