Cory Johnston caught a 14-01 limit Saturday to win the Oneida Lake Northern FLW Series with a three-day total of 50-04.
For his win, the FLW Tour angler took home $77,778, including a new boat/motor package. He also won the James River Northern FLW Series last year.
“I spent the first two days of the tournament running shallow rock piles,” said Johnston, who also claimed the Angler of the Year award in the Northern Division. “I started on the east end of the lake and worked my way west, hitting about 20 isolated piles along the way.”
Johnston said he used a bluegill-colored Jackall topwater bait to dissect his piles, but fan-casted a green-pumpkin Strike King Coffee Tube and a 4-inch green-pumpkin Yamamoto Baits Senko when the fish were spooked.
On Saturday, Johnston said he switched tactics, opting to fish deeper using an umbrella rig with Electric Shad-colored Keitech Swimbaits. Additional details of his winning pattern will be published at a later date.
Casey Smith climbed to 2nd with 46-01 and Ian Renfrew took 3rd with 44-14. Chris Johnston, Cory's brother, took 4th with 44-12 while Lawrence Mazur was 5th with 44-03.
The top 10 pros on Oneida Lake were:
1. Cory Johnston: 50-04
2. Casey Smith: 46-01
3. Ian Renfrew: 44-14
4. Chris Johnston: 44-12
5. Lawrence Mazur: 44-03
6. Kyle Weisenburger: 41-07
7. Ed Casey: 41-05
8. Jim Vitaro: 38-13
9. Jason Shipton: 35-12
10. Lucas McDaniel: 34-03
