MASSENA, N.Y. – This morning, the competitors in the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Northern Division event roared southwest out of Massena under nearly perfect conditions. The season finale of the Northern Division, this St. Lawrence River event is presented by FX Custom Rods and should be a phenomenal end to the season, as the weather looks ideal for maximizing the big river’s famous productivity for three days in a row.
The river is looking good
Though there have been a lot of high-level events on the St. Lawrence recently, nobody expects the weights to show it this week.
“The St. Lawrence River is unlike any other fishery in the world,” said Ethan Carr, who has been on fire across the state of New York this year. “I had the opportunity to grow up around that body of water, and I really enjoy targeting the biggest fish that live in a fishery. Obviously, sometimes that burns you, but there’s no better place than the St. Lawrence to do that.
“The amount of 5- and 6-pound fish on the St. Lawrence River is absolutely outstanding,” Carr said. “It’s been a really good training ground to be able to really learn what those giant fish like to do and where they like to be.”
Kyle Cortiana, who is leading for Fishing Clash Angler of the Year and won the last event at Lake Champlain, echoed Carr’s optimism.
“I think the fishing, weight-wise, is as good as you’ll ever see it for the river,” said the Oklahoma pro. “I think last year I averaged about 20 a day, and that was good for a Top 10. I would be really surprised if 20 a day is Top 10 this time around. I think the weights will probably go up across the board.
“The fish are just bigger,” he said. “I actually think the fishing is tougher than normal — we saw that in the last couple events that were televised here. It’s not easy to get the quality bites you need to go get. But, the fish are bigger. I think we’ve seen that trend over the last five or six years here — they keep getting bigger and fatter.”
The recent Bass Pro Tour event on the St. Lawrence was won deep in the river by Michael Neal, but a number of anglers saw a lot of success shallow. In last week’s Bassmaster Elite Series event out of Waddington, New York, Cory Johnston won in Lake Ontario, and most of the anglers that did well in the river fished deep. Still, anglers think there’s a lot of shallow potential in this one, especially considering the weather.
“100%, shallow is a player,” Cortiana said. “Shallow and deep will both play. The conditions are really good; I would say borderline perfect.”
“At the Bass Pro Tour event, a lot of guys caught a boatload of fish up shallow,” Carr said. “I’ve seen more big fish up shallow this year than ever, but you can’t count out the deep fish. There’s probably going to be a mix of both in the Top 10.”
Weighing the run
As takeoff moves east on the St. Lawrence, the complexion of the event changes with it. When tournaments take off out of Clayton, New York, it’s usually a guarantee that Lake Ontario dominates. As the lake gets farther and farther from blastoff, things get a bit murky. Lately, most events out of Massena have not been won with super long runs toward the lake, which really bucks the trend of the St. Lawrence.
In 2019, the Toyota Series went out of Massena for the first time, and Lake Ontario was accessible, but Wayne Vaughan won in the river without running west of Clayton, and Scott Dobson finished second fishing near Cape Vincent, New York. In 2021, the event was dominated by Lake Ontario, with Chris Johnston making the run and winning with a 77-15 total. In 2022, Lake Ontario was off-limits, as has become the practice for Massena events, and Spike Stoker won mid-river. Last year, Brent Anderson also got a mid-river win, while Gary Miller finished second running up to and past Clayton.
Figuring out exactly where to practice and what to do in a Massena event is a real conundrum.
“It’s a mental battle,” said Casey Smith, who is tied by points for second in AOY. “After watching what went on in the Elite Series, it makes you feel like you have to do that run. If you watch the BPT from a few weeks prior, they were spread up and down the river. If you look at their individual breakdowns, they caught a lot of good bags. I don’t think you need to (make the run), but it’s a mental challenge to not think about it.”
For his part, Cortiana thinks that you need to run, but perhaps not all the way.
“I feel like to win, you’ve got to get at least down to Waddington or Morristown — you’ve got to be that far to win,” he said. “I don’t think there’s many anglers that have figured out a way to be successful in Massena. I think you’ve got to go at least 20 miles up the river. Everyone knows the bigger fish live in the lake, and it seems like the closer you get, the more those bigger fish show up.”
What does it take to win?
While the takeoff location seems to influence where the event can be won, it also seems to influence the winning weights quite a bit. Last year, Anderson’s 66-11 total set the high-water mark for a non-lake Massena event. In the same year, out of Waddington with the lake off-limits, the Bassmaster Open was won with 71-15, and the top three all caught 69 pounds or better.
This year, expectations are high for the boys in Massena, with Brett Carnright pegging the winning weight at 69-12, Travis Manson picking an even 69 pounds and other predictions high as well.
“I think it will take 41 pounds to make the cut, and 22 and change gets it done over three days,” Smith said.
“Despite the recent pressure, I expect it’ll take 22 to 24 pounds per day to be able to win the tournament,” Carr said.
With many of the best river anglers in the event, there’s a good chance we see some fireworks at the scale. According to nearly everyone, the bass are incredibly fat this year, so five bites could go an extremely long way.
Battle for AOY will go down to the wire
The standings for Fishing Clash Angler of the Year are incredibly tight, as they usually are in the Northern Division. In the lead, Cortiana has 506 points, and Chase Serafin and Smith are right behind with 504 points. With 495 points, last year’s runner-up, Ben McCann, is in position for another strong finish, and Kurt Mitchell sits in fifth with 489 points.
If Cortiana can pull off the win, he’ll be only the second pro to win AOY in multiple divisions since 2004 (David Curtis has won in the Southwestern and Central divisions). Cortiana’s wins would be pretty widespread, as his other title came in the Southwestern Division back in 2016.
“There’s no doubt it’s going to be a shootout,” Cortiana said. “With that tight of a points spread, you might have to win this thing to win Angler of the Year if you’re one of us in the top five, and I might have to get second to win.
“It’d be really cool; it makes you feel accomplished as an angler to have that accolade,” Cortiana said. “I’d love to do it. I’m feeling good. I felt like I could win Champlain, and it worked out that way. I feel like I could win this tournament, no doubt. I’m going into it with a lot of confidence, and I’d like nothing more than to get an extra $5K for Angler of the Year.”
The Northern Division Angler of the Year in 2020, Serafin is chasing his second title on water he’s familiar with and with a species he’s got a lock on — the Michigan angler always excels chasing brown fish.
Smith, on the other hand, has not quite got it done for AOY … yet.
“I want to win it pretty bad,” said the New York angler. “I think it’s been pretty well documented over the years that it’s something I’ve wanted, and I’ve let this exact situation slip two or three times — last time was here at the same time of year on the same river.”