CLAYTON, N.Y. — The waves out on Lake Ontario were taller than Tucker Smith at times on Day 1 of the 2026 Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River, but the second-year pro from Alabama was up for the challenge.
The defending Rookie of the Year caught a five-bass limit of smallmouth weighing 27 pounds, 5 ounces to claim the lead, just an ounce ahead of California’s Bryant Smith. All that damage was done within a two-hour span early in the morning.
“Whenever the wind blows, it pushes bait through my area. I think the weather and wind really helped the bite,” Tucker said. “I’ve had a few rough tournaments this year, but I think God was trying to humble me. It seemed like last year I couldn’t do anything wrong. This year, it’s been good and then really bad. It would be nice to end the season on a good note.”
Despite the giant waves and gusty winds that made navigation difficult and fishing almost impossible in some areas, it was a monumental day across Lake Ontario/St. Lawrence River. To crack the Top 25, Jeff Gustafson needed 25 pounds while 90 of the 98 anglers brought back limits weighing 20 pounds or better.
If 50 cut was today, an angler would need 23-7 to move on to the next day.
While he calls Alabama home, Tucker has always been good in smallmouth country, claiming a College Series victory at Saginaw Bay before moving to the pro circuits. This is Tucker’s first event at the St. Lawrence River, however, but so far, he has found the right ingredients.
“I just really love smallmouth. They act like spotted bass like back at home, except they are a lot bigger,” he said. “They roam, they are nomadic, they eat bait. So, I feel right at home.”
Tucker was one of many anglers who braved the conditions and headed to Lake Ontario in search of big smallmouth bass. When he arrived at his starting area, 6- and 7-foot swells were hammering the spot.
“Those are the biggest waves I’ve fished in for sure,” Tucker said.
Targeting rock elements in 20 to 40 feet of water in Ontario, and 40 to 60 feet when he moved to the St. Lawrence River, Tucker threw a Yamamoto Dagger Minnow with varying jighead sizes depending on the situation.
Finding his productive cover elements involved a lot of time using SideScan.
“They were big enough to where I could keep my trolling motor in the water, though. The first place I pulled up to I caught a 5-pounder,” he said. “The next place I pulled up I caught a 6, a 5 and a 3 1/4. I caught another couple of 5s. It was a good day.”
The wind is expected to shift to the north and calm down. Although it may hurt the bite in his primary area, Smith has 25 to 30 places marked where he saw 4- to 5-pounders.
Bryant also ventured out to Lake Ontario Day 1 and landed a limit weighing 27-4, much of it coming from the same area he caught 29-5 during the 2023 Elite event. A strong southwest wind is what Bryant needs for the smallmouth to set up correctly on this spot, and he got plenty of that on Day 1.
“Half of it came from that same spot. Something about the wind direction there gets them set up (on top),” he explained. “I didn’t lean on them in practice this time, so maybe there will be a few left.”
The bass are more spread out than they were in 2023, Bryant said. Today, he landed a bass as shallow as 12 feet and as deep as 25. By noon, the two-time Classic qualifier filled out his limit, right before the wind became too strong to stay out on the spot. Before he left, the wind drifted him over a boulder holding a 6 1/2-pounder, which provided a major upgrade before he left.
“I’m just trying to stay on the front deck. If I hook a bass, that is a bonus,” Bryant said. “It was just one of those days where everything goes right.”
The expected wind shift on Day 2 has Smith worried the smallmouth will scatter, just like they did in 2023, but he feels better prepared for that situation if it unfolds.
“I definitely have an area that I couldn’t have fished today,” he said. “I would have gone there if conditions were different, but if they are right tomorrow, I will go there.”
Tennessee’s David Mullins is currently third with a bag of smallmouth weighing 26-14. The four-time Classic qualifier stayed in the St. Lawrence River and struggled to generate bites in the early morning hours. He caught his first keeper around 9 but filled out a quality limit around noon. One bait produced all his bites in 20 to 40 feet of water.
“I caught seven all day long. You couldn’t really ’Scope them that well,” Mullins said. “You had to picture where they were sitting and hope they were there. It was a good day. I can’t complain about 26 pounds.”
Mullins has been to the St. Lawrence River eight times now, but each time is different than the next. Today he fished water that he had never fished in previous seasons.
“I’ve never caught them off the same place twice,” Mullins said. “As much as I’ve been here, I feel like I don’t know it at all because it is so vast. I fish new places each time.”
Alabama’s Kyle Welcher caught the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Day, a 6-15 smallmouth.
Carbondale, Ill.’s Trey McKinney leads the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year race with 731 points, 10 points ahead of Canadian Cory Johnston. Georgia’s Drew Cook is third with 666 points followed by Andrew Loberg in fourth with 641 points and Tennessee’s Cole Sands with 633 points.
Alabama’s Fisher Anaya leads Pro-Guide Batteries Elite Series Rookie of the Year with 619 points followed by Georgia’s Caleb Hudson in second with 569 points and Pake South in third with 543 points.
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 Day 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.