By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
Lake Ontario wasn't a pleasant place to fish on day 4 of the St. Lawrence River Bassmaster Elite Series. A stiff wind out of the southwest created waves equal in height to an average NBA player and it was difficult enough just to remain on the deck of a bass boat, never mind make precise presentations to smallmouth bass clustered around deep rock formations. Multiple anglers who'd exploited Ontario to gain their positions in the final top 10 opted to fish the concluding round within the gentler confines of the river
Chris Johnston had been there and done that before, however. The resident of nearby Peterborough, Ontario has vast experience on the big lake and it benefited him on the final day as the water was roiled to a far greater extent than it had been throughout the week. He caught a 22-12 bag that gave him a 97-08 total, making him the first Canadian to win an Elite Series tournament.
After running neck-and-neck with three-day leader Paul Mueller throughout the derby, Johnston finally prevailed by a margin of just over 1 1/2 pounds. Mueller, the winner of the season opener at the St. Johns River, weighed 18-15 to finish with 95-14.
It'd been a lackluster season for Johnston to this point as he'd posted finishes of 71st at the St. Johns and 59th at Lake Eufaula. He was the runner-up at this event last year after leading through the first three rounds.
"It's been a crazy fishing year," he said. "I had two of my worst tournaments ever and then to bounce back here, of all places ... I'm kind of at a loss for words. I wanted this bad and it finally came together."
Johnston had to battle some big waves to catch his 22-12 bag on the final day.
The final round was a two-man duel as Johnston and Mueller left the other eight competitors far in their wake. Brock Mosley, who spent the tournament pursuing largemouth, ended up 3rd with 84-02 after an 18-15 bag on day 4. Chad Morgenthaler was 4th with 81-03 (14-15) and 2019 St. Lawrence winner Micah Frazier was 5th with 81-01 (18-13).
Japanese rookie Taku Ito, competing on a northern smallmouth venue for the first time, ended up 6th with 80-10 (17-02). He was followed by Cory Johnston (Chris' brother) with 80-09 (16-07), Clark Wendlandt with 76-11 (three fish for 10-01), Brad Whatley with 74-10 (14-01) and 2013 winner Brandon Palaniuk with 66-01 (three fish for 6-05).
Wendlandt took over the lead in the Angler of the Year (AOY) race as the tour heads about 160 miles east for this week's tournament at Lake Champlain. He holds a 15-point advantage over Buddy Gross, with Jamie Hartman, defending titlist Scott Canterbury and Matt Arey rounding out the top 5.
Johnston vowed after day 3 – when he was a little more than 2 pounds behind Mueller – that he'd spend the final round on the lake unless the wind made it impossible to reach his fishing locales. He did most of his day-4 work on a 100-yard stretch of rocks that were part of a shoal adjacent to an island.
Runner-up Paul Mueller wishes he'd spent an additional hour fishing Lake Ontario.
He fished in 20 to 50 feet of water with a dropshot rig throughout the week. His two biggest final-round fish came from the lower end of that range.
"I had to put my big-boy pants on and go out there," he said. "I knew I didn't have a chance of catching what I needed in the river. Luckily I got out there and I was able to get it done.
"I tried saving fish all week and I think it helped. I got five good bites today and they were all I needed."
Mueller said his lone regret was leaving the lake as early as he did on day. He had a 5 1/4-pounder in his sack, but was forced to weigh in a 2 1/2.
"I didn't know how rough it was going to get because I don't have any experience on the lake in those conditions," he said. "I thought I could get one good bite in the river, but it didn't happen.
"I probably could've stayed another hour in the lake and if I'd done that, I'm confident I could've caught one more big fish. You can't have a fish as small as my littlest in your stringer – that just kills you."
Notable
> Day 4 stats – 10 anglers, 8 limits, 2 threes.
Day 4 (Final) Standings
1. Chris Johnston -- Peterborough, ON -- 20, 97-08 -- 100 -- $102,000
Day 1: 5, 27-00 -- Day 2: 5, 24-12 -- Day 3: 5, 23-00 -- Day 4: 5, 22-12
2. Paul Mueller -- Naugatuck, CT -- 20, 95-14 -- 99 -- $27,000
Day 1: 5, 27-01 -- Day 2: 5, 25-01 -- Day 3: 5, 24-13 -- Day 4: 5, 18-15
3. Brock Mosley -- Collinsville, MS -- 20, 84-02 -- 98 -- $21,000
Day 1: 5, 24-02 -- Day 2: 5, 19-13 -- Day 3: 5, 20-04 -- Day 4: 5, 19-15
4. Chad Morgenthaler -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 20, 81-03 -- 97 -- $15,000
Day 1: 5, 23-06 -- Day 2: 5, 24-01 -- Day 3: 5, 22-08 -- Day 4: 5, 11-04
5. Micah Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 20, 81-01 -- 96 -- $15,000
Day 1: 5, 22-12 -- Day 2: 5, 19-13 -- Day 3: 5, 19-11 -- Day 4: 5, 18-13
6. Taku Ito -- Chiba, JAPAN -- 20, 80-10 -- 95 -- $15,000
Day 1: 5, 20-08 -- Day 2: 5, 23-00 -- Day 3: 5, 20-00 -- Day 4: 5, 17-02
7. Cory Johnston -- Cavan, ON -- 20, 80-09 -- 94 -- $15,000
Day 1: 5, 19-07 -- Day 2: 5, 19-03 -- Day 3: 5, 25-08 -- Day 4: 5, 16-07
8. Clark Wendlandt -- Leander, TX -- 18, 76-11 -- 93 -- $15,000
Day 1: 5, 26-03 -- Day 2: 5, 21-10 -- Day 3: 5, 18-13 -- Day 4: 3, 10-01
9. Brad Whatley -- Bivins, TX -- 20, 74-10 -- 92 -- $15,000
Day 1: 5, 19-06 -- Day 2: 5, 19-08 -- Day 3: 5, 21-11 -- Day 4: 5, 14-01
10. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 18, 66-01 -- 91 -- $15,000
Day 1: 5, 17-08 -- Day 2: 5, 21-15 -- Day 3: 5, 20-05 -- Day 4: 3, 06-05
