It was a fantastic season for Canada's Chris Johnston, who won the Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Year while mixing in a win at a unique event on Lake Lanier. To achieve his success, he had to utilize many different techniques, which was a fitting way to crown an Angler of the Year title. Here's a rundown of his season and top techniques at each event.
Starting in Texas and Louisiana
To start the season, the Elite Series visited two big bass factories, and Johnston finished 7th at Toledo Bend and 38th at Lake Fork. Each event was a little different, and he adjusted throughout them.
"At Toledo, I did a lot of fishing with a jighead minnow and a jerkbait," he said. "The water was warming, so the final third day was more sight fishing, and Day 4 was all bed fishing."
For his jighead minnow, Johnston employed a prototype Daiwa rod with a Daiwa Exits 2500 reel. The rod's length and action are perfect for this method, and it will be available soon.
"It's a shorter rod that makes it way easier to twitch a minnow, and you can keep the tip down and keep the minnow down in the water more," he said. "It's got a soft tip for casting such a light bait but has more backbone down the rod, so you can crack them and have enough power to land a big bass on that little rod."
When bed fishing, he went with a creature bait and said he prefers a heavy setup whenever possible. "I was using a Cory Johnston 7-foot, 5-inch medium heavy 'Soft Stickbait' Tatula Elite rod, Tatula Pitch/Flip reel, and 20-pound fluorocarbon," he said.
When they moved to Lake Fork, he started with the bed fishing approach, had a subpar day for that event, and had the biggest bag he'd ever weighed the second day after making a change. "I weighed over 35 pounds, and all of them were on a jerkbait," he said. "All those fish were on the 7-foot medium light Randy Howell Daiwa Elite rod and an 8.1:1 Tatula Elite 100 reel. I like that reel because it's nice and light, and you can cast a jerkbait very far with it."
A Win During a Break in the Season
Between the first two Elite Series events and the Florida tournaments, Johnston fished a unique event on Lake Lanier in Georgia. The Touring Anglers Association (TAA) event was a no-forward-facing sonar event, and he won it sight fishing.
"Every one of those fish was bed fishing," he said. "I like to start with a heavy setup with that 7-foot, 5-inch 'Soft Stickbait' rod with heavy line to get them in quickly, but I also had to mix some drop-shot and wacky rigs for some of the fish. For those, I used a Daiwa Exist 2500 and the 7-foot, 1-inch medium heavy Brent Ehrler Tatula Elite rod."
The Florida Swing
The following two events were in Florida, and Johnston finished 24th at the Harris Chain of Lakes and then 5th at the St. John's River.
"At the Harris Chain, I did almost all of my damage with a ChatterBait, but mixed in a few plastics here and there," he said. "I like to fish my ChatterBaits on the 7-foot,4-inch Brent Ehler vibrating jig Tatula Elite rod with a Daiwa Tatula SV with 17-pound line."
It was almost all bed fishing for the St. John's, and he used the same approach with heavier and lighter offerings. "I did a lot of bed fishing but also flipped some pads with the 7-foot, 5-inch heavy 'Flippin/Small Jig' Cory Johnston Tatula Elite rod," he said.
Lake Murray and then Two Events in Alabama
South Carolina's Lake Murray is a unique fishery with blueback herring, causing various techniques to come into play. He fished various lures he called 'herring stuff' and targeted fry guarders and bed fish when the morning bite fizzled.
"Murray was a whole mess of things with many different topwater baits and the Spro Sashimmy Swimmer," said Johnston. "I fished the swimmer on the 'Soft Stickbait' rod because it's long but soft enough to cast it a mile. That was critical to get to them when they came up schooling."
Towards the end of the year, the Elites visited Wheeler Lake and Smith Lake, where Johnston finished 57th and then 18th. Wheeler was his lowest finish of the season.
"That was my toughest event, and I caught a lot of fish on a 10-inch worm on that 'Soft Stickbait' rod again, dragging around grass," he said. "I also used my jerkbait setup and a drop-shot to throw at stumps I saw on LiveScope. At Smith, it was pretty much all on a minnow."
The Northern Swing
Johnston has always been strong in the north. He definitely was this year, finishing 2nd(by a single ounce) at Lake Champlain and then 4th on the St. Lawrence River, using a variety of techniques at both.
"Champlain was a lot of 'minnowing,' but I kept the largemouth honest every day," he said. "It didn't work the first three days, but I caught two 4-pound largemouth shallow the final day with a jig and the 7-foot, 5-inch heavy 'Flippin/Small Jig' rod, Daiwa Tatula Pitch/Flip reel and 65-pound braid."
At the St. Lawrence, the jighead minnow was another player, but he also mixed in a Ned Rig and drop-shot. "For my drop-shot, I used the Cody Meyer 7-foot, 1-inch medium light Tatula Elite rod, and for the Ned, I used my signature series 7-foot, 6-inch medium light Ned rod."
Johnston is still glowing from his great year and was especially happy to claim the title of Angler of the Year after several close calls. Doing so on his home waters was an even better feeling.
"It was an unbelievable year, and it felt like I was chasing it all year behind the guys, catching them so good all year," he said. "To do it close to home with friends and family was even more special. I feel relieved to finally get it done after being so close; it was always one event that hurt me, so I'm relieved it finally worked out this year."
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