By B.A.S.S. Communications
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — Lake Champlain has hosted many national level bass tournaments over the years, all carrying various levels of significance.
This week, however, career trajectories hang in the balance at the lake often referred to as the sixth Great Lake.
The Bassmaster Elite Qualifier Series gets started Thursday with a 106-boat field, some of whom are chasing a ticket to the 2026 Elite Series field while others are seeking to maintain their spot on the Elite Series roster. Still others are gunning for a berth in the 2026 Bassmaster Classic.
How'd They Get Here
The top 50 finishers in both divisions of the Bassmaster Opens will be joined by a handful of current Elite Series pros and the top 3 finishers from the 2024 B.A.S.S. Nation Championship as the three-event series gets under way this week. Divisional points are zeroed and the Top 10 in EQ points will receive invitations to fish the 2026 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series.
The winner of each EQ event will also clinch a spot in the 2026 Classic next March in Knoxville, Tenn.
The Venue
“Champlain can be overwhelming, because it is a gigantic body of water,” said Elite Series pro Kyle Patrick. “It’s hard because these (anglers) have to swing for the fence in order to make (or requalify for) the Elites.”
Indeed, the 435-square-mile natural lake straddling the New York/Vermont border offers boundless opportunity for smallmouth and largemouth bass fishing, with tremendous habitat diversity. Patrick believes the entire lake could be in play, but the seasonal focus will be clear.
“Fall feed baby!” he said of the event’s expected theme. “We’ve had some really cool nights, so it’s fall here in Upstate New York.”
As Patrick pointed out, the region’s drought conditions have pulled Champlain out from its usual shorelines. A week and a half before the tournament, Champlain stood a little more than 3 feet below its average annual level of 96.5 feet. (The record low was 92.4 feet in 1908.)
ANGLER LIST BELOW
While this will impact shallow and mostly largemouth-focused efforts, Patrick doesn’t see the low water limiting what he believes will be the most consistent route to success. Smallmouth bass tend to dominate this time of year and, with these brown brutes largely focused on chasing bait schools, the offshore game tends to attract most of the focus.
“I think you’re gonna see a lot of giant smallmouth caught,” Patrick said. “I’m pretty certain nine out of the Top 10 will have all smallmouth bass.
“I think you’ll see a few kicker largemouth and there may be (a few) guys that focus on largemouth, but the lake is so big, you’ll sacrifice a lot of time finding the good largemouth spots, while smallmouth will provide what guys need (for the points race).”
Maximizing Opportunities
And that’s the key point — overcoming the luster of Champlain’s buffet of angling opportunity and focusing on a meat-and-potatoes approach that minimizes risk and maximizes productivity. No one enters a bass fishing tournament disinterested in winning, but given the magnitude of what is at stake, excessive exuberance will probably take a backseat to sensibly planned and prudently executed game plans.
Champlain generally divides into three main regions — the upper end with its smattering of islands and numerous bays, the deeper midsection and the narrowing lower end. The upper end offers a mix of offshore structure and shallow cover.
Throughout the lake’s midsection, rock reefs, points and deep grasslines get most of the attention, while forward-facing sonar has, in recent years, revealed the potential of chasing open-water “roamers.”
For the offshore targets, Patrick believes the jighead minnow will do much of the heavy lifting. Other likely offerings include jerkbaits, drop shots and tubes.
Below the Crown Point Bridge (aka Lake Champlain Bridge), the lake starts to narrow into more of a riverine look, where the deep channel holds less pressured populations of smallmouth. One of the most popular sections of the lower end is the Ticonderoga area, so named for the historic fort on the New York side, which holds vast fields of shallow vegetation along with wood cover. Frogs, jigs, Texas rigs and wacky-rigged stickworms work well here and in any of the lake’s largemouth spots.
Ever the wild card, that lower region in the direction of Ticonderoga — often referred to as “Ti” — presents the ultimate tournament conundrum. Many Plattsburgh-based tournaments have seen anglers make the hour-plus run and return with impressive sacks of largemouth, just as many have seen competitors basically burn a day with little to show.
And then there’s the weather concern. A north or south wind on Lake Champlain blows right up or down the pipe and that means a rough ride.
Go or Stay
It’s not uncommon for ambitious anglers to make good time on a calm morning run but face downright harrowing conditions on the return. Those that make the Ti trip must allow sufficient time for traversing afternoon conditions.
Throughout the lake, marinas and private docks offer great opportunities to find hefty largemouth. Shallow areas with submersed aquatic vegetation often hold legitimate difference-makers.
Whatever route anglers pursue, Patrick expects plenty of limits and solid bags. The fortunate few that land on the better-quality fish will separate themselves from the pack.
“I think this cold has them eating,” Patrick said. “I think 20 pounds a day will make the Day 3 cut. To win, I’ll bet it will take 64-8.
“I think someone who’s able to hunker down in an area less than 5 to 10 miles, where they know smallmouth bass are concentrated, will have a good chance at winning. I think they will need to catch about 18 pounds and then transition at the end of the day and hunt one big largemouth."
Who's In?
Here's the roster of anglers slated to compete in the Elite Qualifiers:
- > Matt Adams — Guntersville, Ala.
