WADDINGTON, N.Y. — 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 three 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 3 1/2 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.”
