SCOTTSBORO, Ala. — Cory Johnston’s no stranger to cold weather, so the Canadian star confronted a frosty fishery with a sensible game plan that delivered a 24-pound, 9-ounce limit that leads Day 1 of the FXR Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville.
In a tight Top 10 where only 2-11 separates first and 10th, Johnston holds a 3-ounce lead over Bryant Smith.
Johnston said his action started early, but he never established any consistency. Ultimately, he attributes his success to mobility and persistence.
“I started off with a few fish in the morning and then rotated a bunch of areas,” Johnston said. “Late in the day, I got into one area and had a few key bites, but it was one fish here and there all day.
“There was no specific spot. It was just covering water.”
Johnston said the day’s plodding pace fit with the impression he took from practice. As he explained, the three days he spent exploring Guntersville prior to the tournament yielded moderate quality with minimal quantity.
“I wasn’t getting a lot of bites, but I was getting some big bites in practice,” Johnston said. “It was exactly what I expected.
“I had a limit around 11 o’clock and then I caught the last one at 2 o’clock. It was just random. You don’t get a lot of bites, but it’s generally the big ones.”
Noting that he targeted a mix of grass and hard bottom, Johnston said he caught all of his fish on two reaction baits. Slower retrieves produced best in the cold water, but he was not surprised to find the fish feeding.
“I think they’re used to this cold weather here,” Johnston said. “I think it shut them down a little bit, but they’re still going to bite. It’s Lake Guntersville, it has grass, so they’re gonna bite.”
Following an extended period of extreme cold, anglers faced a frigid Guntersville with ice sheeting several of the creeks and backwaters. Takeoff found air temperatures in the upper 20s with the afternoon sun raising that level to about 41 degrees.
Water temperatures in the upper 30s presented some of the most extreme conditions the Elites have ever faced. Most avoided the iced-in areas, but the low air temperatures presented frequent equipment challenges.
“The only ice I saw was in my rod guides,” Johnston said. “I put a little vaseline in the guides today. That helps keep them from freezing up so quickly.”
Looking ahead to the second round of competition, Johnston said he suspects he’ll need to expand past the areas that produced his Day 1 catch.
“I’m gonna look for new water; that’s the name of the game,” he said. “There are so many boats out here, you have to find fresh fish.”
Hailing from Roseville, Calif., Smith is in second place with 24-6. Although he had located a promising area in practice, Smith said his day’s results greatly exceeded his expectation.
“It was way better than I could’ve expected,” Smith said. “Honestly, going into this event, I was just shooting for a limit.
“I had an area that I knew had quite a few fish in it, but they’ve been kinda spread out. I figured if I could just cover enough water in that area, I could run into a few little groups of them and that’s kinda what happened.”
Describing his location strategy, Smith said: “I made about a 20-mile run, just trying to get away from some of the pressure. That Goose Pond area (the tournament site) was getting a lot of pressure, so I tried to stay away from that as best I could.
“Every one of my fish came out of grass in 3 to 7 feet.”
Smith said a single reaction bait produced all of his fish. He got the right bites, but it took him most of the day to amass his weight.
“It was one fish here, one fish there, two fish there,” he said. “It wasn’t a one-cast deal by any means; it was just covering water and hopefully, you’d put it in front of them.”
Bryan Schmitt of Deale, Md., is in third place with 24-5. Starting his morning with a big kicker set the tone for the rest of his day.
“I had a 7-4 on my first cast of the day,” Schmitt said. “A big fish like that definitely eases the cold (discomfort), but it seems like you can catch them late too.
“It was a blessing today, but even if you have a few minutes left, as it warms up in the afternoon, you can get some bites.”
Schmitt, who calls the grassy Potomac River his home waters, caught his fish on two reaction baits. He fished both in the same habitat scenarios to give his fish varying looks.
“This is a river system, it’s full of grass, so I’m in heaven,” he said.
Friday’s takeoff is scheduled for 7 a.m. CT at Goose Pond. The weigh-in will be held at the same location at 3 p.m.
Live coverage of the FXR Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville will be available on Bassmaster.com and Roku Friday beginning at 8 a.m. ET and running until 3 p.m. Coverage on Saturday will be available on FS1 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. before moving to Bassmaster.com from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Championship Sunday coverage can be found on FS1 from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with afternoon action to follow on Bassmaster.com.
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The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series, Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens Series presented by Battery Tender, Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier Series presented by Lowrance, Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Strike King Bassmaster High School Series, Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior Series, TNT Fireworks Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, Bassmaster College Kayak Series, Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.
