Elite

Big bass of St. Lawrence River 2024

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Captions by
Mike Suchan
Most everything was decided at the Humminbird Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River, the final event of the 2024 season. Canada’s Johnston brothers continued their dominance at their home fishery, Cory taking the event title and Chris rallying to win Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year. Let’s look at how the big brown bass helped finalize the season.
While a handful vied for the top spot, the quest for many others was finishing among the top 42 in points to qualify for the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors. Caleb Sumrall had little room to falter. Jumping from 50th to just inside Classic qualification at Lake Champlain the week before, the Louisiana pro needed another solid event. He got it. He started ninth with 24 pounds, 2 ounces, including a 6-5, and finished ninth, earning 95 points to finish 30th in AOY and make his fourth Classic.
Defending St. Lawrence champ Patrick Walters picked up where he left off, catching a 5-11 in his sixth-place weight of 24-12 on Day 1. The South Carolina pro brought in 24-3 on Day 2 then finished with two 20-pound days to finish eighth. Picked by pundits to win AOY, Walters ended up 12th in points after a subpar Florida Swing. Walters, who turns 30 this month, was the fastest to reach $1 million in B.A.S.S. earnings, breaking that threshold last year at the St. Lawrence in his 77th event. Could that be topped?
Suffering a miserable season compared to two wins and the Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Rookie of the Year title in 2023, Joey Cifuentes needed the event’s win-and-in provision to get to his second Classic. Things started great with this 6-15 in a 24-1 limit, but weighing only 10-8 left him 86th. His only consolation was $3,000 in bonuses for Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the day and event.
Japanese second-year pro Kyoya Fujita, who won the season opener on Toledo Bend, was flirting with the Classic cut. He came into the event 41st, but a 6-3 in his Day 1 25-8 put him third and on his way to a second Classic. With 18-15 and 20-15, Fujita finished 20th at St. Lawrence, moving from 56th in AOY just three events prior to 36th.
It was expected that Fujita and fellow countryman Taku Ito, who won at St. Lawrence in 2021, would get it done in smallmouth country. Ito, who won his second Elite this year at Smith Lake, caught a 6-0 in his Day 1 leading 26-2. Ito held fourth after 24-4 on Day 2 but harsh winds closed his smallmouth Disneyland ride on Day 3, when he weighed 11-1 and fell to 36th. Standing 60th in AOY before Smith, Ito rose to 34th in points and will make a fifth Classic appearance.
Cory Johnston, who broke through with his first Elite win on the St. Johns River in April, made the long run from Waddington to his spots deep in Lake Ontario. It paid off with 25-0, good for fourth. With a best of 6-2, Cory’s five fish averaged almost a pound better than the day’s 4-1 average. Entering the event seventh in AOY, Cory moved up to fourth, just 19 back of the new leader.
Chris Johnston, who began the event third in AOY 13 points back of Justin Hamner, was disappointed with a trying first day. Although his 23-2 put him 15th, that combined with Hamner’s 29th saw the 35-year-old rise to second in points as the AOY leaderboard tightened.
The new AOY leader was Tennessee pro Jacob Foutz, who stood seventh with 24-7, which included a big of 5-6. Foutz was on pace to make his 11th consecutive Top 50 cut, remarkably after eight successive missed cuts. With 749 points, Foutz was two points ahead of Chris Johnston and three up on Hamner after the first day.
As the race for the top heated up, so did the battle for the last Classic spots. Connecticut’s Alex Wetherell, the last man into the Classic at 42nd, needed a good showing to stay there. He got that by starting 11th with 23-12, then he had two more bags topping 20 pounds to finish 16th. He left smiling at 37th in points with his first Classic berth. 
Jeff Gustafson, the 2023 Classic champ, had a bigger hill to climb, coming in 45th in points. The Canadian had been as low as 59th but had inched up within striking range. Weighing 22-9 then 23-3 helped him finish 15th and make his sixth Classic at 39th in AOY. If he had finished 20 places lower, Gussy would be left needing help from St. Croix Opens competitors.
