Fantasy Fishing: Smallmouth season begins

Written by

Kyle Jessie

After a several-week break from Bassmaster Elite Series competition, the Elites are headed north to turn the page to the smallmouth chapter of the season. Lake St. Clair is first up, and there will certainly be some shake up within the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings.

As for Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing, it’s also time for me to turn the page and try my best to turn the season around and keep the momentum rolling in Mercury Bassmaster Drain the Lake Challenge. Once you get to the Northern Swing of the year, it’s tempting to take the easy picks with the anglers that are well known for their smallmouth success, but in order to make a jump up the standings, I’m going to go with a few low-percentage picks.

BUCKET A: CIFUENTES

There are several certified smallmouth hammers in Bucket A, but Joey Cifuentes is a solid “under the radar” pick. The Arkansas pro has proved over the course of his young career that he’s comfortable with a spinning rod in his hand and has excelled in smallmouth tournaments outside the Elite Series. In 2018, Cifuentes notched a top 10 finish at St. Clair in a pro level event.

Solid secondary selection: If you’re not feeling as confident about a low-percentage pick in Bucket A, Brandon Palaniuk and Jay Przekurat are probably the two most surefire picks in the Bucket.

BUCKET B: FEIDER

While Joey Cifuentes is a low percentage pick in Bucket A, picking Seth Feider in Bucket B is practically the opposite of that. At a 30.6% player percentage, the Minnesota pro seems to be the obvious pick in Bucket B, but it’s well deserved. In 2019, Feider took the win in the Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship at St. Clair, and he has a pair of top 30 finishes to go with it.

Solid secondary selection: Over the course of his professional career, Clark Wendlandt has been one of the most consistent smallmouth anglers we’ve ever seen, but somehow, he still seems to get overlooked. At 5.5% player percentage, the Texan could be a great value pick.

BUCKET C: CHRISTIE

Bucket C is home to a number of smallmouth specialists, but Jason Christie has two things going for him – he’s notched two Top 10s at St. Clair, including a win in 2017, and he needs to catch them to jump into the cut for the 2024 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic in his home state of Oklahoma. A motivated Jason Christie is bad news for the rest of the competition.

Solid secondary selection: It’s hard to argue with selecting Cory Johnston or Jeff Gustafson in any smallmouth tournament.

BUCKET D: ATKINS

Justin Atkins is another angler that is in need of a good finish at St. Clair to have a chance of climbing his way inside the Classic cut. The Alabama pro loves fishing for smallmouth and has proven success already in his young Elite Series career. At 0.6% player percentage, Atkins has the chance to be a steal of a pick in Bucket D.

Solid secondary selection: Taku Ito is the obvious choice in Bucket D. Ito has proved to be one of the best on tour when it comes to locating smallmouth bass and triggering a bite. A 10th-place finish in 2020 helps the cause as well.

BUCKET E: WETHERELL

The combination of momentum and smallmouth knowledge makes Elite Series rookie Alex Wetherell a solid choice in Bucket E. The Connecticut pro is coming off of a Top 10 finish at the Sabine River, and he has three straight smallmouth events to turn his season around.

Solid secondary selection: We’re certainly not used to seeing David Mullins in Bucket E, so taking advantage of that while you can is a solid strategy. The Tennessee pro has excelled with northern smallmouth fisheries in the last few years as well.