2021 Bassmaster Elite St. Lawrence River Day 3: Cory Johnston Leads with 68-10lbs!

Chris Johnston 3rd & Gustafson 18th

Cory Johnston ready to score Canadian
hat trick with Elite win!
(Photo: BASS) 

BASS PRESS RELEASE

WADDINGTON, N.Y. — For the past three days, Cory Johnston has mentioned saving certain fish he’d previously located for when he needed a big bite. On Saturday, he started with a trio of those difference-makers and took over the Day 3 lead of the Farmers Insurance Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River with a three-day total of 68 pounds, 10 ounces.

 

Hailing from Cavan, Canada, Johnston tied his younger brother Chris for second place on Day 1 with 23-7. He added 22-2 on Friday and slipped to third before moving into the top spot with Saturday’s limit of 23-1. Heading into Championship Sunday, Johnston leads Alabama pro Justin Atkins by 12 ounces.

 

Johnston said the smallmouth he targeted first were bed fish in about 8 feet. Picking off three solid keepers in short order gave him an early cushion and allowed him to “go fishing.”

 

“I fished a lot of shallow stuff today — 15 feet or less,” Johnston said. “Every spot was different; some were rock, some were sand, some were weed. It was a mix of everything.

 

“The strategy was: hit as many spots as you can and hope you get the right ones to bite.”

 

As he’s done the first two days, Johnston said he fished multiple spots throughout a 90-mile stretch from the take-off area to Chaumont Bay outside the mouth of the St. Lawrence. He caught his fish on a drop shot with an 8- to 10-inch leader.

 

“I had a limit by the noon hour,” Johnston said. “I upgraded a little bit, but not much. I didn’t want to burn too many fish.”

 

Essential to his execution was Johnston’s use of a Flogger — a cone-shaped device with a clear, flat screen that sits at the water’s surface and allows him to view details below. Similar to looking through a dive mask, without the submersion, the Flogger provides key perspective that aids in presentation.

 

Hank Cherry Wins Academy Sports +Outdoor Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk on Ray Roberts!

Hank Cherry reaches legendary status with back to back Classic wins. 
(Photo: BASS)

Canadians Chris Johnston 8th Cory Johnston 11th & Gustafson 21th

BASS PRESS RELEASE  

FORT WORTH, Texas — Hank Cherry now occupies some rare air in the sport of professional bass fishing, and he has the bank statements to prove it.

The Lincolnton, N.C., pro, caught five bass Sunday that weighed 13 pounds, 1 ounce and won the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk with a three-day total of 50 pounds, 15 ounces.

 

He is only the fourth angler in the 51-year history of the Super Bowl of Professional Bass Fishing to win the event in back-to-back years. He earned another of the iconic Classic trophies and his second $300,000 check in 18 months.

 

Another North Carolina pro, Matt Arey, finished second with 49-1 and lost at least one big bass on Championship Sunday that might have put him over the top.

 

“I feel bad for Matt, and I told him I’ve been where he was,” Cherry said. “I had the same thing happen to me and mine happened a lot closer to the boat.

 

“I’m not giving it back — not apologizing for it. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”

 

Cherry, a nine-year veteran of the Bassmaster Elite Series, finished third in his first Classic back in 2013 on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees. Like Arey, he lost a crucial fish in that event that would have given him the trophy.

 

He went through a tough stretch in the Classic after that, finishing no higher than 27th in three tries. But then he put the bad memories of 2013 behind him last year on Lake Guntersville when he caught 29-3 on the first day and rode that mammoth bag to a wire-to-wire victory.

 

He didn’t quite go wire-to-wire this year, starting in third place on the first day with a limit of 20-4. But as suffocating heat moved into the area, the fishing got tougher and Cherry remained consistent enough to stay on top with a Day 2 catch of 17-10 and a final-round bag of 13-1 that was just enough.

 

He caught the bulk of his weight during the week flipping flooded bushes along the shoreline and throwing a jerkbait around riprap along the dam.

Chris Johnston Wins 2020 BASS St. Lawrence River with 97-08lbs!

