WADDINGTON, N.Y. — Ryan Lachniet might have added a few grey hairs to his otherwise dark brown beard, but after enduring the stress storm that a 7-pound, 5-ounce smallmouth unleashed, the Gum Spring, Va., pro leads Day 1 of the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at St. Lawrence River presented by SEVIIN.
Sacking up an opening limit of 26-5, Lachniet leads South Carolina’s Kyle Austin by a pound and 2 ounces.
“When I got that (big fish) next to the boat, after fighting him for a couple of minutes, I tried to scoop him and he slipped out of my hand,” Lachniet recalled. “I was like, ‘No, no, no, no, come back.
“He swam down and fought for another 30 seconds and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh, please don’t get off.’ When I grabbed him, I was like, ‘Wow, this thing is huge!’ It was a great day.”
Lachniet’s whopper smallie — his personal best — was particularly notable, given that the event’s tournament boundaries limit anglers to the river. Typically, St. Lawrence events that include Lake Ontario find the real studs coming from the easternmost of the Great Lakes.
“I would have had a good day without (the big fish),” Lachniet said. “I threw back a 4 and some high 3s, but it wouldn’t have had a day anything like that. I’m just super thankful. The Lord really blessed me with that one.”
Bagging such a moose well within the river showcased the incredible St. Lawrence fishery, largely regarded as North America’s premier smallmouth destination. Lachniet tapped into one particular area that ended up outperforming his expectations.
Lachniet said his main area comprised a mix of rock and sand in 6 to 10 feet. Locating this area last year, he caught a 6 3/4-pounder about 200 feet from where he caught his 7-5.
“It was incredible; I pulled up on my first spot and I only caught two 4-pounders there in practice, but it just went down,” Lachniet said. “I had 25 pounds in an hour and a half and after I got that 7, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’”
Lachniet said he ran about 3/4 of the way to the tournament’s western boundary, near the mouth of Lake Ontario and worked his way back downriver. Conventional wisdom says smallmouth favor calm, sunny conditions, but Day 1’s windy, overcast complexion did not seem to bother Lachniet.
“Honestly, I think it helped me because a lot of those fish were hard to catch in practice,” he said. “For some reason, almost every one I threw at this morning bit. It was great for a couple hours; they were all biting.
“I caught them all on a Megabass Vision 110 +1 jerkbait. That’s a terrifying way to land big smallmouth. When I was fighting that big one for a couple of minutes, it was stressful. But I got him in, so it was ok.”
Noting that he’ll give his key area another look on Day 2, Lachniet said he’ll do so with level-headed expectations.
“I definitely can’t do 26-5 again tomorrow, but I’ll just pull up there and see how it goes,” he said. “I’m hoping I can get around 20 off that spot and then just work my way (back toward the tournament site) the rest of the day.”
Catching a limit that went 25-3, Austin heads into Day 2 in second place. Working a long way from home, the Santee Cooper guide attributes his success to fishing like he does back home.
“I fished a lot of isolated boulders in 25 to 30 feet,” Austin said. “To me, it’s a lot like fishing highland reservoirs at home, or Santee where you’re fishing isolated cypress trees or brushpiles. I feel like that’s in my wheelhouse. That’s what I’ve done for years, even before (forward facing sonar).”
Austin started on a shallow spot in 8 to 9 feet and caught two of his limit fish. After that, he headed to an area dotted with those isolated boulders.
“It’s one big area of about 100 acres with lots of boulders out on the flats,” Austin said. “My LiveScope went out at 11 o’clock and smallmouth fishing for us southern guys is hard without that ’Scope.
“I went back shallow and actually caught a 5-pounder that really helped a lot. I caught all my fish on a drop shot with a Strike King Half Shell.”
Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series pro Kyoya Fujita is in third place with 25 pounds. Making the long run to the tournament’s western boundary, Fujita did most of his work along a trio of main river breaks that dropped from 12 feet to 18.
Hailing from Yamanishi, Japan, Fujita caught his fish on a drop shot rigged with a Jackall Yammy Fish in green pumpkin. Although he caught plenty of numbers, Fujita said quality catches were few and far between.
“It was very tough,” Fujita said. “I caught many 2-pound and 3-pound fish, but only one five 5-pounder. I caught one big fish in the morning and four in the afternoon.”
Friday’s takeoff is scheduled for 6 a.m. ET at Whitaker Park. The weigh-in will be held at the park at 2 p.m.
