Johnston's 24-09 effort good for three-ounce lead at Guntersville

No live sonar. No problem for Cory Johnston.

The Ontario native started the 2026 Bassmaster Elite Series season with a bang as he sacked up 24-09 at Lake Guntersville on Thursday. It marks the first event under a new set of rules that will see four Elite Series tournaments contested without the use of live sonar.

“I actually enjoyed it,” Johnston said. “It was one less thing to think about and I got back to how I like to fish – just old school and it was fun. It was a breath of fresh air to get the season started and just go fishing.”

Johnston led a pack of 20 anglers who eclipsed the 20-pound mark at the famed Tennessee River impoundment. It was Johnston’s first 20-pound stringer in a B.A.S.S. event at Guntersville.

Californian Bryant Smith trails by three ounces with 24-06 while Bryan Schmitt is third with 24-05. Matt Robertson was fourth with 23-11. Evan Kung and Brock Mosley had matching 23-06 bags in a tie for fifth.

When asked what the defining moment of his day was, Johnston said it was decoding the bass holding in the grass.

“Probably just covering water and figuring out what the fish were keying on – certain subtleties in the grass that are holding the bigger fish,” he said. “Once I figured that out, it made it a little easier.

“I definitely eliminated a lot of water today so that will be a big help tomorrow not fishing unproductive areas.”

2nd: Shallow Grass for Smith

> Day 1: 5, 24-06

Although he had located a promising area in practice, Smith said his day’s results greatly exceeded his expectation.

“It was way better than I could’ve expected,” Smith said. “Honestly, going into this event, I was just shooting for a limit.

“I had an area that I knew had quite a few fish in it, but they’ve been kinda spread out. I figured if I could just cover enough water in that area, I could run into a few little groups of them and that’s kinda what happened.”

Describing his location strategy, Smith said: “I made about a 20-mile run, just trying to get away from some of the pressure. That Goose Pond area (the tournament site) was getting a lot of pressure, so I tried to stay away from that as best I could.

“Every one of my fish came out of grass in 3 to 7 feet.”

Smith said a single reaction bait produced all of his fish. He got the right bites, but it took him most of the day to amass his weight.

“It was one fish here, one fish there, two fish there,” he said. “It wasn’t a one-cast deal by any means; it was just covering water and hopefully, you’d put it in front of them.”

3rd: Big Start for Schmitt

> Day 1: 5, 24-05

Starting the morning with a big kicker set the tone for Schmitt’s day.

“I had a 7-4 on my first cast of the day,” Schmitt said. “A big fish like that definitely eases the cold (discomfort), but it seems like you can catch them late too.

“It was a blessing today, but even if you have a few minutes left, as it warms up in the afternoon, you can get some bites.”

Schmitt, who calls the grassy Potomac River his home waters, caught his fish on two reaction baits. He fished both in the same habitat scenarios to give his fish varying looks.

“This is a river system, it’s full of grass, so I’m in heaven,” he said.

By The Numbers

> Field: 101 boats

> Limits: 85

> Big bass: 8-01 (Wesley Gore)

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