Canadians Cory Johnston 7th & Jeff Gustafson 12th 
By David A. Brown
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Johnston become first Canadian to win an Elite event. He scored 20lb limits
each of the four tournament days.
(Photo: James Overstreet BASS)

His home waters were off-limits this week, but that didn’t stop Canadian standout Chris Johnston from winning the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River with a whopping four-day total of 20 smallmouth bass that weighed 97 pounds, 8 ounces. 

The first Canadian to claim an Elite title, Johnston was the only competitor to break 20 pounds each day. Hailing from Peterborough, Ontario, he placed second on Day 1 with 27-0 and held that position for two more days with weights of 24-12 and 23-0.

Entering Championship Sunday a little more than 2 pounds off the lead, Johnston added a final limit of 22-12 to surge ahead of Connecticut pro Paul Mueller and win by a margin of 1-10. Mueller had led the event all three days going into the final round.

“This has been a crazy year fishing-wise for me; I had two of the worst tournaments probably in my career and to bounce back and win on the St. Lawrence, of all places, is just incredible,” said Johnston, who finished 71st and 59th in the first two Elite Series events this year. “I’ve wanted a big tournament win on the St. Lawrence River bad, and it finally came together.

“I’ve watched Bassmaster my whole life and even if you’d asked me three or four years ago, I didn’t think I’d be here in this position. It’s been surreal. I can’t even describe how cool it feels.”

Throughout the week, Johnston used several baits, including a tube, a Ned rig and a black hair jig. On Sunday, he caught his fish on a drop shot with a green pumpkin Berkley Flat Worm. He needed a 3/8-ounce tungsten weight for proper presentations on Lake Ontario, where steady 6- to 8-foot waves made everything more difficult than it had been the three previous days.

The first two days saw Johnston plucking early keepers from a rocky point inside the river and then moving out to fish Lake Ontario rockpiles in 20 to 40 feet. On Saturday and Sunday, he did the majority of his work in the Great Lake.

Chris Zaldain Grabs BASS Elite Angler of the Year on Lake St. Clair Day 1

Canadians Cory Johnston 4th, Chris Johnston 13th & Gussy 29th
By Bryan Brasher
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Seth Feider smashes 26-12lbs for tournament lead!
(Photo: BASS)

The Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship is actually several competitions in one.
 
But the biggest one by far will decide the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year points race — and for the moment, Chris Zaldain has moved into that big-picture lead.
The California native turned Texas resident caught 20 pounds, 12 ounces Sunday and moved from second place in the AOY standings into first with 842 points. Arkansas pro Stetson Blaylock (840) is just two points back, followed by Alabamian Scott Canterbury (838), Canadian Cory Johnston (833) and Tennessee pro Brandon Lester (811).
 
Zaldain said things didn’t go as he expected, but he was more than satisfied with the results.
 
“I caught two 5-pounders on what I thought was my worst spot,” said Zaldain, who finished 13th or higher in six of the nine regular-season Elite Series events this year. “Then on my best spot — out in 17 to 19 feet — I only caught one 3 1/2-pounder.
 
“That’s telling me things are changing a lot, and you’ve gotta stay on your toes.”
 
Blaylock came into the event fourth in the AOY race, but moved up after catching five smallmouth that weighed 24-12. Canterbury, who held a nine-point AOY lead coming into the event, had mechanical problems and caught only 17-11, causing him to slip into third.
 
Canterbury was forced to fish all day Sunday without the use of depthfinders on the front of his boat.
 
“It was brutal all day long,” he said. “I walked to the back about 93 times just to see the console graphs. You don’t know how deep it is. You don’t know if there’s grass.
 
“It was a little bit of an aggravating day. But I actually had a little more weight than I thought, so I may have survived. I’ve just got to catch them these next two days.”
 

Sam Houston Claims 2019 Bassmaster College Series at St. Lawrence River!

Smallmouth spawn producing giant limits.

By Andrew Canulette

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Jackson Carrell and Bryton Kurtz of Sam Houston State University win the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series at St. Lawrence River presented by Bass Pro Shops out of Waddington, N.Y., with a three-day total of 72 pounds, 13 ounces.

Sam Houston State University anglers Jackson Carrell and Bryton Kurtz traveled more than 1,700 miles to compete in the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series at St. Lawrence River presented by Bass Pro Shops.

