Story by Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
Hosted by the town of Massena, NY, Stop Five on the St. Lawrence River runs July 9–11, with both takeoff and weigh-ins held at the Massena Intake Boat Launch. Known as one of the premier smallmouth fisheries in the world, the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario offer deep current-driven structure, vast flats, and rocky shorelines that hold fish from spring through fall.
Early summer conditions mean many smallmouth are just coming off the spawn and roaming shallow sand flats, boulders, and current breaks. Most fish should still be catchable in skinny water, keeping sight-fishing and power-fishing in play across much of the river. A few may have already started sliding deeper, but from shallow roamers to bait-chasers in light current, this sets up as a high-percentage event with plenty of visual bites—and 25-pound bags well within reach.
New York angler Casey Smith knows the river well, having fished tournaments up and down its length, from the dam at Massena to the mouth at Lake Ontario—a nearly 95-mile run that could play a major role in determining this week’s winner.
“Man, it’s been a long time; I’m 40 and I’ve been coming here for over 20 years with my dad, fishing the Redman trail and local events,” Smith said. “Back then, it was mostly a largemouth fishery. Now, the smallmouth dominate and the whole world knows it.”
According to Smith, the long run west through the narrows and into—or around—Lake Ontario will likely be the difference-maker. Though it’s a haul, the lake is open, and the quality of fish can make it well worth the risk.
“I’d bet six or seven of the top 10 make that run all three days,” he said. “Without forward-facing sonar being a huge factor, and it being July, the shallow bite should shine—and you can catch ’em in places where that technology isn’t as important. But when you commit to that run, you’ve got five or six hours to fish. There’s zero room for error.”
Closer to Massena, Smith expects a few anglers to hang back—from Ogdensburg to the takeoff—and try to play the consistency game. But stringing together 20-plus pounds a day upriver for three straight days is no small task.
“There are plenty of big fish in the river and even closer to takeoff, but doing it for three straight days is tough,” Smith said. “And yeah, there’s a good number of largemouth around—especially in the backwaters near Alexandria Bay and other grassy areas. They get less pressure and can produce big bags, but I don’t see anyone cracking the top 20 on largemouth alone. The smallmouth are just too big.”
Tactically, Smith expects a mix of finesse presentations to dominate, with sight-fishing for both spawning and post-spawn bronzebacks. Much of the field will likely focus on the shallow, clear flats—where roaming smallmouth feed. Whether targeting isolated boulders, subtle depth changes, or current breaks, stealth will be key.
“All the usual stuff—drop shots, neds, spybaits, hair jigs—you’re going to see it all,” he said. “Even with some post-spawn fish being skinnier, I think it’ll take around 69 to 70 pounds to win.”
That could mean three bags of 23 pounds, or a big 25-pound day paired with a couple of low 20s. Either way, Smith expects a slugfest—and points out that a lot of the anglers in the field know the river well, thanks to years of experience across different major tours.
“With all the big tours coming here in recent years, those guys know the river as well as anyone,” he said. “Some of them spend months up here fishing, knowing that it’s a likely destination for future tournament schedules. They’re dialed. It’s going to be a fun one to watch.”
How to Watch
Tune in daily starting Wednesday to watch the action from the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario – watch the LIVE Leaderboard, LIVE Blog, and on-the-water photo galleries and blogs of the anglers fishing each day in Oklahoma.
Catch the LIVE Coverage with Luke Dunkin and FatCat at TNPFL.com on days two and three.
Under the Go Live Tab, choose LIVE Broadcast or check out the real-time leaderboard on the Fishing Chaos Catch Track with estimated weights entered by the anglers on the water and join us for the LIVE Weigh-ins, here!
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