Johnston reels in first FLW Tour win in Florida
Peterborough pro angler Chris Johnston picked up his first FLW Tour victory Sunday in Leesburg, Fla. Johnston brought a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 6 ounces, to the scale at the Harris Chain of Lakes with a four-day total of 20 bass weighing 79 pounds, 6 ounces. Johnston’s cumulative weight was enough to edge fellow Canadian Jeff Gustafson, of Keewatin, Ont., to earn a cheque for $125,000. “You couldn’t ask for anything better — two Canadians up here (on the weigh-in stage),” said Johnston, who is now leading the 2018 FLW Tour Angler of the Year standings after posting two strong finishes to open the FLW Tour season. “We’re buddies. We’re going to go home happy and back to some snow and ice. It’s a vacation down here, coming to Florida, and for us to finish one and two, what more could you ask for?” Johnston’s first stop on Sunday was a 12-foot-deep, 100-yard indentation along a weed edge on Lake Harris. A key location for him this week, Johnston used a jerkbait and half-ounce goldcolored lipless crankbait to lure fish feeding around a shad spawn. “I went there first thing in the morning, but was a little nervous because the bite was getting shorter each day I visited it,” Johnston said. “I couldn’t catch them there reeling. I’d let the crankbait go to the bottom and then yo-yo it to make it look like a dying shad. I’d do that after they quit chasing the jerkbait.” Johnston weighed a tournament-best 25 pounds, 7 ounces, from the area Friday, but could only catch one useful fish Sunday — a 3-pounder. “I moved on to my secondary area, which was near Gussy (Gustafson),” Johnston said. “It was another hydrilla flat, about a mile from the takeoff ramp. Those fish were on top, so I switched to a (white) vibrating jig with a Jackall Rhythm Wave swimbait and casted over it.” Johnston said he hit a small flurry, but ultimately decided to leave and try other areas. After two hours with no bites, he returned to the flat and was able to cap off his limit. “I stopped a ways out from where I’d hit the first flurry, and just as I put the trolling motor down I saw a big swirl about 50 yards away,” Johnston said. “I fired my vibrating jig out, made a couple cranks and the bass knocked it like 2 feet. It was my biggest fish today — a 4 pounder. In 15 minutes I caught around 10 bass, including a couple of 3-pounders. That last flurry was what sealed the deal for me.”