With three events remaining, the 2023 St. Croix Bassmaster Opens and its EQ points race are winding down, or heating up, depending on the scenario. Here’s a look at what to watch for beginning with the next event at Watts Bar Lake, Sept. 13-15.
Coming into the first season of the new Elite Qualifier format, topping the angler of the year standings wasn’t necessarily a goal for JT Thompkins. Although he won the 2022 Open at Upper Chesapeake Bay, Thompkins said he wasn’t sure he was good enough yet to contend.
Through the course of the 2023 season, Thompkins has come into his own, and he now leads the EQ points race with 1087 points after notching a Top 10 at the sixth event on the St. Lawrence River.
“It is satisfying,” Thompkins said. “I have put in the work. I basically live on the road.”
With the first five events of the season taking place on southern fisheries, Thompkins knew the St. Lawrence River would be a turning point in the race to earn one of the nine Elite Series berths come season’s end.
Entering the event fourth in points, staying close to takeoff in Waddington would have been the safe option. But Thompkins has spent enough time in Upstate New York by now to know the biggest fish live close to Lake Ontario. While risky, he knew his best chance at improving his standing was to make the long run west.
“I really wanted to catch them at this event. I have spent a lot of time here, and I absolutely love this place,” Thompkins said. “I always wanted to Top 10 or win here. I knew I needed to make the long run to put a big bag in the boat. I went down there, and I like to fish deep.”
Since winning at the Chesapeake Bay, Thompkins has secured checks in 10 of the last 11 events. The only tournament he didn’t finish in check range was the 2023 season Opener in Alabama at Lake Eufaula, where he finished 48th.
While Thompkins finished the 2022 season on a high note, it was making the final day cut at the 2023 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota that made a big difference in his mindset.
“It was huge (for my confidence),” he said. “When you get next to people who you have looked up to your entire life — I mean you see them in magazines and on TV shows, and I have dreamed to be one of them — and when I was able to get out there, hold my own and actually excel in a way against those guys, it told me that I am doing it the right way. I need to keep doing what I’m doing. I do belong. Now it is time to belong in the Elites, and I am super looking forward to getting there.”
In the five Opens since the Classic, Thompkins’ worst finish is a 32nd at Toledo Bend. The St. Lawrence River was his fourth straight top 15 finish.
Not only has his confidence improved, Thompkins said he has simply become a better fisherman and has discovered ways to get bites in areas where other anglers aren’t.
“I am able to get in areas that a lot of other boats are in, and I seem to catch a lot of fish that others don’t,” he explained. “My ability to catch fish, understand what the bass are doing and adjust in those areas that are getting a lot of pressure has been the biggest difference.
“I can get on community holes and catch enough fish and then go to my other fish and not have to burn a lot. I try to put myself in position to be around a lot of fish.”
The toughest challenge of the season is likely up next when the field heads to Watts Bar. While he’s hungry for more Top 10s, Thompkins knows limits will go a long way in East Tennessee.
“The number one goal is to not bomb. I just need to figure out how to get enough fish to not completely bomb these events,” he said. “After that, I can’t fight the feeling of wanting to Top 10 and cut checks.
“I am still going to be looking for that, but there will be a lot of things I will need to adjust in my game plan for the next few tournaments.”
Shifting in the top four
Although they shifted positioning, the top four anglers in EQ points remained the same after the St. Lawrence event. Elite Series pro Kenta Kimura is second with 1080 points followed by John Garrett in third with 1067 and Trey McKinney in fourth with 1034.
Remarkably, Kimura’s 31st-place finish is his worst finish of the Opens season, and between the Opens and Elite Series in 2023, Kimura has nine top 30 finishes.
Garrett (60th) and McKinney (88th) both suffered their worst finishes of the season at the St. Lawrence River, which speaks to how well they have fished all season.
Heading into Watts Bar and Knoxville, Tenn., pro Robert Gee moved into fifth with 1018 points with a top 50 finish on the St. Lawrence River. He is followed by Keith Tuma in sixth with 1004 points and Matt Henry in seventh with 1000 points, both constants in the EQ top 10 this season.
Joey Nania held steady in ninth with 986 points by salvaging his St. Lawrence River event with a 21-5 Day 2 performance after landing just 14-1 on Day 1.
Risers and fallers
Several anglers made important moves up the leaderboard in New York. With his third-place finish at the St. Lawrence River, Jamie Bruce moved into eighth in the EQ points standings with 992 points, while Brett Cannon re-entered the Top 10 in points with a 54th-place finish. While they aren’t in the top 10, Wisconsin’s Jacob Bigelow and South Carolina’s Kyle Austin have continued their climb up the leaderboard and are now 11th and 12th in points thanks to 15th-place and 29th-place finishes respectively.
Others were not so fortunate. For the first time this season, Nebraska native Ben Milliken fell out of the qualification cut after a 92nd-place finish at the St. Lawrence River. He now sits in 14th with 959 points, but after landing 17-10 after a 14-6 Day 1 bag, he is still very much within striking range with three events to go.
After catching 24-4 on Day 1 at St. Lawrence, Logan Parks looked like he would put himself squarely in the mix for an Elite berth. But a 10-8 Day 2 performance dropped Parks from 12th to 15th in the EQ standings.
New York pro Kyle Patrick entered the St. Lawrence River 10th place in the EQ standings, but his 110th-place finish now has him 18th in points.
The other two events remaining on the schedule are Oct. 22-24 at Lake of the Ozarks and Oct. 12-14 at the Harris Chain of Lakes.
