By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor


Johnny Johnson has fished in the U.S. Open since the mid-1990s. Never before had he competed against a bigger field – 186 boats – amid tougher conditions in the premier bass tournament out West.

But Johnson persevered and his experience at Lake Mead paid off. He was one of just seven anglers to catch a limit all three days of competition and his 11.00 stringer on the final day was enough to capture his first U.S. Open victory with a 27.65 total, good for a two-pound margin over runner-up Clayton Meyer.

“I’m still trying to soak it in,” Johnson said Thursday. “I’d never dreamed in a million years this would ever happen.”

It had already been a good tournament year for Johnson, who won the inaugural event in the new Wild West Bass Trail at Lake Pleasant in January, but this victory immediately trumps any others he’s had.

“Bar none, it’s right at the top,” he said. “Seeing that we don’t have the Bsssmasters out west, this is our Classic out here. This is the one to hit.”

To illustrate how tough Mead was this week, Roy Hawk, who won last year’s Open, weighed in just two fish and finished 175th.

“This was one of the toughest Opens I’ve ever fished,” Johnson said.

The most notable obstacle was the wind, which was stiff and persistent on days 1 and 2.

“The wind was brutal, especially getting across the basin up to Temple Bar and Greg’s Basin,” he said.

The other difficulty he found was catching fish on a consistent basis.

“I did find a small pattern, but my concern was my terrible practice,” he said. “I thought I’d stay with a dropshot, plus a spinnerbait helped me when the wind was kicking up.”

He made the most of his experience and shifted his focus away from reaction baits to a dropshot along bluff walls with a spinnerbait as his other go-to option. The first two days of competition featured significant winds and 3- to 4-foot rollers before things settled down on Wednesday.

“Over the last five years, I’ve finally started figuring something out here,” he said. “I’ve cashed a check in the last five Opens. It’s a temperamental lake, but I’m learning it.”

Here’s how Johnson dialed things in.

Practice

After five days of practice, he was worried heading into the tournament. The reaction bait bite he was hoping to tap into wasn’t there and the conditions were among the toughest he’d ever dealt with. After catching seven fish through the first three days of practice, including none on day 1, he scrapped the reaction bait plan.

“I figured topwater and reaction baits would work,” he said. “I could move around the lake and find them on reaction baits because that’s what normally happens here. Even the jig bite was off. I said, ‘That’s not good.’ So I decided to go with a dropshot rod and that was all I basically wound up using. “

Competition

> Day 1: 5, 7.00
> Day 2: 5, 9.65
> Day 3: 5, 11.00
> Total = 15, 27.65

Johnson came into the tournament “trying to save face and basically punt,” after a trying practice session.

“I went from hoping to win to trying to cash a check,” he added.

He figured if he could be consistent and average 6 or 7 pounds per day, he’d finish in the money.

“That’s why I went with the dropshot,” he said. “It’s what I have confidence in.”

He scratched together seven keepers on day 1 amid 30-mph winds and wound up with 7.00 pounds, which had him in 41st place.

“I probably hit 30 spots per day,” he said.

Johnson said he noticed the fish are starting to get grouped up, but weren’t quite to the point where there would be significant schooling activity.

“A lot of times I’d go into an area and catch two fish per spot,” he said. “It was not one or two here or there. They’re starting to get grouped up for fall. In a couple weeks, the topwater bite is getting ready to explode. It’s not quite there yet.”

On day 2, he stuck with his mix of 4” worms on a dropshot, but also had success with a white spinnerbait reeled across flat, wind-blown rocky points.

“My pattern was good enough to get a limit and that’s all I was hoping for,” he said.

He weighed 9.65 pounds, the biggest bag of day 2, and shot up to 4th place with 16.65 overall.

With calmer conditions on Wednesday, he was able to stick mostly with the dropshot. His first fish was a 3-pounder and that set the tone for his 11-pound day, the biggest of the final day.

“I thought I’ve got a chance,” he said. “I thought if I get another fish like that and a limit, I’ve got a chance to win. I just put my head down and relaxed. That was the key.”

After practice, he didn’t anticipate catching progressively bigger stringers each day.

“When I went out, I was just hoping just to get a bite,” he said. “I’m very humble when it comes to this game. I know that when you’re watching people blank.”

Winning Pattern Notes

> The key element to the bluffs Johnson targeted was the presence of grass; even the smallest patch seemed to hold fish.

“If you found any kind of grass coming off the cliff, where my boat would be in 50 to 60 feet and I’d look down and the graph said, ’35 feet,’ I’d throw out,” he said. “Any time I got around a grass patch on the wall I’d get bit. Those grass ledges – if you didn’t have that you weren’t catching fish.”

He was able to follow that pattern and go behind other competitors and catch fish they missed.

“It was crazy being able to do that,” he said.

> He also wasn’t afraid to target banks that looked non-descript that other boats has passed over.

“I’d look across the lake and see the ugliest bank that nobody was on and if there was even the smallest bit of grass and a ledge, there’d be a fish there,” he added. “Fishing water nobody wants to fish was a big key.”

Winning Gear Notes

> Dropshot gear: 7’2” medium-light Taipan Elite Series spinning rod, Shimano Stradic spinning reel, 15-pound Seaguar Smackdown braided line, 6-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS fluorocarbon line (leader), #1 Roboworm Rebarb hook, 4” Roboworm worm (Aaron’s magic), 4” Cactus Wren Quail Tail worm (scorpion).

> Spinnerbait gear: 7’6” medium-heavy Taipan casting rod, Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris Signature Series casting reel (6.2:1 ratio), 17-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS fluorocarbon line, 1/2-oz. Persuader spinnerbait (white).

> Johnson said he tried using a trailer hook, but his catch rates increased once he removed it.

The Bottom Line

> Main factor in his success – “Keeping my emotions in check. I think you can fish too fast. I had to slow down. You find yourself speed-shotting if you emotions are not in check when you’re doing well.”

> Performance edge – “My Nitro Z21/merc packagae in those 4-footers was like butter. It got me back and forth. I made that run every day.”

Final Results

> For complete results, click here.

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