They made it a trip to remember.

Carrell and Kurtz caught 15 bass over three days that weighed a whopping 72 pounds, 13 ounces. That output, which averaged an equally impressive 24-4 limit per day, was enough to top the 149-team field and clinch victory in the fourth and final Bassmaster College Series regular-season tournament of 2019.

The victors also secured a berth in the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops. That tournament, which will feature more than 100 of the top college duos from across the U.S., will be held Aug. 1-3 on Chickamauga Lake in Tennessee.

Carrell and Kurtz entered the final day on the St. Lawrence third among the 12 teams that survived Thursday’s cut. They briefly held the Day 1 lead, but quickly relinquished it on a record-breaking day that saw 85 teams catch at least 20 pounds of bass.

The anglers from Sam Houston, which is located in Huntsville, Texas, stayed near the top of the leaderboard, however, holding second place on Wednesday with a 25-13 limit and then third place on Thursday when they followed with a 22-5 limit.

The key, however, was the 24-11 bag Carrell and Kurtz produced Friday. It was nearly 2 pounds heavier than any other team in the final round — and with first place and 12th place separated by just more than 4 pounds, that bump was significant.

The St. Lawrence smallmouth were spawning this week, and Carrell and Kurtz were among the many teams that caught fish off beds. The water was extremely clear, as well, which made spotting the bass possible in as much as 10 feet of water.

“We started sight fishing on Wednesday morning and by 9:30, we had 25 1/2 pounds,” Carrell said. “That allowed us to go pre-fish for the next day.”

The ability to scout new areas benefited the winners, as foul weather moved into upstate New York on Thursday. With sight-fishing not possible that day, communication was crucial as one angler manned the electronics and the other laid belly down on the deck of the boat waiting for word to set the hook.

2018 Bassmaster Elite Kentucky Lake Day 3: Wesley Strader Jumps into Lead with lbs!

Shad spawn key to leaders
David A. Brown

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Wesley Strader caught a five-bass limit during Sunday’s semifinal round of the Berkley Bassmaster Elite at Kentucky Lake presented by Abu Garcia that weighed 22 pounds, 6 ounces.
 
It was the biggest limit of the day — and it put the Spring City, Tenn., pro in position for his first-ever Elite Series victory with a three-day total of 59-9.
 
Despite his strong effort on Day 3, Strader said the fishing has been anything but easy.
 
“It’s a struggle to get bit,” Strader said. “But if you hang around, you can catch a few. I’m making it look a lot easier than it is. I only got eight keeper bites today.
 
“It’s really weird. One day you’ll get a lot of bites, and then one day you won’t get many. Every time I caught one today, it’d be on the very back hook, which tells me they’re not eating. They’re just slapping at it, but luckily my Trokar hooks kept them buttoned up.”
 
Strader took advantage of the daybreak shad spawn, but that window was smaller Sunday than it had been earlier in the event. The change was due to cooler, sunnier conditions.
 
“I think the shad spawn was shorter today because it got cold last night,” Strader said. “The water cooled off. The optimum water temperature for the shad to spawn at daybreak is somewhere close to 70, and this morning it was 64 to 65. That knocked it back a little bit, plus the bright skies didn’t help. We got about 30 minutes and it quit.”
 

2017 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship Day 2: Palaniuk Keeps AOY Lead; Combs Leads with lbs!

AOY going down to the wire

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Last second giant keeps Brandon in AOY.
(Photo: BASS)

After two days of the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship, Brandon Palaniuk is still clinging to his lead in the race for the AOY season title.
 
But it’s been anything but easy.
 
The noted smallmouth specialist from Hayden, Idaho, caught just 10 smallies from Mille Lacs LakeFriday — and if hadn’t been for a 6-pounder that bit extremely late, he might have actually fallen out of the AOY lead.
 
“I just struggled to get bit,” Palaniuk said. “I was just catching one here, one there — and I wasn’t really catching any big ones. But then at 3:14 (p.m.), I made one final drop and caught a 6-pounder.”
 

Jason Christie Wins BASS Elite Lake St. Clair with Tournament with 88-08lbs!

