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Chris Johnston has led this tournament the last two days. It didn’t take him long to maintain first place on BassTrakk this morning. He landed his fifth keeper at 8:08 a.m. Johnston is fishing in the Stoddard area, near an island. The water is up slightly from yesterday and flowing over a shallow flat that’s thickly covered in aquatic vegetation. All five keepers, including one of those crucial 3-pounders, have come on a topwater walking bait.
Johnston’s consistency has been remarkable in this event: 16-4 on Day 1, 15-10 on Day 2 and 16-12 on Day 3, for a total of 48-10. This on a body of water where 15 pounds a day has always had you in contention for the title in an Elite Series event here.