MASSENA, N.Y. – Since making upstate New York his summertime home, Brent Anderson has craved a win on his adopted waters of the St. Lawrence River. He finally pulled it off Saturday by tallying 66 pounds, 11 ounces to come out on top of the Toyota Series Northern Division event and earn his 11th win with FLW/MLF. Weighing just over 22 pounds each day, Anderson won by less than a pound, and he’ll take home $80,500 (including a $35,000 Phoenix Bonus) for his efforts.
Dropping from the lead into second, Gary Miller totaled 66-01, and Spencer Shuffield finished third with 65-09. Overall, the event was characterized by some big single-day performances, but consistency won out, with most of the Top 10 staying very steady throughout.
A 10-time winner at the BFL level, Anderson has seen a lot of success in tournament fishing but hadn’t sealed the deal in a major event. Now, after a few close calls, he has convincingly outlasted the competition on a river he might be more fond of than the Tennessee.
“This is a big deal for me, it means the world to me,” Anderson said. “I’m really content. I’m not in it for the glory, I don’t like the risk that fishing the next level could put me back in the office. I’ll try to continue to do 100 guide trips a year if the tournaments are going good – I’ll try to squeeze in another 100 if they aren’t. Just spending time on places I really enjoy; once I fall in love with a place, I want to learn it as much as I can.”
Emotional on stage, it was easy to see that Anderson was surprised by the win, perhaps a little scarred by his recent near misses.
“I got a little shook up, I was very shocked,” he said. “I didn’t think there was any chance when I was running back today. Now I can breathe. That’s all I wanted was one (win). I don’t care if I never cash another check here. That’s all I wanted was one – I didn’t care if it was an Open, I didn’t care if it was a Toyota, I didn’t care if it was a BFL. I wanted to win here."
A confirmed drifter, Anderson’s most reliable technique is to point the bow up current and slip back, dragging a jig. For the week, he fished mostly between Ontario’s Mallorytown and Brockville but hit places all the way back to Ogdensburg, New York. Each day, Anderson had to figure out a slightly different pattern.
“I was all over the place. I caught a 4-10 today in 9 feet – just different areas, different depths,” he said. “The whole thing I do, it’s patternable, but you have to look up. The big ones might be on the front of stuff one day, on top one day and behind the next."
Anderson said his shortest drifts might take a minute, with his longest going as much as half a mile. Typically, his long drifts are meant to put quality keepers in the boat, and the shorter ones are precisely targeted at potential kickers.
A prototype 1/4-ounce GOBY 1 jig with a Z-Man Finesse TRD did the heavy lifting for Anderson. He fished it on a Redemption Rods Ned rod, with a Lew’s Custom Lite Series spinning reel spooled with 10-pound Seaguar Smackdown and an 8-pound Seaguar InvizX leader.
Here are the final totals for the Top 10:
1. Brent Anderson – 66-11 (15) – $80,500
2. Gary Miller – 66-01 (15) – $17,500
3. Spencer Shuffield – 65-09 (15) – $12,750
4. Tommy Dickerson – 65-01 (15) – $10,750
5. Brett Carnright – 65-00 (15) – $9,750
6. Clay Reece – 63-02 (15) – $8,375
7. Alec Morrison – 62-05 (15) – $7,300
8. Douglas Reed – 62-03 (15) – $6,300
9. Kyle Cortiana – 61-15 (15) – $5,300
10. Jason Gramada – 61-12 (15) – $4,200
