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CLAYTON, N.Y. — His home waters were off-limits this week, but that didn’t stop Canadian standout Chris Johnston from winning the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River with a whopping four-day total of 20 smallmouth bass that weighed 97 pounds, 8 ounces.

Chris Johnston, of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, has won the 2020 SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River with a four-day total of 97 pounds, 8 ounces. 

                                                                                             Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.

The first Canadian to claim an Elite title, Johnston was the only competitor to break 20 pounds each day. Hailing from Peterborough, Ontario, he placed second on Day 1 with 27-0 and held that position for two more days with weights of 24-12 and 23-0.

Entering Championship Sunday a little more than 2 pounds off the lead, Johnston added a final limit of 22-12 to surge ahead of Connecticut pro Paul Mueller and win by a margin of 1-10. Mueller had led the event all three days going into the final round.

“This has been a crazy year fishing-wise for me; I had two of the worst tournaments probably in my career and to bounce back and win on the St. Lawrence, of all places, is just incredible,” said Johnston, who finished 71st and 59th in the first two Elite Series events this year. “I’ve wanted a big tournament win on the St. Lawrence River bad, and it finally came together.

“I’ve watched Bassmaster my whole life and even if you’d asked me three or four years ago, I didn’t think I’d be here in this position. It’s been surreal. I can’t even describe how cool it feels.”
Throughout the week, Johnston used several baits, including a tube, a Ned rig and a black hair jig. On Sunday, he caught his fish on a drop shot with a green pumpkin Berkley Flat Worm. He needed a 3/8-ounce tungsten weight for proper presentations on Lake Ontario, where steady 6- to 8-foot waves made everything more difficult than it had been the three previous days.

The first two days saw Johnston plucking early keepers from a rocky point inside the river and then moving out to fish Lake Ontario rockpiles in 20 to 40 feet. On Saturday and Sunday, he did the majority of his work in the Great Lake.

The tournament’s first three days offered mostly calm conditions, but Sunday saw strong southwest winds which created conditions so rough that many anglers who qualified for the Championship round elected to stay in the safer confines of the St. Lawrence River. A lifetime of experience told Johnston Lake Ontario held his best opportunity to catch a winning bag, so he committed to one key area with several rockpiles in 20 to 50 feet of water along a 500-yard stretch.

“The biggest thing with the weather is just getting to your spot,” Johnston said of his safety-conscious navigation. “Once I got there, I just went upwind and drifted into the spot and then held on the spot as long as I could. Then I’d blow off the spot and do another drift.”

In 2019, Johnston experienced the inverse of this year’s finish, leading the St. Lawrence event for three days before settling for the runner-up position.

“Finishing second last year makes this win all that much sweeter,” Johnston said. “I can’t wait to get home and celebrate with family and friends.”

Johnston earned $102,000 for his victory.

Mueller finished in second place with 95-14. After leading the event for three days, he found the rough waters of Lake Ontario less generous. In the Championship round, he added 18-15 to his previous weights of 27-1, 25-1 and 24-13.

He targeted rockpiles and rock breaks in 17 to 21 feet and caught all of his fish on a drop shot with a Berkley Flat Worm in the natural shad color. Uncertain of how long it would take him to run back through the rough water to the weigh-in site, Mueller left the lake around 1:45 p.m. and ended up with time to fish the river.

“Honestly, I think I feel like I left too early because I didn’t know how rough it was going to be,” Mueller said. “I felt like everything else I did today was flawless. I should have pushed it to the max, but I had no idea how long it was going to take to get back and that’s just inexperience on a body of water with that type of wind.”

Mueller’s second prize earnings came to $27,000. He will also take home $3,000 for being the highest-placing entrant in the Toyota Bonus Bucks program.

Brock Mosley of Collinsville, Miss., finished third with 84-2. His daily weights were 24-2, 19-13, 20-4 and 19-15.

Celebrating the birth of his second child on Wednesday, Mosley bucked the overwhelmingly smallmouth-heavy trend and targeted St. Lawrence’s robust, but largely overlooked, largemouth population around residential docks and flat rock shoals.

“I caught all of my fish on a 3/8-ounce green pumpkin Z-Man Jack Hammer ChatterBait because I could cover a lot of water,” Mosley said. “That was the key. I had to cover a lot of water to run into a good one.

“I used a couple of different trailers so I could fish an area with one trailer and then go back through it with a different trailer. I ended up catching a few smallmouth, too, but I caught them fishing for largemouth.”

Mueller won the race for Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the week with his 7-13 smallmouth. The bass, which he described as the “fish of a lifetime,” was just 7 ounces shy of the New York state record and is believed to be the largest smallmouth ever caught in a B.A.S.S. event.

The tournament was hosted by Jefferson County in cooperation with the Village of Clayton and the 1000 Islands Clayton Chamber of Commerce.

2020 SiteOne Bassmaster Elite At St. Lawrence River Title Sponsor: SiteOne

2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota

2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Abu Garcia, Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Skeeter Boats, Talon, Yamaha

2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Carhartt, Garmin, Huk Performance Fishing, Mossy Oak Fishing, Rapala

2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Conservation Partners: AFTCO, Huk

2020 SiteOne Bassmaster Elite At St. Lawrence River Local Hosts: Jefferson County, Village of Clayton, 1000 Islands Clayton Chamber of Commerce

About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 515,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2 and The Pursuit Channel), radio show (Bassmaster Radio), social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens Series, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bassmaster Team Championship, new Huk Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series powered by TourneyX presented by Abu Garcia and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic.

The post Johnston Battles Rough Water To Win Bassmaster Elite At St. Lawrence River appeared first on Bass365.com.

CLAYTON, N.Y. — Paul Mueller continued his dominant performance Saturday with another big bag of smallmouth bass that weighed 24 pounds, 13 ounces.

