Last minute heroics push Johnston to back-to-back AOY titles
BASS Press Release
LA CROSSE, Wis. — When he decided he wanted to be a professional bass angler, Chris Johnston had no idea if he would ever be able to win a single Angler of the Year title. Now, the Otonabee, Ontario angler’s name is written in the B.A.S.S. record books forever.
For the second-straight season, Johnston claimed the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year title, accumulating 776 points during the nine-tournament season to outlast second-year phenom Trey McKinney and earn the $100,000 first-place prize.
“This is such a relief,” Johnston said. “I feel like someone lifted a bus off my chest. It is unbelievable the amount of pressure that comes with that trophy. The closer you get to winning it, the more stress there is.
“(Trey) is an unbelievable fisherman. He is going to push all of us to get better and he will have his moment on this stage.”
Johnston becomes just the fourth angler ever to win the Angler of the Year title in consecutive years, joining Kevin VanDam, Roland Martin and the late Guido Hibdon as the only anglers to do so.
“Just to be mentioned among those anglers is unreal,” Johnston said. “I never even thought it would be possible for a kid from Canada to come down here, compete and make a living fishing. Kevin VanDam is someone I’ve always looked up to and to even come close to one of his records is unbelievable.”
