The massive St . Lawrence River is truly a land of giants .
PHOTO BY ROB MATSUURA release format of the Bass Pro Tour ), VanDam expects most of this year ’ s contenders to concentrate on the fishery ’ s predominant species , though he feels that every angler in the field can fish their strengths . Anglers hailing from the West Coast or southern U . S . can absolutely level the playing field under the right conditions .
“ We haven ’ t seen largemouth be a big factor in a lot of the tournaments in recent years ,” he adds . “ But they ’ re there . There ’ s a lot of quality . It just depends on whether you want to fish that way or not . In this fishery , you can power fish , you can use jerkbaits or spinnerbaits or swimbaits . You can finesse drop-shots , wacky rigs or Neko rigs . You can go shallow or deep this time of year .”
Mother Nature Sets the Tone
St . Lawrence River 101 : The river is big . The river is fast . The river gives you options . Then , Mother Nature takes some of those options away .
That ’ s a lesson VanDam learned three decades ago when those giant , soaking swells burned an impression in his mind , and it ’ s one that he says today ’ s anglers would do well to remember .
“ The hardest thing to deal with there is Mother Nature ,” he says . “ You just never know , conditions-wise , what you ’ re going to be dealing with . It can be brutal , or it can be amazing .”
For VanDam , “ amazing ” means light winds below 15 mph . Under calmer , stable conditions , tournament weights are going to be high and tight . Those conditions play into the hands of anglers from Canada to Japan to Florida .
When the winds go up to 25 mph , the scene gets incredibly rough . Not only will storms force anglers to adapt in a challenging environment but they can also make navigating the lake a battle in itself .
Thankfully , bass boats have come a long way in the past three decades . Built-in safety redundancies like dual automatic bilge pumps help mitigate some risks associated with big swells . Savvy anglers know that multiple tiedowns for things like trolling motors are essential . Checking jack plate bolts and electronics mounts are also key to keeping gear intact . Meanwhile , larger hulls and more powerful motors have also made tournament vessels more capable of handling big water .
Still , VanDam believes those waves can be the deciding factor in where anglers are able to fish .
“ This river has definitely taught me a lot on how to run rough water ,” he says . “ You have to manage your time , because if you make a 20-mile run when it ’ s rough out there , it can really take time off of the clock . It can also beat your equipment to pieces , so those are variables you have to put into your plans .”
Anyone ’ s Ballgame
Last year ’ s all-time Toyota Series clash between the Johnston brothers sent a clear narrative running through the bass fishing world – northern anglers have an edge on northern waters . But lost in the fracas lies another angle . Alabama angler Justin Atkins was just a few ounces off Cory Johnston ’ s second-place mark .
Meanwhile , the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit derby held just a few weeks earlier saw Virginia native Cody Pike take home the win ( with 82-12 over four days ).
VanDam has a high comfort level on the St . Lawrence due to its similarity to the Great Lakes waters near his Michigan stomping grounds , but he also remembers the days when Florida icon Roland Martin was a top dog on the waterway , and he rattles off anglers like Bobby Lane and Shaw Grigsby as more recent examples of southern fishermen capable of getting the job done on the Canadian border .
Defending TITLE champion Jimmy Washam won last year ’ s event in La Crosse , Wisconsin , though that was on a vastly different fishery than this year ’ s championship venue . The Memphis-area native still considers himself a rookie on northern waters , but he does feel that the learning curve for non-locals has lessened considerably in recent years thanks to the availability of research materials online and the help of sophisticated electronics on the water .
“ The locals definitely have an edge ,” Washam posits . “ It ’ s probably not the same edge they had maybe 20 or 10 or even five years ago . There ’ s so much media out there that helps lessen the required learning curve .”
Washam , who recently relocated to Pickwick Lake – where southern smallmouth are a tournament staple – says his attempts to replicate Tennessee River pattens on the St . Lawrence have been met with mixed success .
“ Last year , I went up there thinking that those patterns would translate ,” he
36 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2022