Whew! That’s the feeling Ohio’s Alex Redwine had after starting Day 1 99th at St. Lawrence, which dropped him from 25th in AOY to 41st. He was sweating his first Classic bid, but catching 21-7 on Day 2 moved Redwine up seven spots, enough to finish 40th in AOY and eke in.
Jay Przekurat, Redwine’s road roommate, zoomed up the leaderboard in the second round. Although Przekurat, who won at St. Lawrence in 2022 with 102-9, had one of the 58 bags topping 20 pounds on Day 1, he started 56th. His 26-9 on Day 2 moved him to 10th, and he wound up 32nd. The Wisconsin pro ended seventh in AOY, his third top 10 in as many years on the Elites.
Chris Zaldain was 60th on Day 1, but also made a big move on Day 2. He jumped to 15th with 25-15, one of six limits eclipsing 25 pounds after there were four the first day. After missing this year’s Classic, Zaldain qualified for his ninth by taking 14th in AOY in a rock-solid season.
It was an emotional goodbye to legendary Rick Clunn, the 78-year-old whose myriad Bassmaster records include four Classic victories. The Ava, Mo., pro signed off from Elite competition with 18-12 after 19-8 to finish 68th. Saying he doesn’t like the word “retirement,” Clunn exited after a remarkable 50th season and 505 B.A.S.S. events.
Shane LeHew landed the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of Day 2, a 6-12 that gave him a big push toward a sixth Classic. Entering the event 47th in AOY, the North Carolina pro busted 24-13 for fifth then added 25-12 to stand third. That put him inside the Classic cut, but he couldn’t afford a slipup.
Rookie sensation Trey McKinney, who led AOY for five events before a disqualification at Smith Lake, was still in the hunt, standing fifth, 38 points back of Hamner. Day 1’s 23-10 inched him up, and he took over second in AOY after Day 2’s 25-10 put him fifth in the event.
Tennessee’s Robert Gee continued his roll. After standing second with 25-12, the 25-year-old rookie brought in 26-11 to tie for first with 52-7. At Smith Lake, Gee looked like he might win before taking second fiddle to Taku Ito’s late-day heroics, and then he was third at Champlain, 4 ounces shy of winning.
Back out in Lake Ontario, Cory Johnston took care of business with the day’s best 27-7, tying Gee with 52-7 as they led the four on pace for Century Club belts. St. Lawrence yielded the first two 100-pound events with smallmouth in 2022 and four more last year. While Cory excelled, his brother suffered a rough day. As Gee caught 5-pounder after 5-pounder on a community hole where Chris became the first Canadian Elite winner in 2020, Chris was skunked and left. His 16 pounds or so on BassTrakk belied his 20-11 that put him 31st. Four less pounds and Chris would have missed the two-day cut. Chris went into Semifinal Saturday 16 points back of Foutz.
Blustery conditions on Day 3 made it rough, but Kentucky pro Mike Huff was among the 48 who landed limits. Almost a third of his 18-7 came from this 5-13, which helped him finish 39th. Ending 81st in points, the 34-year-old lamented on stage that his six-year stint on the Elites might have just ended, however, the 2025 Elite field won’t be determined until fall.
Kenta Kimura ended the Elite season with a bang, landing a 6-5 in a limit of 23-3 that put him 24th. The Japanese pro, who also fishes the St. Croix Bassmaster Opens, finished 56th in points to miss that avenue to the Classic, but he still had three shots to win an Open and qualify for his third Classic.
Australian pro Carl Jocumsen had a great late-season run that came up just short – so far. Standing 88th in points four events earlier, he climbed within range but needed a big week at the St. Lawrence. Starting Day 3 in 23rd place, the 39-year-old had 25-15 to move into Championship Sunday in seventh. Needing to move up another three places, Jocumsen had boat issues and fell to finish 10th. The St. Lawrence winner double qualified, moving the last man into the Classic to 43rd. Jocumsen finished five points back in 44th, leaving him praying an Elite or non-qualified angler wins one of the final three Opens. (UPDATE: Easton Fothergill’s win on Leech Lake make Carl last man in currently, with Jonathan Kelley hoping.)
