The talk before this tournament was how the Lake St. Clair smallmouth bass weren’t biting as well as they were in the Angler of the Year Championship last fall, Sept. 29-Oct. 1. That’s when Seth Feider put 77-15 atop the leaderboard in the three-day event.
However, as we approach the end of Day 3 at Lake St. Clair, it appears it’s fishing better than it did last fall. The story will be told at the end of the day in the number of three-day weights of 60 pounds or better. Last fall, 12 anglers had 60 pounds after three days. It’s possible that 15 or 16 anglers could have 60 pounds or better today.
And with that standard in mind, if you compare St. Clair to the other fisheries on this northern/smallmouth dominant swing, only 9 broke the 60-pound mark after three days at the St. Lawrence River, and no one hit 60 pounds after three days at Lake Champlain. The top winning weight in a four-day B.A.S.S. tournament is Jason Christie’s 88-8 in 2017. That mark is in jeopardy tomorrow.
Finally, there’s this: Due to Canada’s Covid-19 restrictions, all these bass are being caught in U.S. waters, which eliminates about two-thirds of Lake St. Clair’s 430 square miles.