Photo by Craig Lamb/B.A.S.S.
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With career trajectories and the sport’s most prestigious event at stake, time management and balanced ambition will play significant roles during the Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier at Lake Champlain presented by Bass Pro Shops.
Champlain’s bounty kicks off Elite Qualifiers quest
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — With career trajectories and the sport’s most prestigious event at stake, time management and balanced ambition will play significant roles during the Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier at Lake Champlain presented by Bass Pro Shops.
Competition days will be September 18-20 with daily takeoffs from Plattsburgh City Marina at 7 a.m. ET and weigh-ins each day back at the marina at 3 p.m.
After four events each, Divisions 1 and 2 of the St. Croix Bassmaster Opens presented by SEVIIN determined their Top 50 points finishers. Those 100 competitors, plus several Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series pros and the Top 3 finishers in the 2024 Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Championship presented by Lowrance, will fish the three-event Elite Qualifiers (EQ) Series. Divisional points are zeroed and the Top 10 in EQ points will receive invitations to fish the 2026 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series.
These three EQs, also including events at Wheeler Lake (Oct. 2-4) and Lake Okeechobee (Nov.13-15) will complement their top cash prize with an invitation to fish the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour, March 13-15 at the Tennessee River in Knoxville, Tenn. First up, Lake Champlain presents a challenging playing field nestled between Vermont’s Green Mountains and New York’s Adirondacks.
“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, this 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 points 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.)
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).”
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 the three EQ events offer, 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 — colloquially 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.
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."
Coverage of the Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier at Lake Champlain presented by Bass Pro Shops can be found on Bassmaster.com each day. Live coverage of Championship Saturday will be streamed on Bassmaster.com as well as the Roku Sports Channel from 7-10 a.m. ET and 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
This event is being hosted by The Adirondack Coast.
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Title Sponsor: St. Croix
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Presenting Sponsor: SEVIIN
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Platinum Sponsors: Progressive, Toyota
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowrance, Triton Boats, VMC, Yokohama
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, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series presented by SEVIIN, Nitro Boats 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, 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.