By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor

Judging from his first two seasons as a pro on the FLW Tour, the smart money would’ve been on Jason Johnson continuing his upward trajectory in 2017.

Following a strong three-year stint as a co-angler, the Georgia native was a respectable 89th in points as a rookie in 2015, then jumped up to 53rd the following year. The stage was set for him to challenge for a Forrest Wood Cup berth in his third year, which featured an expanded seven-event schedule.

Nothing went as he’d hoped or planned, however, and he absorbed six straight finishes of 81st or lower before finishing the year with a 25th at the Potomac River, his only money finish of a dismal and sour 2017 campaign.

What’s more is he was buried in 130th in points and in jeopardy of not receiving an invitation for the 2018 Tour season. Since he runs a Phoenix boat, he does not enjoy the benefits bestowed upon Ranger owners when it comes to the registration pecking order for the upcoming season. As of today, he will be able compete next year thanks to a sponsor exemption through T-H Marine Products.

“It’s been a roller-coaster ride – an up-and-down battle,” Johnson said when asked to sum up his first three years on Tour. “The first two years, I broke even on entry fees. With the money I made as a co-angler, I was able to cover the first two years. Last year was a disaster from the start.”

Unexpected Loss

Johnson’s season was already in a tailspin after four events this year. He followed three triple-digit finishes with an 81st at Lake Cumberland, but nothing prepared him for what came next.

About a week before the start of the next tournament at Beaver Lake, Johnson’s older brother passed away unexpectedly. The memorial service was held the day before Johnson was due to leave for northwest Arkansas. His initial thought was to skip the event and stay home with his family. His mom insisted he finish the season.

“I wouldn’t have gone to Beaver, but my mom wanted me to go and to be fishing,” he said. “I didn’t use it as an excuse and I’m not now, but my head wasn’t right after that the rest of the year.”

Focusing in practice was difficult, but he said he was able to generate bites as the water continued to rise before the tournament. Once competition began, his success rate dissipated.

“I wasn’t motivated in practice, but everything was working out,” he said. “I was following fish with the flood water coming up and I really felt good about it, but the conditions stayed the same. I had key bites that I lost, but I couldn’t keep on them like I did in practice.”

He carded a 109th at Beaver and was 125th at the Mississippi River before heading to the nation’s capital for the season finale at the Potomac River. He had a top-30 finish there in 2012 as a co-angler, but was 106th as a pro in 2015.

He admits fishing shallow grass is far from his strong suit, but he learned a lot and gained a lot of confidence from his 25th-place effort.

“It was a big mental boost for my shallow grass fishing,” he said. “If you ask around, you’ll find I’ve always tried to find my own stuff away from the crowds. The Potomac showed me that in that style of tournament, you have to be willing to get in there and fish around other people. It gives me confidence going to Florida for the first two events (of 2018).”

Loving Lanier

Johnson is hoping to carry over the momentum from the Potomac to the two events in Florida to kick off the 2018 Tour season, but it’s the tournament immediately after the Florida swing at Lake Lanier that has him jacked up.

He grew up fishing Lanier and couldn’t be happier to have a home game of sorts to look forward to. He said he’ll be surprised (and disappointed) if he doesn’t make the day-2 cut (top 30) next March.

“If they’d have come earlier, the water would be colder and I’d have more of a home-lake advantage,” he said. “It’ll be one of the bigger surprise weight tournaments of the year on the high side. They’re feeding and waiting to spawn and they’ll be as big as they are all year. That time of year, you can win anywhere on the lake.

“I’ve told people it’s the best spotted bass tournament lake in America. It typically takes 17 1/2 to 22 pounds week after week to win tournaments here.”

Lanier will begin a stretch of the schedule where Johnson can play to his strengths – finesse fishing. It’ll be a factor at Smith Lake in late April and certainly at Lake St. Clair for the season finale in June. Johnson honed his finesse skills during his days as a co-angler. He had some of the top finesse anglers as practice partners in Brett Hite, Brent Ehrler and Cody Meyer.

“We always joke about how a Georgia redneck was able to fit in with some West Coast guys,” Johnson said. “The key for me was being laid back and wanting to learn. It allowed me to make some money. It just happened. I wasn’t focused on trying to catch fish back then. I signed up with a don’t-care attitude about catching fish. I wanted to meet people and get a feel for how a big tournament is run.”