Mechanical failures have marred Cory Johnston’s first two days of the AOY Championship. On Day 1, it was an outboard motor failure. On Day 2, it was a trolling motor failure.
“I had no trolling motor all day,” Johnston said yesterday. “When I got to my spot, nothing.”
Yet the first-year Elite Series angler from Canada remains in the thick of the AOY race. Johnston weighed 19-7 on Day 1 and 21-0 yesterday. He began the tournament third in the AOY race, 14 points behind leader Scott Canterbury. If Johnston can simply have a stress-free day – no mechanical failures – he’s capable of weighing the big bag of the tournament today.
“I learned a lot (Monday),” Johnston said. “I learned that the fish I found in practice are still there. I had to catch them differently. If I don’t run around and I stay put and figure out how to catch them, I can weigh a big bag.
“I rolled up in the last half hour, did things differently in the same area where I found a great big group of them in practice, made 10 casts, hooked seven, lost two and had to come in. I lost one great big one. Every cast I could make without getting grass on my bait, I caught a fish.”
So what’s the biggest five-bass limit, within reason, you can expect from Lake St. Clair now?
“You can catch a 30-pound sack here,” Johnston said. “Absolutely they’re here. I caught two 6 1/2s the first day of practice, and another one over 6 the third day. They’re here. No doubt.”