Windy last day scatters leaderboard
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Second win on St. Clair for Christine who adjusted expertly on final day.
(Photo: BASS)

Catching a drum isn't usually much of a reason for a bass fisherman to get excited. They don't count in a bass tournament, and they can waste valuable fishing time while the angler fights and lands them.

But it certainly excited Jason Christie this week — mostly because every time he'd catch one, the smallmouth bass in the area would get excited, too.

Christie caught five smallmouth that weighed 22 pounds on Championship Sunday to push his four-day weight to 88 pounds, 8 ounces. It was enough to win the Advance Auto Parts Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair and keep the Oklahoma angler in contention for the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year title.

The drum were one of the keys to his week.

"Everything is lying on the bottom, and they were all eating crawdads," said Christie, who is now a five-time B.A.S.S. winner. "I can't tell you how many times I've caught a drum here this week — and as the drum was coming up, it would be spitting out crawdads. There would be smallmouth out there below them, just eating everything they could get their mouths on."

Summer Dock Fishing for Largemouth Bass with Luigi De Rose and IBASSIN

With the hot weather, the largemouth were hiding deep under the docks. Nothing beats a spinning rod and reel loaded with Power Pro braided line and a 4" tube jig. Watch as outdoor writer Luigi  De Rose snaps his tube under docks and boats to find good sized bass.

Five Fabulous Fall Baits for Bass: Tube jigs

Terribly terrific tubes.

By Luigi  De Rose

Tubes are a favourite of northern anglers and for good reason – they catch a lot of fish. Dragged on the bottom or pitched into shallow weeds, the tube is very versatile.  

Tube jigs are amazing at catching smallmouth and largemouth
in the autumn. 

Fall triggers a migration for bass from summer shallows to deeper water. Anglers who follow them will be able to benefit when bass school on predictable pieces of structure. One of the best presentations for catching bass during this calendar period is a tube. Regardless if bass are munching on craws or minnows, there is a colour scheme that will match the local prey perfectly.

Key Factors:

• Water depth
• Jighead size
• Hook quality
• Colours

 The most versatile open water method of rigging a tube is slipping an exposed jighead into the hollow cavity. Spinning gear is most ideal but baitcast loves don’t have to sulk as long as they scale down and lighten up on gear and line choice. A selection of jig weights from 1/8oz to 5/8oz will work everywhere regardless of wind speed and water depth. Don’t cheap out when shopping for jigs. Search for extra sharp hooks with good wire. You won’t recall how much you saved when a monster bass pulls free. 

Most baits are 3” or 4” and that is fine. Name brand tubes have salt or scent or both. The real key is to have a large selection of colours. Bass can ignore one colour and gobble up another. Rotated between proven colours and don’t be stubborn to change.

Many pros favour a rattle on the jighead. Finding jigs with one can be difficult but a bag of rattles and some heat shrink tubing can convert any jighead quickly.  Worrying about the details can be madding but it is usually better to rotate between spots than trying to force feed fall bass. 

Formosa and Saliba Win 2012 Bass Pro Shops Lake Simcoe Open ...For Fourth Time!

Official Press Release

Orillia, Ontario Canada

As 100 boats and 200 anglers blasted off on the calm waters of Lake Couchiching the morning of October 20th, many were surprised they had to deal with four foot waves as soon as they entered Lake Simcoe. Some turned around and headed back for calmer waters while others prevailed ... carefully manoeuvring their bass boats to productive fishing waters they found during practice period the week before. The Bass Pro Shops Lake Simcoe Open, hosted by the Aurora Bassmasters capitalizes on one of the world’s finest smallmouth fisheries. As good as Orillia’s Couchiching is ... Simcoe is bigger and so too are it’s smallmouth bass. In 2010, the winning team of Mark Moran and Joey Muszynski set the all time Canadian record with an incredible 31.5 pounds worth of smallmouth bass. During that same BPS Lake Simcoe Open event, a Canadian tournament record 8.05 smallmouth bass was also weighed in. 

IBASSIN Rules. Rule #2 Skipping

IBASSIN Rules. Rule #2 Skipping Finesse baits. Its a great method of catching bass. Learn on this how-to video to use a Senko and Tube to reach bass once though untouchable. This series of videos will make you a better bass angler

IBASSIN RULES: New Video Series