The last time that the Bassmaster Elite Series visited Knoxville, Canadian Jeff “Gussy” Gustafson took the trophy at the 2021 Elite Series stop. This time, there will be four from Canada, including Cory Johnston, and each has a good shot to compete and win the event. We spoke with Cory right as he was about to cross the border into the United States to get his thoughts on how the event will play out.
Only One Prior Trip
The only time that Johnston has been to the Tennessee River to compete on Fort Loudon and Tellico Lakes was that 2021 event. He finished 45th and cashed a check, but hopes to do much better this time. Johnston has mixed feelings about the fishery, but is looking forward to it.
“From a location standpoint, Knoxville is awesome and this could be the biggest Classic ever for attendance,” he said. “But, the fishing is not great and it could be a tough event. I’m not sure how it’s going to turn our really, because the weather has been so crazy this spring.”
Johnston will take a look when he begins practice to see what he thinks the fish are doing. “It’s supposed to be really cold and rainy during practice, but they had some 80-degree days recently. There should still be some fish out deep, but I’m guessing that a lot of them have already pulled up.”
Because of this, he’s prepared to scour both shallow and deep as he searches for the winning bags.
Shallow Approach For Classic Bass
The first thing that Johnston believes will play is a shallow crankbait, either a square bill or flat-sided bait. “There will be a lot of cold water stuff catching fish,” he said. “I’ll be looking for the isolated stuff on flats. Those are usually the best places, but they can be a little harder to find.”
When fishing shallow crankbaits, he likes to fish a 7-foot, 2-inch medium Daiwa Tatula Elite glass cranking rod with a 7.1:1 Daiwa Tatula Elite reel. He’s a fan of the glass for cranking, especially for cold water situations.
“The glass is crucial for letting the fish get the bait a little bit better,” he said. “You lose some sensitivity compared to a graphite rod, but it doesn’t matter as much in the cold, in my opinion. When one gets the bait, the rod just loads up and with trebles, you lose a lot less fish.”
The other thing he plans to fish is a jig, something he loves to do. He’s a jig pitching fanatic and has two new signature series rods in the revamped Daiwa Tatula Elite lineup that will be officially released at the Classic.
“I pitch a jig a lot back home and wanted a rod built exactly how I like to fish with the right lengths and actions,” he said. “One is a 7-foot, 5-inch medium heavy and the other is the same length but a heavy action. I alternate between the two based on how thick the cover is.”
Johnston is going to be pitching a jig around anything he sees, whether it is a dock, wood, or on points. He loves fishing this way and his preferred reel is the Daiwa Tatula Elite Pitch and Flip reel. “It has bigger handles so you have a lot more control when fighting fish,” he said. “I also like the shallow spool for better pitching and you also waste a lot less line.”
Deep Approach For Winning Weigh Fish
If Johnston decides to fish deeper water, he’s more than comfortable with being offshore and grabbing a spinning rod. It's what he and his brother Chris do all the time when fishing up north for smallmouth and they are some of the best in the world at it.
“If the fish are out deep, forward-facing sonar is going to be the way to go,” he said. “I can see that being the way to win this event, either with a Damiki Rig or a drop-shot. This will be more for the smallmouth in there, but that’s what ‘Gussy’ did to win it last time, so it can definitely happen again.”
For both techniques, he’s a fan of Brent Ehrler’s 7-foot, 1-inch medium Daiwa Tatula Elite rod with a 3000-size Daiwa Exist spinning reel. He says it’s a perfect match for both of these finesse techniques and will get a workout if he finds the right situation.
When the Bassmaster Classic begins, Cory Johnston should be considered one of the favorites to win. He can catch fish shallow and deep and is completely comfortable with both largemouth and smallmouth bass. That makes him even more dangerous this time of year on a fishery with both species and plenty of possible winning techniques.
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