Arkansas’ Stetson Blaylock needed a 60th or better to reach the estimated 500 points for his sixth Classic. He might have worried after starting 50th, but he punched his ticket with 21-9 on Day 2 then added 23-2, including a big of 6-5, to finish 18th in the event and 31st in points.
Jordan Lee, the back-to-back Classic champ who returned to the Elites this year, moved from 16th to fifth on Day 3 with 27-13, the day’s best so far. Lee wound up fifth in the event and ninth in AOY, his fourth Top 10 finish in the season-long point races.
A Bassmaster LIVE camera allowed viewers to see the “animal” come out in Cory Johnston. He got seasick in the big Ontario waves but fought through it to catch 24-14. However, he ended the day in second place, 13 ounces back of Gee. With more company in the productive spot near Carleton Island, Gee caught 25-11. There was some contention, but Gee and Chris Johnston, among others, all wailed on the area.
Trey McKinney was in the region and enjoyed a big day, weighing 24-2 to stand third. After his Smith Lake debacle, the 19-year-old regrouped and conquered as the 2024 Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Rookie of the Year, its youngest. He earned the ROY $10,000 payout and, although almost 5 pounds back of the lead, he wasn’t done.
It looked as if Chris Johnston might be out of the AOY race, but he rallied for a hyper jump on Semifinal Saturday. Catching bass within close proximity to Gee, Chris caught a 6-7, the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the day. He caught another around 6 pounds that helped him build a limit weighing 29-5, the CrushCity Monster Bag. It equaled Bryan Smith’s Bassmaster record bag of smallmouth caught here last year and catapulted Chris from 31st to fourth.
Chris trailed Foutz by 16 points to start the day, but his 27-point improvement along with Foutz’s fall from ninth to 35th provided a monstrous swing. With 758 points, Chris Johnston became the first Canadian to win Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year. The Johnstons’ parents and families joined the celebration.
With solid bags of 24-4, 23-7 and 21-7, Florida’s Drew Benton rolled into Championship Sunday in ninth, although 9 pounds out of the lead. A 5-5 helped him weigh 22-10 to take seventh, pushing him up six spots to 25th in AOY that sends him to his eighth Classic.
LeHew also landed one of the day’s better fish, a 5-8 that helped him total 21-14 and finish sixth. He improved nine spots to 38th in the AOY standings with 519 points. If he had finished below 30th, LeHew might not be looking forward to fishing the 2025 Classic at Lake Ray Roberts, March 21-23.
McKinney landed Championship Sunday’s Phoenix Boat Big Bass of 5-9, helping him weigh the day’s best bag at 25-3. He finished third in the event with 98-9, and wound up third in AOY, 24 points back of Chris Johnston. It was a great season for the young angler who vows to read more, specifically Elite rules, so he won’t suffer penalties that sidetracked his AOY bid or possibly a second victory. A week after his 19th birthday, McKinney won at Lake Fork with 130-15, just 1-9 shy of the all-time weight record.
Returning to the lake, Cory Johnston didn’t surpass Gee on BassTrakk, yet his actual weight of 24-11 gave him 102-0 for his second Century Belt on his home water. The last of the original Canadian Elites to win an Elite title – Cory won the 2021 1000 Islands Open – Cory had his eyes on two in one season.
Gee weighed 22-5 to earn a belt with 100-7, but he finished second once again, 1-9 back of Cory. In the last three events, Gee earned $110,000 of his $167,500 total in 2024, including $10,000 for 13th in AOY. The lion’s share of the $1.34 million in Bassmaster payouts last week, which included $578,000 in Progressive AOY money, went to the Johnstons.
The Johnston families celebrate Chris’ AOY and Cory’s St. Lawrence Elite title, each garnering $100,000 to their joint bank account. Chris claimed $25,000 for fourth and $3,000 in bonuses and Cory added $30,000 for third in AOY, bringing their total to $258,000, about one-fifth of the purse. The brothers eclipsed Walters as each joined the Bassmaster millionaires’ club in fewer events, Chris in 65 and Cory in 66.

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