That Johnston , of Peterborough , Ontario , would win the ROY race was a foregone conclusion a couple of tournaments before Champlain when Chris had already made it a runaway . And if he had faltered , his older brother and fellow rookie , Cory , would have been there to take up the slack . Cory finished runner-up in the ROY standings with 884 points .
“ Being Rookie of the Year is like a family honor ,” says Chris . “ Cory and I practiced together all season and helped each other figure things out . It ’ s always been that way with us . We grew up in an area where there are about 20 lakes that are unbelievable fisheries , and we were well-schooled in tournament fishing because our dad [ Lynn ] fished tournaments all over Ontario .
“ Dad ’ s a little old school , but Cory and I stayed up to speed about new techniques and baits via websites , magazines and just fishing as many tournaments as we could , wherever we could . Champlain , Okeechobee , Kentucky Lake – we have all those scenarios in Canada , so that ’ s been one of the reasons my brother and I have been pretty consistent in tournaments .”
“ Consistently good ” is a better description of the Johnstons ’ tournament performances , especially in the Costa FLW Series Northern Division . In 2009 Chris fished his first season in that circuit and was both Angler of the Year and Rookie of the Year . Cory was the top angler in the Northern Division in 2011 and 2015 . Heading into this year and having honed their fishing skills to the appropriate sharpness , the Johnston brothers decided the time was right to take the next step up . Now they ’ re part of the strong north wind from Canada that ’ s sweeping through the FLW Tour ranks in the form of the Johnston brothers , Jeff Gustafson and Curtis Richardson .
Though the general perception of fishing in Canada conjures images of deep glacial lakes and feisty smallmouth bass , Chris is more confident when he is able to sight-fish and flip , pitch or punch soft plastics to largemouths . His performance at Okeechobee , where he finished third , is indicative of his shallow-water prowess . Likewise , a month later he managed a 12th-place showing at Lake Hartwell .
“ Hartwell and Beaver Lake were the two places that worried me some – not just because I had never fished them before , but I had heard that they might be more offshore deals ,” recalls Chris , who , with his father and brother , runs the family ’ s vehicle and marine battery business . “ Fortunately , there was a warm spell at Hartwell , and I spent all the time sight-fishing .”
It was the same at Beaver Lake , though Chris ’ sight-fishing options were more or less restricted to a five-mile stretch of shoreline washed by clear water . Then came Pickwick – the only tournament of the year where he didn ’ t finish in the money – and a 61st-place showing .
“ Pickwick was a bad one . I had an OK practice , but I only weighed a couple of fish that first day ,” he notes . “ I left a place where I should have stayed and went on to a place that was trashed by the wind . I hurt myself on that one and made some bad decisions , but I guess that ’ s what it ’ s all about : learning to make the right decisions in different situations .”
Chris rebounded at Kentucky Lake with a 40th-place showing and ended his season much the same as he began it , with a fifth-place finish at Champlain .
Now it ’ s on to Wheeler Lake and the Forrest Wood Cup . Chris fished the Costa FLW Series Championship on the lake a couple of years ago , finishing 68th , and he admits that the summer patterns likely to be in play there won ’ t be favorable for him .
Don ’ t sell him short , however . Back in February , the thought that a Canadian angler could challenge for the FLW Tour ’ s Angler of the Year title plus Rookie of the Year designation didn ’ t seem so likely either .
At least , it was doubtful to just about everyone except Chris Johnston .
Johnston came within a few points of becoming the first Canadian to win AOY . He settled for ROY and the Ranger Cup award .
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2016 I FLWFISHING . COM 61