Canadian pro Chris Johnston of Peterborough, Ontario, brought a five-bass limit weighing 25 pounds, 7 ounces, to the scale Friday to top the pro standings after Day Two of theFLW Tour at the Harris Chain of Lakes presented by Lowrance. Johnston will lead the final 30 pros into Day Three of the four-day tournament eventthat featured 368 of the world’s best bass-fishing professionals and co-anglers casting for top awards of up to $125,000 cash in the Pro Division and up to $25,000 cash in the Co-angler Division.
Johnston, who vaulted into the lead after starting the day in 12th place, spent his Friday fishing on Lake Harris. He said he targeted bass along a stretch of main-lake hydrilla in 12 feet of water, and caught the majority of his weight by 10 a.m.
“I fished a weed edge with a 300-yard-long indentation in it,” said Johnston, the 2016 Tour Rookie of the Year who is nearing $300,000 in FLW career earnings. “The wind was blowing in and I think shad kind of got grouped up. I hit Spot Lock on my Minn Kota Ultrex and didn’t move for 2 hours or so. That’s where four of the five that I weighed in came from.”
Around 9:30 a.m., Johnston caught an 8-pound, 6-ounce kicker with a Rat-L-Trap to anchor his limit. He said he worked through the area for another hour before moving on to old water, where he caught a 4-pounder as the day came to a close.
“It’s definitely key to get them early in the hydrilla,” said Johnston. “In the afternoon they shut down. Hopefully they’re there again tomorrow.”
The top 30 pros that made first cut and will fish Saturday at the Harris Chain of Lakes are:
1 Chris Johnston, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, 10 bass, 45-4
2 Tony Dumitras, Winston, Ga., 10 bass, 42-5
3 Yamamoto Baits pro Matt Greenblatt, Port St. Lucie, Fla., 10 bass, 41-12
4 Glenn Browne, Ocala, Fla., 10 bass, 41-11
5 Ronald Young, Lake Wales, Fla., 10 bass, 40-4
6 Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 10 bass, 38-6
7 Koby Kreiger, Bokeelia, Fla., 10 bass, 38-1
8 Jamie Horton, Centreville, Ala., 10 bass, 36-14
9 John Devere, Berea, Ky., 10 bass, 36-9
10 Shawn Murphy, Nicholasville, Ky., 10 bass, 36-0
11 Randy Haynes, Counce, Tenn., 10 bass, 35-14
12 Bob Morin, Seymour, Tenn., 10 bass, 35-13
13 Jordan Osborne, Longview, Texas, 10 bass, 35-10
14 Kurt Dove, Del Rio, Texas, 10 bass, 35-9
15 Boo Woods, London, Ky., 10 bass, 35-8
16 Jeff Gustafson, Keewatin, Ontario, Canada, 35-8
17 Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 35-2
18 John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky., 10 bass, 34-15
19 Jared McMillan, Belle Glade, Fla., 10 bass, 34-9
20 Harry Moore, Valley, Ala., 10 bass, 33-5
For a full list of results visitFLWFishing.com.
