Record-breaking numbers possible during Elite finale at St. Lawrence River
CLAYTON, N.Y. — If the weather cooperates, the 2026 Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River has the potential to be another record-breaking smallmouth bonanza. To do this, 2022 Rookie of the Year Jay Przekurat believes Lake Ontario will be the place to make that happen.
“I’m expecting huge weights. Possibly the most we’ve ever seen in a four-day event from this place,” Przekurat said. “Hopefully the wind is decent for us.”
The final Progressive Bassmaster Elite of the season is scheduled for Aug. 27-30 with daily takeoffs set for 7 a.m. ET at Clayton Harbor Municipal Marina. Anglers will return for weigh-in at 3 p.m. each day. The full field of 98 anglers will compete the first two days of the tournament while the Top 50 will advance to the third day. Only 10 anglers will compete on the final day.
The winner of this tournament will not only earn the $100,000 first-place prize and a blue trophy, but they will also automatically qualify for the 2027 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.
The incredibly tight Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year and Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite Series Rookie of the Year races will reach their conclusions as well.
Like a fine wine, the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario only get better with age. Bigger and bigger smallmouth continue to be caught on the heralded river that splits the U.S./Canadian border. During the last Elite Series event in 2024, Bryant Smith caught the biggest limit of smallmouth in Elite Series history at 29 pounds, 5 ounces. Four anglers broke the century mark in that tournament, with Patrick Walters blasting 105-0 to claim the heaviest four-day total of smallmouth in B.A.S.S. history.
Then late in 2024, New York B.A.S.S. Nation competitor Dante Piraino caught the New York state record smallie, a behemoth 9-pounder.
“I expect the winning weight to be between 104 to 107 pounds,” Przekurat, a Wisconsin native, said. “If a guy catches 30 one day and then backs it up with 25s and 26s, he could touch that 107 mark. It’s going to take a special week to do that, don’t get me wrong, but the bass are huge out there.”
The explosion of the goby population in the Great Lakes has provided the baseline for smallmouth growth as well as abundant alewife, perch and smelt. Warmer winters, Przekurat said, have aided in that process.
Fishing pressure, however, has made getting bites more difficult than it used to be.
“I came up and pre-practiced and it was the best I’ve ever seen for big fish, but the worst I’ve seen for catching numbers,” he said. “It seemed a lot harder to get them to bite. The days of 50, 60 and 70 fish days are kind of over in the summer when they get beat on pretty hard.”
When the Elite Series launches from Clayton, anglers who have made the run to Lake Ontario have seen their risks be rewarded. From shallow flats to deep boulders, Ontario has everything smallmouth need. Those waters carried Cory Johnston, Walters and Przekurat to victory in 2024, 2023 and 2022 respectively.
This year, Przekurat expects the deeper bite to be the most productive. That revolves around rock-based structure like boulders. He added that all the lake is productive and expects his competitors to have plenty of water for themselves.
“99 percent of Ontario has rock, and you want to find a mixture of sand,” the 2022 SLR champion said. “Current is a huge factor too. It looks like we’ll have a good bit of wind from the west which will speed up the current and that should get the bass into position to feed. I expect to see fish caught in 25 to 50 feet of water.
“You’ll see Top 10s 30 miles apart from each other on the lake.”
How productive Ontario will be is entirely dependent on the wind. It can get nasty in a hurry, making it nearly impossible to run let alone fish. Depending on the direction and speed, anglers may be “confined” to the river.
The St. Lawrence River proper can certainly produce big bags too. Current breaks, seams and boulders make up most of the habitat in the river proper, but there are also protected flats and bays where smallmouth can be found too. The farther east anglers travel, the heavier the current becomes.
“It can always be won out of the river, but I don’t know if it can hold up for four days (against the Lake),” Przekurart said. “Personally, I think some of the biggest smallmouth live in the river.”
Largemouth are occasionally part of the equation, but in an event with Ontario in play, green fish will not likely be the focus of this tournament.
The tightest AOY race in recent memory will be decided during this event. Illinois pro Trey McKinney currently leads with 635 points, but Georgia’s Drew Cook is second with 634 points and St. Lawrence River aficionado Cory Johnston is third with 633 points. Minnesota’s Bob Downey is fourth with 570 points while South Carolina’s Brandon Cobb is fifth with 561 points. Tennessee pros Cole Sands (559) and John Garrett (556) are sixth and seventh respectively followed by Wisconsin’s Jay Przekurat in eighth (551), California native Andrew Loberg in ninth (546) and Alabama’s Justin Atkins in 10th (542).
The Rookie of the Year race is also going to come down to the wire. In an SEC style showdown, Georgia’s Caleb Hudson leads with 538 points while Alabama’s Fisher Anaya is second with 526 points. Texas pro Pake South is third with 480 points followed by Tennessee’s Tristan McCormick and Sam Hanggi in fourth and fifth with 396 points and 395 points respectively.
Bassmaster LIVE coverage of the 2026 Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at the St. Lawrence River will be available at 8 a.m. ET on Bassmaster.com and continues until 3 p.m. on Days 1 and 2. FS1 will carry LIVE on Saturday and Sunday from 8-11 a.m. before coverage moves to Bassmaster.com in the afternoon.
This tournament is being hosted by the 1000 Islands Clayton Chamber of Commerce.
2026 Bassmaster Elite Series
2026 Bassmaster Elite Series
2026 Bassmaster Elite Series
2026 Bassmaster Elite Series
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series, Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens Series presented by Battery Tender, Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier Series presented by Lowrance, Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Strike King Bassmaster High School Series, Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior Series, TNT Fireworks Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, Bassmaster College Kayak Series, Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.
