As the regular season winds down in the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Stop 6 Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches heads to the St. Lawrence River, where all sorts of points races are on the line. By the end of the event, Fishing Clash Angler of the Year, Polaris Rookie of the Year, Bass Pro Tour qualifications and Invitationals Championship qualifications will all be wrapped up. Some races are going down to the wire – the race to make the top five for the BPT is intense. Others could be formalities given that things go roughly to plan – Banks Shaw has built a large lead for AOY and ROY.
In this event, there are lots of anglers to choose from with experience on the fishery in some form or fashion. And, there are some anglers who will likely be locks in every successful Phoenix Fantasy Fishing team.
What to expect on the fishing side of things
The St. Lawrence always allows anglers to fish shallow and deep for the river’s incredible smallmouth population. This time of year, there should be very few bass on beds, despite a cool spring, and there should be plenty of fish pushing into deep water and high-current areas. So, it is fair to expect the preponderance of weight to come deep, and, given the lack of forward-facing sonar on Day 2, you can also expect drifting to play an old-school role in this event.
Still, it’s hard to completely count out the shallow bite – lots of big events have been won shallow on the river, and it can sometimes produce some of the biggest bags or individual fish. This event also features a few of the river’s best shallow anglers, which could influence the final standings.
There are many anglers with past success in the field
This week, the field is stacked with pros who have a lot of past success to their credit on the St. Lawrence and are fishing just this event. The list is obviously headlined by Chris Johnston, whose exploits anywhere there’s a smallmouth (or a bass) really need no introduction. Up next is Brent Anderson, who has mastered the art of drifting on the river and nearly always contends in Toyota Series and Opens there, with a 2023 Toyota Series win on the river to his credit. Then, Gary Miller deserves a mention – a shallow water angler at heart, Miller has seen a lot of success on the river in recent years.
There are some other anglers who deserve a look as well, folks not fishing all six who figure to do well. Coming from the BPT, Drew Gill, Nick Hatfield and Justin Cooper have all done well on the river before and could be good picks. Hayden O’Barr won last year’s Abu Garcia College Fishing event on the St. Lawrence River and might be an interesting pick as well – he’s been on fire at the Toyota Series level this year.
Invitationals regulars have plenty of firepower
The regular Invitationals roster is full of experience on the St. Lawrence, thanks in part to it being a regular stop on the Toyota Series. In fact, some of the anglers in the field with a lot Toyota Series time there could easily contend for the win, and doing well in tournaments out of Massena is a different deal than events that take out from other places on the river – the added run time introduces yet another dynamic to the tournament.
Of the folks fishing all six who have a lot of river experience, Kyle Cortiana, Brett Carnright, Jon Canada and Spike Stoker stand out. Cortiana and Carnright rarely miss a Top 10 there, Canada seemingly spends six months there every year, and Stoker has actually won there – in the fall of ’22. And, while Gary Adkins doesn’t have a ton of Toyota Series depth there, he’s an excellent smallmouth angler and has a Top 10 in a Bassmaster Open out of Clayton on his ledger.
Keep your expectations high for the anglers at the top of the standings
This season, the top eight pros have managed a bit of separation over the pack, and third through eighth are locked in an incredibly tight battle for the last few Bass Pro Tour spots. Of the group, most have some experience there, except for Shaw. Of course, Shaw has been unbeatable all year, so it’s hard to recommend not picking him. In second, Dustin Smith is a definite question mark – he’s fished without forward-facing sonar all season, and you don’t need it to do well on the river, but deep smallmouth are not his forte – Smith has a challenge on his hands in this one.
Beyond the question marks among the top two, it’s hard to bet against any of the others. Mitchell Robinson, Chad Mrazek, Bobby Lane, Brody Campbell and Colby Miller all have experience and success there. As for Jacob Walker, he didn’t need any previous experience when he lapped the field last summer at Champlain.
My picks
- Flight 1: Brent Anderson, Jon Canada, Kyle Cortiana, Chris Johnston, Banks Shaw
- Flight 2: Brody Campbell, Brett Carnright, Justin Cooper, Alex Davis, Bobby Lane