St.Lawrence river in upstate New York Bass Fishing

I have fished for bass in the St.Lawrence river all my life.The St.Lawrence river in upstate New York is one of the best bass and pike fishing rivers in the world.Bass and pike fishing from Alexandria Bay to Clayton New York is great as long as you know where to fish.

Lets start with finding the smallmouth bass.You can ask some of the local fisherman or try and find them yourself.I  suggest that your boat is equipped with a fish finder or depth finder.The first places to check out are shoals that are about15 to 30 feet below the surface with deep water off there edges.You want to anchor your boat upriver to the shoal,upriver meaning the current is heading downriver toward the ocean.The St Lawrence river is full of shoals and a good topo map can help in locating them.The bass are deep in August and September,shallow in late June and July as the water warms up the bass will move to deeper water.One thing to remember is that the St.Lawrence river has very clear water so light line is a must.Smallmouth bass prefer swift water around rocks and shoals while largemouth bass in the St.Lawrence river tend to stay shallow around weed beds and lily pads.
How to rig your fishing pole is important.Use a small to medium hook with a light split shot sinker, 6 to 8 pound line on a medium action pole.We do not use snap swivels but tie the line to the hook its best to use doubly gut hooks.The sinker should be about 3 feet up the line from the hook to give the live bait,night crawler or minnow plenty of room to move around along the bottom.You make your cast upriver and let the bait sink and bounce along the top of the shoal.You must cast upriver this is key.The deeper the spot you are fishing might require a heaver split shot sinker.