First Trip to St. Lawrence / Thousand Islands / Lake Ontario

[n8cas]

I've never fished the St. Lawrence, but I have a club tournament Labor Day weekend out of Clayton, NY. I want to check it out in the next couple weeks to practice, but I'm a little worried about:

1. How to break down and approach such a vast body of water
2. How to deal with the big water at the mouth of the St. Lawrence or on Lake Ontario itself.

Any tips for how to approach this for the very first time? Any words of advice or general rules of thumb for deciding if Ontario is safe enough to venture through the mouth and into the lake's east shore bays? thanks

[jcuts9]

Watch the wind, if it is out of the southwest over 10mph the lake will be rolling. Launch out of different areas if you are going to practice. You can launch out of cape Vincent and be closer to the lake. You can launch out of Chaumont if you want to check in there. There is a ramp out on point peninsula that puts you on the lake and Gallo and stoney are straight out in front of you. Use Google Earth and put your time in looking on there.

[n8cas]

Watch the wind, if it is out of the southwest over 10mph the lake will be rolling. Launch out of different areas if you are going to practice. You can launch out of cape Vincent and be closer to the lake. You can launch out of Chaumont if you want to check in there. There is a ramp out on point peninsula that puts you on the lake and Gallo and stoney are straight out in front of you. Use Google Earth and put your time in looking on there.

Thanks man! There are so many places on the river that I should check out too, but knowing I can launch right in Chaumont Bay is a bonus!

[digthemup]

jcuts is right about any blow that kicks up out of the southwest will make the big lake mighty upset, and the Galloo and Stoney islands are straight out from Point Peninsula launch about 10 miles.

Lord forbid that lake starts to roll hard and you get caught out there, since it will be the most miserable 10 miles of your life.
You have plenty of places to launch up in Clayton and all around it with more places to fish that you will be able to try out in a week's time, since I have not been able to fish them all though I have been fishing up the River since 1974. If you have Navionics, it will be of great help to you in narrowing things down.
Tight lines to you
Frank

[Hchamberlin1]

If I hadn’t ever been there and had a club tournament I think I’d scratch the lake and eliminate it. Launch in Clayton at French creek and fish from Clayton to ABay. Back drift the shoals in 30-40 ft with a drop shot keeping vertical. It’s pretty easy to get the 3.5-4 lb class fish but finding the 5lbers take time. I’ve found though they are usually the first to bite at a particular shoal

[n8cas]

If I hadn’t ever been there and had a club tournament I think I’d scratch the lake and eliminate it. Launch in Clayton at French creek and fish from Clayton to ABay. Back drift the shoals in 30-40 ft with a drop shot keeping vertical. It’s pretty easy to get the 3.5-4 lb class fish but finding the 5lbers take time. I’ve found though they are usually the first to bite at a particular shoal

That makes total sense. So most of the better schools are deep and shallow fishing should be avoided if possible?

[n8cas]

jcuts is right about any blow that kicks up out of the southwest will make the big lake mighty upset, and the Galloo and Stoney islands are straight out from Point Peninsula launch about 10 miles.

Lord forbid that lake starts to roll hard and you get caught out there, since it will be the most miserable 10 miles of your life.
You have plenty of places to launch up in Clayton and all around it with more places to fish that you will be able to try out in a week's time, since I have not been able to fish them all though I have been fishing up the River since 1974. If you have Navionics, it will be of great help to you in narrowing things down.
Tight lines to you
Frank

I do have Navionics and C-map Reveal and I'll have to figure out which map is better to use to both navigate and find the right structure

[ECobb91]

One thing to be mindful of is this place isn’t as easy as people make it seem. Unless you fish it regularly, it’ll humble you more times than not. Take a look at the BFL weights for what to typically expect. Based on past events, on average about 30-40% don’t catch a limit and only about 20% of the field will have over 16lbs.

the 2021 super tourney in September was especially tough, about 66% of the field didn’t get a limit and about 25% had over 16lbs.

just wanted to add some more realistic expectations because everyone, including me, think 20lbs is basically a gimme and it’s the opposite. The guys who do great spend a lot of time up there.

but as others have said, find the shoals and drift, the more vertical you can be the better. If you find boulders, fish the upstream side of them. Smallmouth will be either at the base or at the very front of the bouncer on top. If they’re towards the back they aren’t actively feeding.

[digthemup]

I do have Navionics and C-map Reveal and I'll have to figure out which map is better to use to both navigate and find the right structure

I use Navionics to get my general idea and my Humminbird to get me on the fish. Fisher's Landing will give you a lot of options with many shoals.

[n8cas]

One thing to be mindful of is this place isn’t as easy as people make it seem. Unless you fish it regularly, it’ll humble you more times than not. Take a look at the BFL weights for what to typically expect. Based on past events, on average about 30-40% don’t catch a limit and only about 20% of the field will have over 16lbs.

the 2021 super tourney in September was especially tough, about 66% of the field didn’t get a limit and about 25% had over 16lbs.

just wanted to add some more realistic expectations because everyone, including me, think 20lbs is basically a gimme and it’s the opposite. The guys who do great spend a lot of time up there.

but as others have said, find the shoals and drift, the more vertical you can be the better. If you find boulders, fish the upstream side of them. Smallmouth will be either at the base or at the very front of the bouncer on top. If they’re towards the back they aren’t actively feeding.