Paul Mueller, of Naugatuck, Conn., is leading after Day 3 of the 2020 SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River with a three-day total of 76 pounds, 15 ounces. 

                                                                                                Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.

Added to his catches of 27-1 on Thursday and 25-1 on Friday, Mueller now has a three-day total of 76-15 that gives him the lead at the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River for the third straight round.

Sticking with his game plan, the Connecticut pro fished Lake Ontario and targeted rockpiles and breaks but remained shallower than the first two days and caught his fish in about 18 to 27 feet.

“I didn’t really look deep because I was disappointed with the deep fish yesterday,” Mueller said. “I probably could have run around a little more, but you have to make decisions and stick with them.”

Mueller again stuck with the drop shot baited with a Berkley MaxScent Flat Worm in the natural shad color. Great Lakes smallmouth bite plenty of bottom-oriented baits, but an abundance of sharp-shelled zebra mussels create constant perils that Mueller wisely avoided.

“Unless you really get on a high rock, you don’t run the risk of fraying your line above the line tie,” he said. “That’s why the drop shot is so effective because your landing ratio is higher than dragging a tube.”

Mueller noted that one of his keepers bit when he deadsticked his drop shot, meaning he applied no shaking motion. He couldn’t replicate that technique elsewhere, but Mueller noted that an overall strategy of slowing down and committing more time to each location seemed to be the right call.

“I told myself I was going to fish fewer places today, but I was going to fish them thoroughly,” Mueller said. “I did pull up on a fresh spot toward the end of the day and caught two 5-pounders, so that was a critical move.”

Each of Mueller’s keepers clearly mattered, but his third keeper of the day produced a highlight-reel moment. The 4-pounder bit right off the bow and immediately bolted to the back of the boat. Dashing around his outboard engine, the fish became entangled on one of his Power-Poles.

Mueller was able to grab his leader and hand line the fish close enough to scoop it into the boat.

“That was a positive thing because it could have been a disastrous deal, and I felt very blessed to be able to land it,” Mueller said. “The fish literally had about 8 feet of fluorocarbon leader attached to the Power-Pole and there was no way I was freeing it.

“Thankfully, I got my hands on the fish and she was still pretty hot. That was a special fish catch, for sure.”

Day 3 began with calm conditions, but wind and waves increased to bow-splashing levels by late morning. Sunday’s forecast for stronger southwest winds will further agitate Lake Ontario, but Mueller said he knows where he needs to fish.

“If I can go, I’m going to go,” he said. “I have some places I should be able to fish. You have to be smart and you have to be safe. That comes first, but if I can go, it’s a no-brainer.

“I have some spots in the river where I think I could put together a good bag, but the caliber of fish is much better in the lake.”

Chris Johnston of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada is in second place with 74-12. After making a couple of unproductive drifts on his river spot, he spent all day on Lake Ontario where he caught his bass over rockpiles in 20 to 40 feet.

“I changed up baits today and caught six or seven when I changed from a drop shot,” Johnston said of a clandestine move that paid big dividends. “I’ve caught them doing this before. It’s a bottom-contact bait, and they ate it really well.

“You can’t drag like you could on Lake Erie because there’s moss on the bottom. It’s a different presentation.”

Chad Morgenthaler of Reed Springs, Mo., is in third place with 69-15. Focusing on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario, he fished a drop shot with a Berkley finesse worm and caught his fish in 20 to 26 feet.

“I have areas and then I have some sweet spots in those areas, and that’s what I’m trying to stay around,” Morgenthaler said. “I’m just easing around with my Garmin LiveScope and looking for them. They might be on a rock, they might be out off the rock on a break.”

Mueller is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 7-13 — a bass that is believed to be the biggest smallmouth ever landed in an Elite Series event and possibly the largest caught in any B.A.S.S. event.

In addition to having his third career Elite Series victory within his grasp, Mueller needs 23-1 to earn one of the coveted Century Belts awarded to anglers who catch at least 100 pounds of bass in an Elite Series event. Johnston is 25-4 away from the 100-pound mark — and if either or both reach the mark, they would be the first to receive Century Belts for totals amassed exclusively with smallmouth.

The Top 10 remaining anglers will take off at 6:45 a.m. ET from the Clayton Antique Boat Museum. The weigh-in will be held back at the museum at 3 p.m., with a $100,000 first-place prize on the line.

Live coverage of the event will be available starting at 7 a.m. on Bassmaster LIVE at Bassmaster.com with simulcasts on ESPN2 and ESPN3. Check local listings for ESPN2 times.

The tournament is being hosted by Jefferson County in cooperation with the Village of Clayton and the 1000 Islands Clayton Chamber of Commerce.

2020 SiteOne Bassmaster Elite At St. Lawrence River Title Sponsor: SiteOne

2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota

2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Abu Garcia, Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Skeeter Boats, Talon, Yamaha

2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Carhartt, Garmin, Huk Performance Fishing, Mossy Oak Fishing, Rapala

2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Conservation Partners: AFTCO, Huk

2020 SiteOne Bassmaster Elite At St. Lawrence River Local Hosts: Jefferson County, Village of Clayton, 1000 Islands Clayton Chamber of Commerce

About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 515,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2 and The Pursuit Channel), radio show (Bassmaster Radio), social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens Series, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bassmaster Team Championship, new Huk Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series powered by TourneyX presented by Abu Garcia and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic.

The post Paul Mueller Still Setting The Pace At Bassmaster Elite On St. Lawrence River appeared first on Bass365.com.

Aaron Martens made his return the Major League Fishing’s Bass Pro Tour after dealing with some n=medical issues. Here is his reap from Sturgeon Bay.



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