Cory Johnston Crushes the Competition: $101,000 and His First Bassmaster Elite Trophy

Originally posted on Men's Journal | By Kurt Mazurek | Last updated 4/21/24

Cory Johnston fished all four days of the tournament. But it turns out, even if he hadn’t launched his boat on Championship Sunday, he still would have won.

In a good old display of bass fishing know-how and technical proficiency, the Canadian Elite pro bagged a four-day total of 93 pounds, with a winning margin of 21-2 over second place, Brad Whatley. But Johnston’s total at the end of day three— 73-13 —would have edged Whatley’s four-day tournament total of 72-4 by 1-9.

“Everyone who fishes these tournaments dreams of winning one of these blue trophies,” said Johnston, who took home the $101,000 top prize. “I don’t know what to say; it was just one of those weeks that was absolutely incredible. People say, ‘When it’s your time, it’s your time.’ This week, I couldn’t do anything wrong.”

Johnston’s winning margin was the second largest in Elite history (behind Patrick Walters’ 29-10 record at Lake Fork in 2020). This is only the 15th time an Elite Series competitor has recorded a double-digit winning margin.

Johnston placed second on Day 1 with 23-3, took the lead with a second-round catch of 27-8, and held on to the top spot with a Semifinal Saturday limit of 23-2.

With Johnston carrying a 14-pound lead into the final round, a come-from-behind victory would have required either a stumble at the top, or heroics somewhere below.

Neither occurred and with Johnston turning in a Championship Sunday limit of 19-9, he strolled across the finish line to claim his first blue trophy. With a trio of second-place Elite finishes (Lake St. Clair 2020, St. Lawrence River 2022 and 2023), Johnston said that finally closing an Elite win was hugely rewarding.

“It’s been five years (on the Elites) and I’ve been so close so many times,” Johnston said. “To finally get it done, I can’t even describe it.”

All week, Johnston targeted bed fish in Salt Springs, which runs off the northwest side of Lake George. Noting that he relied heavily on Garmin Perspective Mode and his Power-Pole Move trolling motor, Johnston said he caught those fish by flipping various worms and creature baits and drop shotting a finesse worm.

On Day 4, Johnston sensed his main pattern was dwindling, so he started his morning by flipping pads on the main river. This produced a couple of his limit fish, including his biggest catch, a 7-12.

“I managed my fish well and made good decisions,” Johnston said. “Flipping pads today was probably the best decision, in my mind, that I could’ve made.”

Here’s the rundown of the Top 10 finishers:
1. Cory Johnston -Otonabee Ontario CANADA -93-06 -$101,000.00
 2. Brad Whatley -Bivins, TX -72-04 -$40,000.00 
3. Jacob Foutz -Charleston, TN -71-06 -$30,000.00  
4. Drew Benton -Panama City, FL -70-11 -$25,000.00 
5. Chris Johnston -Otonabee Ontario CANADA -70-00 -$20,000.00
 6. Greg Hackney -Gonzales, LA -67-15 -$19,000.00  
7. Jason Christie -Dry Creek, OK -66-09 -$18,000.00
 8. Ray Hanselman Jr. -Del Rio, TX -66-09 -$17,000.00 
9. Matt Arey -Shelby, NC -64-13 -$16,000.00
 10. Logan Latuso -Gonzales, LA -63-15 -$15,000.00 

With four tournaments of the 2024 Elite Series completed, and five remaining,Rookie Trey McKinney of Carbondale, Ill., is leading the Angler of the Year race. McKinney has 380 points, followed by Jordan Lee of Cullman, Ala., with 375, Canadian Chris Johnston with 342, Tyler Williams of Belgrade, Maine, with 338 and Cory Johnston with 335.

For full tournament details, check out bassmaster.com.

This article first appeared on Men's Journal and was syndicated with permission.

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