By Andy Gardner

CANTON. Local officials are in talks with Bassmaster, who still wants to hold their Elite Tournament in Waddington later this summer, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce Director Brooke Rouse discussed the ongoing talks at a Monday, May 18 St. Lawrence County legislature Finance Committee meeting streamed online.

She said instead of the typical event where thousands of people go in and out of Whittaker Park in Waddington, Bassmaster is considering sending their anglers out on the water and broadcasting the weigh-in that could be viewed at restaurants or bars by small groups of local people.

“Instead of having thousands of people in one location, maybe we can spread them out in locations around the county,” she said. “Bassmaster is very willing to work with us and be creative and be safe and smart about it.”

The event would fall under the fourth stage of the New York state reopening plan, which includes gatherings for entertainment.

“We anticipate if we blow through the phases here, we’ll be in phase four just in time for that event,” she said.

The North Country received state permission to begin reopening on May 15. On May 18, Dr. Andrew Williams reported about a week of no new COVID-19 cases in the county. The following day, the Public Health Department reported three new cases. The number of new cases and hospitalization rates are taken into account when determining if a region can move to the next phase of reopening.

Dr. Williams said public health officials won’t know if the phase one reopening is causing a spike in new cases for seven to 14 days afterward.

Legislator David Forsythe, R-Lisbon, said he thinks the tournament “looks like it’s going to be a flop” and asked Rouse if there is an opt out provision in the event contract with Bassmasters.

Rouse said she is anticipating having a “frank conversation” with the organization on Friday, May 22.

Legislator James Reagen, R-Ogdensburg, said he thinks the county should try to salvage whatever they can from the event.

“If we don’t make the effort to promote it on ESPN and the Bassmasters channel and encourage them to rank us, we will not receive the benefits we continue to receive,” he said. “Even if we don’t have the crowd of 30,000 people … if we have the excitement on the television show of them talking about the St. Lawrence River, we’re not going to have the full effect we could have had.”

He also feels the tournament rules should be changed to keep the anglers in the local area.

“Keep the fishing in St. Lawrence County … I think that should be our priority, especially at a time like this,” he said.