Chris Johnston prevails at first TAA event

Bassmaster Elite Series angler Chris Johnston won the inaugural Touring Anglers Association event at Lake Lanier in Georgia that concluded Thursday. Johnston weighed 65.38 pounds over three days and earned $65,000.

Billed as the "World's Largest Pot Tournament", the derby was conducted without tournament staff and with no forward-facing sonar, LiveScoping or 360-degree imaging allowed. The entry fee was $5,000.

Johnston caught bags that exceeded 24 pounds on each of the first two days before the 47-angler field was reduced to the Top 10. He weighed 16.50 on the final day to outdistance the runner-up, veteran tour pro David Williams, by about 3 1/2 pounds.

Here are the final totals for the Top 12:

1. Chris Johnston: 65.38 -- $65,000
2. David Williams: 61.79 -- $30,000
3. Emil Wagner: 59.85 -- $25,000
4. Drew Cook: 59.09 -- $20,000
5. Jared Lintner: 58.25 -- $15,000
6. Cory Johnston: 57.21 -- $10,000
7. Cazwell Anderson: 56.39 -- $10,000
8. Jeff Gustafson 53.84 -- $10,000
9. Rob Jordan: 52.86 -- $10,000
10. Joey Cifuentes: 52.42 -- $10,000
11. William Fletcher: 51.41 -- $10,000
12. Jimmy Millsaps: 49.54 -- $10,000

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