WADDINGTON, N.Y. — He knows where the giants live, and that hard-earned insight rewarded Cory Johnston in a big way.
Sacking up a 27-pound, 7-ounce limit, the Canadian superstar from Otonabee, Ontario, matched rookie Robert Gee with a two-day total of 52-7 to tie for the lead on Day 2 of the Humminbird Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River.
“I had one big pod of fish that I could catch one off of every once in a while, and I’d have to leave it alone and go back to it,” Johnston said. “It could’ve been one of those special days; I had a 6-pounder in my hand, and it got off.”
Johnston, who claimed his first blue trophy by dominating the season’s fourth Elite Series event at the St. Johns River, placed fourth on Day 1 with 25-0 and has been fishing in open water and targeting an 80-yard stretch of bottom in about 40 feet. The spot holds a smattering of giant smallmouth, but they’re extremely sensitive.
“I’ll catch one and then they shut down,” Johnston said.
When this happens, time and distance seem to be the best remedy.
“I’m making a big run away from the spot (between catches),” Johnston said of his dual-purpose strategy. “I don’t want to be seen on this spot. There were locals out there fishing all around me. It’s frustrating, but there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Johnston said he’s using a four-bait rotation. All have produced quality fish. As Johnston explained, picky smallmouth have required a diverse and strategic approach.
“This place just gets the hell beat out of it,” Johnston said of how the smallmouth have shown a marked response to increasing pressure. “It’s like night and day from even two years ago.”
Holding his cards low, Johnston said he believes he found the formula for smallmouth success: “I figured out something today on how to catch them. It has to do with rigging and presentation.”
After two days of pleasant, relatively calm weather, Semi-final Saturday’s forecast calls for big south winds that promise to roil Lake Ontario. Johnston, who has been making a big run into the lake, said he’s expecting waves as big as 8 feet and, while he’s fished the rough stuff many times, he’s keenly aware of the limitations.
“Tomorrow is going to be nasty windy, but that’s part of this game,” Johnston said. “I’ll be able to get to my spot, but the problem is going to be efficiency. I don’t know if I’ll be able to track them down good enough on (Garmin) Livescope to make the perfect cast, but we have to give it a shot and see what happens.”
As Gee stated, you know you’ve had a special day when a 5-pounder does not help your cause. That’s the largest fish the angler from Knoxville, Tenn., released during his banner day, which he paired with a Day 1 weight of 25-12.
“It was a great day; that was probably the best day of smallmouth fishing I’ve ever had,” Gee said. “There are plenty there, from what I saw, but I don’t feel like I was burning through them.
“A lot of them swerved me, so I’m really hopeful there’s still a bunch down there. I’ll give a full send tomorrow and try to catch another 25 pounds.”
After catching his opening-round weight in Lake Ontario, Gee did all of his Day 2 work inside the St. Lawrence River. Targeting an underwater point stretching from Carleton Island toward the main shipping channel, he quickly found success — and a lot of it.
“The first four I caught were over 5 pounds,” Gee said. “That calmed me down. It was a breath of fresh air.
“I knew if I just sat there, I could catch another 5-pounder. The smallest one I caught on that spot was 3 3/4. I was smiling from ear to ear.”
Rotating through about 20 different spots, mostly boulders, Gee caught his fish on the jighead minnow rig. He used a 1/4-ounce jig with a 5-inch minnow to imitate the hefty gobies the big smallmouth prefer.
Shane LeHew of Catawba, N.C., placed fifth on Day 1 with a limit of 24-13 and moved into third with a second-round limit of 25-12. Tallying a two-day total of 50-9, LeHew reflected on the day-maker that actually started his day.
“I put my trolling motor down and two big fish were swimming under the boat,” said LeHew, who made the run into Lake Ontario. “I dropped down and caught a 6-12 on my first cast. I had a feeling it was going to be a pretty decent day.
“I was a little outside the Bassmaster Classic cut coming into this event, so we’re gonna have to catch them again tomorrow. I’m a little afraid of the conditions, but we still may send it.”
LeHew caught all of his fish on a drop shot with a Berkley MaxScent Flatnose Minnow. His big fish earned the $1,000 Phoenix Boats Big Bass award for Day 2.
Joey Cifuentes III is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the tournament honors with his 6-15.
Johnston leads the CrushCity Monster Bag of the Tournament standings with his 27-7.
The Top 50 anglers advance to Semi-Final Saturday, with the Top 10 moving on to Championship Sunday. In addition to the $100,000 top prize, the winner earns an invitation to fish the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors March 21-23 on Lake Ray Roberts.
Jacob Foutz of Charleston, Tenn., leads the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 747 points. Cory Johnston is in second with 733, followed by Trey McKinney of Carbondale, Ill., with 732, Chris Johnston of Otonabee, Ontario, with 731, and Jay Przekurat of Plover, Wis., With 727.
McKinney leads the Dakota Lithium Elite Series Rookie of the Year standings with 732 points.
Saturday’s takeoff is scheduled for 7 a.m. ET at Whitaker Park. The weigh-in will be held at the park at 3 p.m.
Coverage of the Humminbird Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River will air on FS1 on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET and Sunday on FS2 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Bassmaster LIVE will be streaming on Bassmaster.com.
The St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce is hosting the tournament.