This probably worries me the most. I've never fished this way, and I'm afraid that we will want to abandon something we are not familiar with too early in the tournament. That is why I'd like to get up there and figure something out or else we will be in some backwater creek fishing for largies by noon. If we have to, we have to, but I can fish that way at any of our local tournament waters here in Connecticut.

Thanks for the input. It will help me not get so discouraged if I don't land on smallmouth disneyland!

[n8cas]

I use Navionics to get my general idea and my Humminbird to get me on the fish. Fisher's Landing will give you a lot of options with many shoals.

thanks!

[ECobb91]

The largemouth can really save a trip and are often overlooked, ask me how I know

you can tuck into really any bay, start casting at docks and there’s a chance you’ll catch some good ones. They hide well though, the water is so clear you’d think there’s nothing under one and next thing you know your line is swimming away.

definitely give the smallies a chance, drifting with tubes and ned rigs are another option for them if the dropshot isn’t producing. You’ll be fairly close to the 1000 islands bait shop so stop in and lick their brains a bit as to what’s been working. A lot of the kids that work there can come across as pretty arrogant but they know their stuff and fish basically daily.

[Hchamberlin1]

I never fish less than 20 ft late in the summer unless it’s totally blown out and your forced to target large mouth

That makes total sense. So most of the better schools are deep and shallow fishing should be avoided if possible?

[digthemup]

I never fish less than 20 ft late in the summer unless it’s totally blown out and your forced to target large mouth

I partially agree that the smallies are mostly going to hang on deeper water, but I have caught my share of them pitching docks at evening time or cracking points with a sharp drops, which many windward side of islands have. Biggest problem up there is been said here before, it's so much choices for the fish to move that the angler has to figure it out.
I hit all my favorite productive spots first, and if they don't produce, go back to basics and use your charts on your fishfinder to goto alternate spots. What I have found is that fish don't move off too far if the food is there.
There is so much to fish in a 5 miles area around Clayton that can keep you busy for a week and than some. My friend owns Mil's Cottages and Motel and I come out of his docks, which puts his place in the middle of some of the best productive water in Clayton area.

[n8cas]

I partially agree that the smallies are mostly going to hang on deeper water, but I have caught my share of them pitching docks at evening time or cracking points with a sharp drops, which many windward side of islands have. Biggest problem up there is been said here before, it's so much choices for the fish to move that the angler has to figure it out.
I hit all my favorite productive spots first, and if they don't produce, go back to basics and use your charts on your fishfinder to goto alternate spots. What I have found is that fish don't move off too far if the food is there.
There is so much to fish in a 5 miles area around Clayton that can keep you busy for a week and than some. My friend owns Mil's Cottages and Motel and I come out of his docks, which puts his place in the middle of some of the best productive water in Clayton area.

Thanks for the advice. You're right - with that many options, I don't know how I'm going to choose. At this point, I'm leaning towards completely avoiding the lake.

[digthemup]

Thanks for the advice. You're right - with that many options, I don't know how I'm going to choose. At this point, I'm leaning towards completely avoiding the lake.

The lake is not even in my consideration. You can fish the mouth of the River when they are coming up into it, but now they are up here and done with spawning, so feeding is the game.
I don't do much drop shot or neko, which is too slow for me, and reminds me of the top and bottom rig set up I fished as a kid many yrs ago.
BTW, watch out for the pikes cause they will eat your lures, especially spinnerbaits and crankbaits.

[n8cas]

Is Brockville / Morristown too far down river from Clayton for a first time visitor? Vice Versa, is Cape Vincent the furthest I should go up river towards the lake? I have to draw some boundary lines for this 2 day practice trip.

[n8cas]

How long does it take to get through the American Narrows down river from Fishers Landing?

[BoatBuggy]

Is Brockville / Morristown too far down river from Clayton for a first time visitor? Vice Versa, is Cape Vincent the furthest I should go up river towards the lake? I have to draw some boundary lines for this 2 day practice trip.

I would concentrate on the waters between Cape Vincent and Clayton. It's where most of the big bags of the big tournaments come from.

There is no reason to go anywhere near the weekend shitshow of the American Narrows.

[n8cas]

I would concentrate on the waters between Cape Vincent and Clayton. It's where most of the big bags of the big tournaments come from.

There is no reason to go anywhere near the weekend shitshow of the American Narrows.

Good to know - Fishers Landing towards the Lake. It's a 10 mph speed limit through those narrows? How long would it take? If I strike out, which is likely, I wouldn't mind heading up if it didn't take that long at 10 mph. All the tournament guys do it if they are running towards the lake out of Waddington, right?