Forward-facing sonar will definitely play a role in the final three events of the Bassmaster Elite Series for 2023, but in my opinion there is not a fishery in the country that sets up better for sniping smallmouth on your electronics than Lake St. Clair.
This is the epitome of a tournament location where you are just donating if you are not tuned into your front-facing setup. Pack your lineup with a combo of smallie specialists and those with a high aptitude for their electronics and you should be in good shape.
Let the smallmouth games begin!
BUCKET A: PRZEKURAT
I am sure everyone has Jay Przekurat circled on their Drain the Lake teams for his return to the St. Lawrence River, but I have him selected this week. Jay has some good team tourney success on St Clair and I like to zig when others zag. I think it will pay off this week.
OG sniper
Patrick Walters is one of the first to exploit untapped fish with front-facing sonar. Summertime and short shorts spell success for Mr. Walters. He has put in extra work the last few seasons to improve his smallmouth game.
BUCKET B: FUJITA
There is legend of Kyoya Fujita super finessing Oneida smallies with 5-pound line — that is the kind of sneaky stuff that will carry him far on the Northern Swing. Throw in some fuzzy dice and it should be a smallmouth party.
Sleeper pick
I feel like the Sleepy Assassin Austin Felix is a safe pick for any of the three remaining events. I can already envision gallery photos of big smallmouth and flannel pants.
BUCKET C: GALLANT
Cooper Gallant was on many a radar for the Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Rookie of the Year this season. Cooper had a decent start at Big O and some other decent events, but this absolutely could be Gallant’s breakout Elite event.
Wins matter
Don’t overlook Jason Christie — he has two major wins on St Clair. He loves catching big smallies cracking tubes on casting gear. He also leveraged early versions of Panoptix early in his successes here.
BUCKET D: ITO
I am fairly confident that Taku Ito will find smallmouth Disneyland 2.0 in this event, and I would expect this will be his last event this season that you can grab him in Bucket D. I fully expect that Ito could go three-for-three on Sunday appearances to finish out 2023.
Fool me once
Josh Douglas has had some ups and downs on St. Clair in the past, but the downs were not usually whether he caught smallmouth or not. Between Douglas keeping his skills sharp on Mille Lacs and his past “experiences” on St. Clair this should be a strong event for the Elite sophomore.
BUCKET E: REDWINE
Alex Redwine finished last year’s Northern Swing going three-for-three on checks and top 30 finishes. I am pretty sure St. Clair is considered one of his home fisheries. Alex needs a big showing here to keep his requalification hopes alive.
Just a hunch
I don’t have any data to make me want to pick Jacob Foutz for my Drain the Lake squad, but he is quite adept with his electronics, and I think he will show off those skills and bring heavy bags of smallmouth across the scales.
Mercury Bassmaster Drain the Lake Challenge
Now onto the eighth event and first of the Northern Swing for the Mercury Bassmaster Drain the Lake Challenge. This additional fantasy fishing game not only offers a fresh way to play the game, but a completely separate prize pool. Drain the Lake is an elimination or survivor style game where you can only use an angler once all season.
As we hit the final three vents, you will start to feel the pressure as you have probably used up many of your favorite anglers and hopefully you have a few smallmouth assassins left for your rosters.
• Alex Redwine
• Taku Ito
• Jay Przekurat
• Austin Felix
• Josh Douglas
• Jacob Foutz
• Shane LeHew
• Chris Zaldain
