John Crews Wins 2022 AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River!

John Crews of Salem, Va., has won the 2022 AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns 

River with a four-day total of 75 pounds, 4 ounces. Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S

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PALATKA, Fla. — Mother Nature did not serve up slam-dunk potential, but John Crews leveraged a stellar start and paired it with steady productivity to win the AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River with a four-day total of 75 pounds, 4 ounces.

 Edging Bob Downey of Hudson, Wis., by 1 1/4 pounds, Crews won the top prize of $100,000 and added another blue trophy to the one he claimed a dozen years ago on the California Delta.

 

“I’ve said it 100 times, ‘When it’s your time, it’s your time,’” Crews said. “This week, it was just my time.”
 

Crews, who finished second and fifth at the St. Johns Elite in 2020 and 2019, respectively, took the Day 1 lead with 28 pounds — the event’s third-heaviest bag, behind the 31-15 that John Cox weighed on Day 3 and Downey’s Day 4 limit of 29-3. Crews’ opening catch included an 8-1.

 

After adding 17-3 on Day 2, Crews fought through a tougher semifinal round on Saturday to catch a 13-pound limit, anchored by a 6-pounder. On Championship Sunday, he sealed the win with 17-1.

 

Starting his 17th year on the Elite Series, Crews acknowledged the supreme challenge of a clean sweep and said consistency drove him to victory. He fished clean, lost no keepers and made good decisions throughout a week marked by moody Florida weather and unsettled fish.