WADDINGTON, N.Y., Aug. 17,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- After finishing in
31st place Friday, his second-straight frustrating day
on the St. Lawrence River, Chris
Johnston still managed a smile.
"I might have one trick up my sleeve still," Johnston said. "I
haven't practiced it. I'm just going to wing it. I have nothing to
lose now. I can fish with no pressure. I know there's big ones that
live there. I hope the wind makes them bite a little better."
Man, did he ever wing it, rallying with 29 pounds, 5 ounces –
the biggest five-bass limit of the tournament so far – and clinched
the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year title in the
process.
"You have no idea how much stress I was under the last couple of
days," said the 35-year-old Johnston, who is from Otonabee,
Ontario. "Everything that could have gone wrong did. A couple of
nights I didn't get to sleep until like one in the morning.
"I got a lot of gray hairs these last three days. I think when I
started this year, I didn't have one. But they're coming in thick
now."
Johnston was in unfamiliar territory after the first two days of
this tournament. In five previous Elite Series events here – 20
competition days – he'd finished in the Top 10 every day and was in
the Top 3 on 15 of those 20 days. He became the first Canadian to
win an Elite Series tournament in 2020 when he won on the
St. Lawrence.
So, when he fell from 16th place on Day 1 to
31st place on Day 2, Thursday and Friday, Johnston was
in unfamiliar territory. The trick he had up his sleeve was going
to a couple of places near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River,
where he'd had much success in the past.
"I got spun out the last couple of days," Johnston said. "I had
too much going through my mind, thinking about where I needed to go
to catch the 27 or 28 pounds that live out here. Today, I just
said, 'You know what? It's too rough on the lake, and I know two
spots in the river that have the potential to get the 25 or 30
pounds that I need.'"
Coming into this tournament Justin
Hamner, the 2024 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented
by Jockey Outdoors champion, was leading the AOY standings by 13
points over Johnston and 19 points over Jacob Foutz, the third-year pro from
Charleston, Tenn. Hamner, who is
from Northport, Ala., fell out of
the running when he finished 61st on Friday and missed
the Day 2/Top 50 cut.
Foutz finished Friday in ninth place but was only 3½ pounds
ahead of Johnston in the tightly packed standings. Saturday's rough
water on Lake Ontario kept Foutz
from repeating his success of the previous two days. One year ago,
he was on the edge of failing to requalify for the Elite
Series.
"It's been an incredible year just have a chance at AOY the last
few days of the year," said Foutz, who weighed only 14-9 Saturday
and fell to 35th place. "This time last year I didn't
know if I was going to be back on this stage. Just to turn it
around is awesome.
"I feel like I've just scratched the surface of this whole deal.
It's been a heck of a year. I have no complaints."
Contact:
Chad Gay
cgay@bassmaster.com
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SOURCE B.A.S.S.