- > Dylan Akins — Flowery Branch, Ga.
- > Fisher Anaya — Eva, Ala.
- > Yui Aoki — Minamitsuru-gun, Japan
- > Tai Au — Glendale, Ariz.
- > Kyle Austin — Ridgeville, S.C.
- > Matt Baker — Glenwood, Ark.
- > Bobby Bakewell — Orlando, Fla.
- > Chris Beaudrie — Princeton, Ky.
- > Andrew Behnke — Fond du Lac, Wis.
- > Buddy Benson — Dahlonega, Ga.
- > Chris Blanchette — Edisto Island, S.C.
- > Bailey Bleser — Burlington, Wis.
- > Ryan Broughman — Corapeake, N.C.
- > Beau Browning — Hot Springs, Ark. *
- > Stephen Browning — Hot Springs, Ark.
- > Erik Brztowski — Lemont, Ill.
- > Grae Buck — Green Lane, Pa.
- > Blaine Bunney — Claremore, Okla.
- > Tyler Campbell — Martin, Ga.
- > James Chandler — Liberty, Texas
- > Chase Clarke — Virginia Beach, Va.
- > Michael Corbishley — Raleigh, N.C.
- > Brandon Coulter — Knoxville, Tenn.
- > Evan Cox-VanVliet — Loveland, Colo.
- > Austin Cranford — Moore, Okla.
- > Colby Dark — West Monroe, La.
- > Jack Dice — Lynchburg, Va.
- > Cole Drummond — Effingham, S.C.
- > Tim Dube — Nashua, N.H. *
- > John Duvall — Madison, Ga.
- > Ty Faber — Pagosa Springs, Colo.
- > Dillon Falardeau — Hixson, Tenn.
- > Ethan Fields — Carlyle, Ill.
- > Hayden Gaddis — Dandridge, Tenn.
- > Bailey Gay — Union, Ky.
- > Robert Gee — Knoxville, Tenn. *
- > Zachary Goutremout — Chaumont, N.Y.
- > Parker Guy — Appling, Ga.
- > Tanner Hadden — Appling, Ga.
- > Sam Hanggi — Knoxville, Tenn.
- > Dillon Harrell — New Caney, Texas
- > Chris Hellebuyck — White Lake, Mich.
- > Laker Howell — Guntersville, Ala.
- > Caleb Hudson — Lincolnton, Ga.
- > Connor Jacob — Guntersville, Ala.
- > Aaron Jagdfeld — Rochester Hills, Mich.
- > Brad Jelinek — Lincoln, Mo.
- > Clint Knight — Russellville, Ky.
- > Ryan Lachniet — Gum Spring, Va.
- > Russ Lane — Prattville, Ala.
- > River Lee — Diboll, Texas
- > Jace Lindsay — Beckville, Texas
- > Lucas Lindsay — Auburn, Ala.
- > Ed Loughran III — Richmond, Va. *
- > Wyatt Marler — Oldfield, Mo.
- > Cameron Mattison — Benton, La.
- > Tristan McCormick — Bon Aqua, Tenn.
- > Danny McGarry — Newcastle, Ontario, Canada
- > Brandon McMillan — Clewiston, Fla.
- > Mark Menendez — Paducah, Ky. *
- > Matt Messer — Warfield, Ky.
- > Alec Morrison — Peru, N.Y.
- > Paul Mueller — Naugatuck, Conn. *
- > Lucas Murphy — West Columbia, S.C.
- > Joey Nania — Cropwell, Ala.
- > Christian Nash — Allons, Tenn.
- > Michael Neal — Dayton, Tenn.
- > Riley Nielsen — Salt Lake City, Utah
- > Lane Olson — Forest Grove, Ore.
- > Bryson Osteen — Live Oak, Fla.
- > Christian Ostrander — Turlock, Calif.
- > Garrett Paquette — Canton, Mich.
- > Jaden Parrish — Liberty, Texas
- > Bryan Partak — Marseilles, Ill.
- > Chad Pipkens — DeWitt, Mich. *
- > Brian Post — Janesville, Wis.
- > Nic Rand — Paw Paw, Mich.
- > Adam Rasmussen — Sturgeon Bay, Wis.
- > Brock Reinkemeyer — Warsaw, Mo.
- > Ryan Salzman — Huntsville, Ala.
- > Casey Scanlon — Eldon, Mo.
- > Trey Schroeder — Theodosia, Mo.
- > Blake Smith — Lakeland, Fla.
- > Casey Smith — Victor, N.Y.
- > Pake South — Winnsboro, Texas
- > Cody Stahl — Barnsville, Ga.
- > Trey Swindle — Cleveland, Ala.
- > Bo Thomas — Edwardsburg, Mich.
- > Brady Vernon — Sterrett, Ala.
- > Jimmy Washam — Stantonville, Tenn.
- > Ian Waterer — East Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada
- > Alex Wetherell — Middletown, Conn. *
- > Joe Wieberg — Freeburg, Mo.
- > Tommy Wood — Peregian Springs, Australia
- > Aaron Yavorsky — Palm Harbor, Fla.
- > Jack York — Emory, Texas
- * denotes 2025 Elite Series competitor
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