Johnson Leads Bassmaster Open On Red River
Aaron Johnson of Shreveport, La., takes the lead on Day 1 of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open #2 presented by Allstate. Johnson brought 20 pounds, 8 ounces of Red River bass to the scales at Thursday’s weigh-in.
Aaron Johnson, of Shreveport, La., has a strategy that other local anglers might want to try when fishing tournaments on their home waters.
Johnson decided to skip the final day of practice for the Bass Pro Shops Central Open #2 presented by Allstate on the Red River and went to work instead. Even though he lives close to the river, Johnson said he limits the amount of time he spends on the water.
“The river is pretty rough on my equipment, so I don’t come here that often unless I have a tournament,” said the 41-year-old Johnson. The sales and marketing manager practiced on Saturday but skipped Sunday to spend time with his family. He then resumed practicing Monday and Tuesday and found five spots that were holding bass.
His strategy of fishing the river “only when I have to” paid off today as Johnson amassed a five-fish limit weighing 20 pounds, 8 ounces to take the lead in the boater division of the second Central Opens of 2014. His catch included a 7-13 largemouth that currently leads the Carhartt Big Bass of the tournament race.
Today’s cloudy weather caused the fish to react differently than what Johnson discovered in practice. “I really wanted the sunshine, but it was just out a little bit,” said Johnson, who won a Central Open in 2008 at Kentucky Lake. “The fish really weren’t setting up on the cover, but I was able to figure out how to get them to bite (in the cloudy weather),” he said. “Once I got that figured out, I popped them pretty good.”
A 45-mile one-way run and lock negotiation limited Johnson’s fishing time today. The local angler estimated he had only about 3 1/2 hours to fish, but he made the most of his time. He also has plenty of options available for tomorrow as he only hit one of his five spots today. “I will probably bounce around a little bit more tomorrow just because I have a later flight, so I should have a lot more time to cover more areas,” he said.
Another Shreveport angler, Colby Hand, moved into second place on the pro side with a 16-2 limit. The 36-year-old construction worker said he had a “so-so” practice catching only a couple of good fish here and there, but never really established a pattern.
“I didn’t make any adjustments today really,” said Hand, who ran to about five spots and caught his limit by about 9 a.m.
Rounding out the Top 5 on the pro side are Tommy Murray, Bedford, Texas, in third place with 15-6; Larry Puckett, Decatur, Texas, fourth, 15-4; and Elite Series pro, Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., fifth, 14-15.
Co-angler Logan Latuso, of Gonzales, La., hopes to repeat what his father Robbie Latuso, a longtime B.A.S.S. Nation angler, did back in 2009 when he won the non-boater division of the Central Open at Toledo Bend. The 20-year-old Latuso, who works for his dad and attends a community college, leads the non-boater division with a three-fish limit weighing 12-5. “I had to grind it out and had the three right bites,” Logan said.
The local host for this event is the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. Friday and Saturday’s takeoff, as well as Friday’s weigh-in will be held at the Red River South Marina, 200 Red River South Marina Drive, Bossier City, La. The final day weigh-in will move to the Bass Pro Shops at 101 Bass Pro Drive, in Bossier City.
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