I entered the first Bassmaster Elite Qualifier event at Lake Champlain mainly to try and make next year’s Bassmaster Classic, and even though that plan didn’t work out, fishing this lake was definitely time well spent.
I love fishing smallmouth tournaments, but the Elites will visit Champlain next year, so I wanted to check out the lake. I’d never been to Champlain before, so I wanted to drive around and see how big it is and try to find some spots for next year.
Going into practice, I tried to find some shallower fish I could target next year, because the 2026 Elite event will not allow forward-facing sonar. The problem was the drought conditions of Upstate New York had dropped the water level so low that it was hard to find anything I thought might play next year.
Even though I couldn’t fish a lot of the stuff I saw during the EQ, I marked it anyway. If the water level is back to normal next year, I think some of that could be worth fishing.
I ended up scoping in about 40 to 60 feet with a jighead minnow. I was just following bait chasers. That’s a big deal this time of year. They start to get on the bait balls and just sort of roam around.
The ones I was fishing for tended to stay closer to the bottom. The deepest ones I caught were in about 60 feet, but most were in that 40 to 45 range.
I know a lot of guys were catching the ones that were up high on bait balls, but I think the ones on the bottom had already fed because they were all fat. The ones I caught in the bait balls had probably just pulled out, so they were feeding more actively.
The weather was a big factor during this event, and the windy conditions made it hard to fish the ones that were up in the bait balls. They were moving quickly and trying to lead the cast in those conditions was difficult.
My trolling motor was working hard, but I found that going into the wind helped me with boat positioning. If I went with the wind, when I saw a fish, I would blow over it too fast.
I also found that using a 3/8-ounce jighead helped with casting accuracy. I could get my bait to the bottom, but even for the ones that were higher in the water column, a heavier head was more efficient than a lighter one.
I used a 3-inch Great Lakes Finesse Hover minnow when I was targeting the fish that were around the bait balls, but for the ones on the bottom, I did better with larger baits up to 7 inches. Since those fish were full from feeding, I think they needed a bigger meal to get them up to chase it.
This tournament was a good example of how versatile the minnow really is. You can cast it, straight reel it and hold it right over their head. You can read the mood of the fish and adjust your presentation.
I’m definitely going to have it in my arsenal when the Elites visit Lake Champlain next year.
