ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
CHRISJOHNSTON
RUNAWAY
ROOKIE
roy Chris johnston
makes it look easy
B
by Colin Moore
photos by andy hagedon
60
efore the 2016 Walmart FLW Tour opened on Lake
Okeechobee in early February, Chris Johnston decided
he was going after a trio of goals: Rookie of the Year,
Angler of the Year and a berth in the Forrest Wood Cup.
Two out of three isn’t bad. Not only did the Canadian fish-
erman win Rookie of the Year and qualify for his first Forrest
Wood Cup, but he came within an eyelash of capturing the
Angler of the Year title as well. The only thing that stopped
him was a juggernaut of long standing named Andy Morgan.
Still, in finishing 24 points behind Morgan (1,084 points to
1,060 points), Johnston flirted with fishing history, becoming
the nearest thing to a double winner since Shinichi Fukae
accomplished it in 2004 and Clark Wendlandt in 1997.
Setting goals and then doing his best to achieve them is part
of the mental process that the 27-year-old rookie goes through
to help maintain his focus through a season of tournaments.
Even when he realized that the AOY title was slipping from his
grasp, Johnston fixed his sights on the ROY race, a Cup berth
and the award for highest-finishing Ranger Cup-qualified
angler. Though the first two issues were settled by the time the
Champlain tournament rolled around, Johnston could claim
the latter award only after what became a scramble at the end
of the 2016 campaign between Ranger pros Johnston and AOY
fourth-place finisher Jacob Wheeler (1,058 points). Johnston
won a Ranger Z518C with a 200-hp outboard – a nice consola-
tion prize after coming so close to the AOY crown.
FLWFISHING.COM I AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2016