Johnston Targets Beds for Big Limit

Jester wins co-angler title

Cory Johnston of Cavan, Ontario, Canada, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 25 pounds, 13 ounces Saturday to win the second Walmart Bass Fishing League Northeast Division tournament of 2015 on 1000 Islands. For his victory, Johnston earned $5,632.

Johnston said he spent his day targeting spawning and postspawn bass in 3 to 18 feet of water in the mouth of the St. Lawrence River.

“After takeoff I made an hour and a half run to where a lot of bass were spawning,” Johnston said. “I spent a lot of time gathering waypoints up there so I wanted to put them to good use.

“I was able to grab a couple 5-pounders fairly quick,” continued Johnston. “Then I chased postspawners. I had some fish pegged farther down the river in deeper water that I knew no one knew about. I went to that spot around 12:30 p.m. and pulled in two more 5-pound fish.”

Johnston said he caught the majority of his 10 to 15 keepers drop-shotting a green-pumpkin Jackall Eye Shad and a Jackall Crosstail Shad.

“I won this tournament because I spent a lot of time looking for the big bedding fish,” Johnston concluded. “You have to be able to judge their size without catching them to make sure you’re going to get the right ones.”

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:          Cory Johnston, Cavan, Ontario, Canada, five bass, 25-13, $3,632 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2^nd:         Jamie Hartman, Newport, N.Y., five bass, 25-2, $1,816

3^rd:          Charles Sim, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, five bass, 25-0, $1,210

4^th:          Matthew Clary, Massena, N.Y., five bass, 23-8, $847

5^th:          Travis Manson, Conshohocken, Pa., five bass, 23-2, $726

6^th:          Chris Flint, Potsdam, N.Y., five bass, 21-2, $666

7^th:          Joe Hodak, Clymer, Pa., five bass, 20-7, $605

8^th:          George Hutchinson, Mullica Hill, N.J., five bass, 20-3, $545

9^th:          Grae Buck, Harleysville, Pa., five bass, 20-2, $484

10^th:        Patrick Grady, Chaumont, N.Y., five bass, 19-3, $424              

Complete results can be found here.  

Sim caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 12 ounces and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $465.

Jester wins co-angler title

Ken Jester of Landenberg, Pennsylvania, weighed in five bass totaling 20 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win $1,816 in the co-angler division.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st:          Ken Jester, Landenberg, Pa., five bass, 20-11, $1,816

2^nd:         Eric Correll, Birdsboro, Pa., five bass, 19-10, $908

3^rd:          Brett Holmes, Claverack, N.Y., five bass, 18-0, $606

4^th:          Jacob Weisman, Nanjemoy, Md., five bass, 17-13, $424

5^th:          Ethan Brothers, Massena, N.Y., five bass, 17-3, $363

6^th:          David Ehrentraut, Locke, N.Y., five bass, 16-12, $333

7^th:          Dan Schoneveld, Hopatcong, N.J., five bass, 16-11, $303

8^th:          Frank Hutchinson, Sewell, N.J., five bass, 16-1, $272

9^th:          Terry Beck, Lock Haven, Pa., five bass, 15-12, $242

10^th:        John Duarte, Middle River, Md., five bass, 15-11, $212

Weisman caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $116.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 8-10 Regional Championship on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.