Kennesaw, GA- Chris Johnston of Peterborough, Ontario brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 27 pounds, 6 ounces to win the three-day Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. at the St. Lawrence River in Massena, New York. Johnston’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 77-15 secured him the win by a 6-pound, 5-ounce margin over his brother Cory Johnston, who finished in second place with 71 pounds, 10 ounces. Chris took home the top payout of $39,048 in the second tournament of the 2021 Toyota Series Northern Division.
Though he’s a former FLW Tour and B.A.S.S. Elite Series champion, Chris said he’s been foiled by Toyota Series events on the St. Lawrence and the associated waters too many times over the last several years. After running hundreds of miles over the three-day event, from Massena to Lake Ontario each day, he said he was excited to finally get the win.
Johnston caught 25-pound bags the first two days of the event and mixed in a few river bass on each day. On Day 3, his goal was to finish in style.
“It was good, but I didn’t have a lot of time,” he said. “People think it’s easy to go out there and catch a big bag, but it’s really not. I didn’t have a spot that was loaded. I only hit two spots on Day 3, but they weren’t loaded. I had to work for them and I needed all four hours to catch them."
“My starting spot on Day 3 never had a bass on it. On Day 2, I hit two spots that were dry. That’s what’s scary, when you’re making that run, if you hit two spots in a row that don’t have fish on them, you don’t have enough time to be running around.”
Both Chris and Cory credit a SPRO prototype soft plastic bait for their success this past weekend. The brothers used the bait while it was still in testing phases while providing feedback to SPRO. Pairing the unreleased bait with the Gamakatsu® Aaron Martens Tournament Grade Wire #2 drop shot hooks proved to be the ticket.
“I had a river spot that I was counting on for Day 1,” Chris said. “I caught three good ones off it. It’s just a break that they get on, and when it's sunny and calm I could see them, that’s how I found them. They’re hard to catch though. They knew the gig was up because I only got two the second day.”
As for the lake, Chris said he mostly fished small sections of deep rock in 20 to 40 feet of water so that he wouldn’t get too bogged down. “I could roll up to a spot, fish it 10 or 15 minutes, and I’d know whether they were biting,” he said.
Chris relies on SPRO’s cutting-edge technology and versatile arsenal of baits to keep him prepared on the water all year long. From hard baits, soft baits, terminal, jigs and gear, SPRO has anglers covered no matter the season or pursuit.
?“SPRO is incredibly proud of both Chris and Cory for the way they performed and conducted themselves this past weekend,” said Syd Rives, Marketing Director for SPRO.
"Chris overcame challenges and persisted until the very end to secure the win. We're very excited about this win for him and his family and are confident that he and other anglers like him will continue to be solid ambassadors for our sport and brand.”
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